Skills

Skills are the building blocks of job roles and professional development in Skilly. Each skill represents a specific competency or ability, such as:

• Technical skills (e.g., "Python Programming", "Database Design")
• Leadership skills (e.g., "Team Management", "Strategic Planning")
• Communication skills (e.g., "Technical Writing", "Stakeholder Management")
• Domain expertise (e.g., "Financial Analysis", "UX Design")

Many organizations use the SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age) as their standard skill set, but you can also create custom skills specific to your organization.

To view your organization's skills:

1. Navigate to "Skills" in the organization menu
2. Browse the paginated list of all available skills
3. Click on any skill to see its full details

The skills page displays all skills available in your organization, whether they're from a standard framework like SFIA or custom skills created by your team.

Find specific skills quickly using the search feature:

• Use the search box at the top of the skills page
• Search by skill name (e.g., "Python", "Leadership")
• Search by skill code if your organization uses them
• Results update as you type

Each skill contains important information:

• Title: The skill's name
• Code: A unique identifier (often from frameworks like SFIA)
• Description: What this skill encompasses
• Level Range: The minimum and maximum levels (e.g., 1-7, 1-5)
• Level Descriptions: What competency looks like at each level

Level descriptions are crucial - they define what "Level 3" or "Level 5" actually means for that specific skill, helping ensure consistent assessments.

Skills use numeric levels to measure competency:

• Level 1-2: Typically beginner or learning levels
• Level 3-4: Usually intermediate or practitioner levels
• Level 5-6: Often expert or senior levels
• Level 7: Generally reserved for strategic or mastery level

The exact meaning varies by skill and framework. Always check the level descriptions for the specific skill to understand what each number represents.

For Administrators and Owners:

If you need a skill that's not in your library:

1. Click "Add Skill" or "Create Skill" button
2. Enter the skill name and description
3. Set the level range (e.g., 1-5 or 1-7)
4. Define what each level means for this skill
5. Optionally add a skill code for internal reference
6. Save the skill to add it to your library

Custom skills work exactly like framework skills - they can be added to job roles and assessed during check-ins.

For Administrators and Owners:

Manage your skills library by:

• Editing Skills: Update descriptions or level definitions as needed
• Archiving: Hide skills that are no longer relevant
• Organizing: Use clear naming conventions for easy searching
• Standardizing: Ensure level descriptions are consistent across similar skills

Skills and job roles work together:

• Job roles are built by selecting skills from the library
• Each skill in a role has a required level
• During check-ins, managers assess people against these skill/level combinations
• Progress is tracked by comparing current levels to role requirements

Think of skills as the vocabulary for describing capabilities, and job roles as sentences that combine those skills into meaningful career paths.