Skills Management Glossary

Competencies are generally more enduring characteristics of a person than skills. They often involve a deeper understanding of concepts and the integration of various skills within a particular context.
Currently, we do not see a need to differentiate between skills and competencies within the context of skills management, as both contribute to the performance of employees within the organization and should be taken into account when discussing skills management.

Cross-skilling involves developing a portfolio of skills that are valuable across different jobs, functions, and domains. Thus, cross-skilling acknowledges the universal need for certain skills, ensuring adaptability and versatility in various roles and industries, regardless of one’s specific role.

Qualifications refer to the knowledge that has been taught and certified. They can be represented by successfull finished courses of studies, specific education programs, or training courses. As qualifications contribute to the performance of various activities within an organization it’s necessary to include them in skills management.

The terms upskilling and reskilling are similar, but refer to different dimensions of skills acquisition. Reskilling refers to the acquisition of skills for the transition to a new role, emphasizing the need for retraining of skills.

A (hard) skill is a specific ability or proficiency in performing a task, often acquired through training or practice. It typically involves the application of practical knowledge or techniques to achieve a desired outcome within a defined context. Unlike competencies, skills are more narrowly focused on the practical application of know-how.
Currently, we do not see a need to differentiate between skills and competencies within the context of skills management, as both contribute to the performance of employees within the organization and should be taken into account when discussing skills management.

Skill assessment is a form of skill validation. The term refers to the process of taking inventory of employees’ and applicants’ skills, e.g. by means of tests. Skills can also be confirmed, for example, through an assessment by a supervisor or colleague, qualifications, or certificates.

A Skill cloud covers all observed skills and shows the distances between them. The procedere is based on market or company specific skill usages, analyzed by an AI, deciding on the most closely related skills. Through the use of AI, a constant adjustment of the skills’ relationships to each other is possible.

A Skill engine is the technological system of a skills management software utilizing advanced AI-based algorithms and analytics. It entails the skill ontology or taxonomy of the organization.

Skill gaps refer to the difference between an employee’s current skills and the skills required for a specific position in the company. Skill gaps can be identified via skill assessments and closed with the help of upskilling or reskilling measures as part of skills management.

Skill governance describes the systematic approach of planning and managing skills-related processes within an organization. For example, it can mean the development of policies, the design of processes, and the definition of responsibilities to ensure that both, the introduction of a skills management initiative and the continuous usage of skills-related processes, are transparent, efficient, and effective.

Skill inference describes the ability to infer skills from existing characteristics. This involves analyzing different data sources supported by AI to gain semantic insights into employees’ expertise. These data sources may be job descriptions, CVs, project reviews, training certificates, etc. Based on this, the skills that employees are assumed to possess can be identified.

A skill ontology is the semantic representation of the relationships between different skills, i.e. their proximity or distance to each other content-wise. This makes it easier to understand the connections between skills, for example the link between communication skills and presentation methods. Despite a certain proximity, differences exist between a skill ontology and a skill taxonomy.

A skill profile is a structured overview of an employee’s skills (including competencies, experience, etc.). It provides a detailed overview of existing skills and therefore of employees’ strengths and development areas. In combination with other skills data from the company, skill profiles form the database for various skills-based HR processes.

A skill taxonomy is a hierarchical overview of skills. Skills are divided into subcategories and assigned to related main categories. The aim of the skill taxonomy is to systematically classify and group skills. For example, the specific sub-category “communication skills” belongs to the main category “communication”. Despite a certain proximity, differences exist between a skill taxonomy and a skill ontology.

Skill validation refers to all forms of verification (or hardening) of employees’ individual skills. This includes, for example, evaluation by managers or colleagues, but also certificates and skill assessments.

Skills management refers to the strategic decision of an organization to systematically record, evaluate, and develop the skills of its employees in various HR-related processes, such as recruiting or learning. The aim of skills management is to gain an overview of existing and required skills in the company and to be able to deploy employees optimally through the targeted development of relevant skills. Skills can therefore also be included in strategic workforce planning. The focus here is on a long-term improvement in work processes and competitiveness by taking skills into account in personnel processes. Skills management can also contribute to improved employee engagement and satisfaction by identifying and supporting employees’ individual interests and skills.

A skills management initiative is a temporary project or measure within an change process (journey) aiming to develop or strengthen one or more aspects of skills management within the organization. It can therefore be part of an overarching skills management approach and support the journey towards a skills-based organization.

A skills management software is a digital solution that effectively organizes and manages the extensive data and workflows that become relevant in skills management, thereby reflecting the company’s skill ontology or taxonomy. This includes, for example, employee skill profiles, skills linked to trainings, job requirements, and changes of skills in all skill-related processes. By linking the data, the software enables the identification of development needs, career opportunities, and optimal staffing. Due to the complexity and scope of the data, an (AI-based) software solution is required to fully realize the benefits of skills management.

Skills mapping entails creating a database that matches skills with different roles and employees in the organization. It provides a clear picture of the skills distribution within departments, locations, and throughout the hierarchy.

A skills-based organization (SBO) refers to a company that designs its structures and processes based on skills. A skill-based organization is not synonymous with the term skills management: Depending on the HR processes and the extent to which skills management is used in an organization, a company is more or less close to a skill-based organization.

Skills-based talent management refers to the implementation of the strategy of focusing on skills in areas such as recruiting, workforce development, and succession planning. Skills-based talent management aims to assess, develop, and deploy employees based on their specific skills. Individual strengths and development areas are taken into account in order to enable the best deployment of employees within the organization.

A software architecture describes the interaction of several IT systems in an organization. For successful skills management, it is necessary to integrate one or more skills management software components into the existing HR software landscape or to define a future landscape.

A talent marketplace is a (digital) internal platform for the skills management of an organization. The marketplace is used to match the skills and interests of employees with the company’s job requirements in order to identify suitable internal talent for various (project) positions. Through individual career options and learning opportunities, the talent marketplace helps employees to actively shape their professional development within the company.

Various terms are used to describe the characteristics of employees. Besides skills and competencies, the terms traits, motives, drivers, and aspirations are the most frequent.
Traits are individual attributes that impact the job performance. Motives are the inner drive that propels someone to take action. Drivers refer to fundamental preferences for particular work environments. Aspirations can be defined as the long-term goals, ambitions, or desires that individuals strive to achieve in their personal or professional lives.
Concerning skills management, we believe that there is currently no need for further differentiation between the terms, as they all contribute to the performance of various activities within an organization and should be taken into account when discussing skills management.

The terms upskilling and reskilling are similar, but refer to different dimensions of skills acquisition. Upskilling is about acquiring specialized knowledge tailored to one’s role and acquiring new skills to close skills gaps and adapt to changing requirements, fostering a future proof work environment.