The skills mapping process is essential for companies to understand the skills and knowledge required for each job position. This allows for better personnel management, skill development planning, and supports recruitment and career strategies. In this module, we will describe step by step the structured soft skills mapping process.
The process is mainly divided into five steps:
1. Defining professional families: The first step is to identify and group the different job positions in the company into professional families. These families are categorized based on criteria such as the nature of the work, the required similar skills, or the company’s sectors. For example, all IT-related positions may be grouped into one professional family, while marketing-related positions may be grouped into another.
2. Analysis and information gathering: Once the professional families are defined, the next step is to gather detailed data on each individual position within these families. This includes:
-
- Interviews with jobholders to understand their daily tasks and responsibilities.
- Workshops with working groups to identify the specific technical and technological skills required for the role.
- Surveys of supervisors to assess the soft skills and interpersonal abilities needed.
- Analysis of job descriptions from similar roles in the industry to detect alternative job titles and related skills.
3. Creating role profiles: After gathering the information, detailed role profiles are created for each position. Each profile will include:
-
- Brief role description: a summary of the job and main responsibilities.
- Alternative job titles: other titles that may be used in the industry for the same position.
- Daily tasks: a detailed list of daily activities and responsibilities.
- Technological skills: software, hardware, and other technologies the professional needs to know.
- Technical skills: specific competencies required to perform the job effectively.
- Soft skills: such as communication, leadership, and problem-solving, which are crucial for success in the role.
4. Validating role profiles: Role profiles are then subjected to a validation process. This step involves:
-
- Reviewing the role profiles with department heads to ensure the information is accurate and complete.
- Adjustments based on the feedback received to ensure that the skills and requirements are realistic and aligned with business needs.
5. Implementation and updates: The validated role profiles are implemented in all relevant HR processes, including recruitment, training, development, and performance evaluation. It is essential to keep the profiles up to date by revisiting them periodically to reflect changes in technologies, business processes, and market requirements.
The final result of the skills mapping process is a set of detailed role profiles that provide a clear view of the skills required for each position. These documents become key tools for the strategic management of human capital within the company, supporting informed and targeted HR decisions.
In conclusion, this process not only helps improve personnel management but also facilitates internal mobility and career planning, ensuring that employees’ skills are optimally utilized and continuously developed.