To enhance career development

Where should an organization start in order to put career paths and career development service programs into place? Some suggest  s that a good way to begin the process of defining how and where employees’ skills match different jobs is to develop a job skills matrix. The matrix should be designed with all the possible job titles down the left side and the necessary skills on the other side.

Using job descriptions, the skills matched with the job title. The skills could even be ranked by importance for each position. For example, communication skills might be rated "5" on a scale of 1 to 5 for customer service positions and "3" for an accounting position. An interdepartmental council, composed of department directors, could handle the task of matching jobs and skills. 

The matrix development process can be spearheaded by HR and can be as basic or sophisticated as a firm needs it to be. It can be developed through an HR software solution or completed manually using a spreadsheet or grid depending on the size of the firm and number of jobs. The completed matrix could be used in two ways. Managers could use it to review each employee’s current skill sets and fit with other job opportunities. Employees who are interested in other job opportunities could also benefit from the matrix, as they can learn what skills they may need to acquire to make a career "move."

The development and use of a job skills matrix makes job opportunities available to all employees. It takes the mystery away when employees want to determine what additional skills they need in order to get ahead and provides an objective tool for HR and managers to use when they need to fill jobs or assist employees in developing career paths.