← Back

Team Skills Mapping

Executive Summary

I spearheaded a "Team Skills Mapping" project to address skill deficiencies and cultivate growth within a remote team of designers and researchers. Through collaborative workshops, we identified key skills, assessed team proficiency levels, and created radar charts for visual representation. This initiative led to a remarkable 75% of team members earning promotions within two years, underscoring its effectiveness in talent development. Additionally, the project received commendations from senior leadership and team members, highlighting the positive impact of leadership and support throughout the process.

Thank you for being the heart, soul and fearless leader of TUX! I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and positivity in conversations and that you constantly seek out opportunities for TUX members to grow and shine. Your unending support, encouragement and leadership through complex challenges for myself and TUX makes us all better :sparkles:

- Product Designer (Direct Report)

Problem

A very junior team lacked confidence, direction, and vision for growth.

My Role

Senior Manager, Product Design: After an acquisition, my team merged with another distributed remote team.  The new company was low in UX Maturity and was void of structure for the role of Product Design within the larger Product organization.

Process

  • Mini workshop with team to define the skills our team needs, in order to have impact at this organization
  • Evaluate & establish each team member's current rating for each of those skills
  • Discuss & set each team member's future rating for each of those skills

Radar chart depicting current state of 8 UX skills across 3 team members
Team Skills Mapping Radar Chart

Solution

  • Create a radar chart to map skills
  • We track current and desired future states for each skill, by each staff and by team cumulative

Impact

We gained a deeper understanding of our team's composition, identifying crucial gaps that informed my hiring strategy. Leveraging this insight, I strategically align team strengths with project assignments, optimizing productivity. 

A senior leader appreciated this initiative so much that they asked me to present and share materials to the larger organization to inspire other leaders to perform a similar exercise.

The skills map laid the foundation for a second project in which I implemented a system to improve an existing outline and provide a multi-tiered track for career progression, fostering professional growth and retention within the team. This set of tools became essential as I coached and developed 75% of team to earn a promotion within the first 2 years as their leader. My staff retention rate is 100%, excluding a planned end of internship and an unplanned layoff of an acquired redundant role.

Career Skills Matrix for Product Designers

Thank you for everything you do, the endless support and transparency. It's so appreciated and it's awesome to learn from you!

- Product Designer (Direct Report)

Amy, thank you for your leadership, advocacy and support to make this a year full of growth and opportunities.

- Product Designer (Direct Report)

I so appreciate having you as our team’s leader! Thank you for always being yourself and bringing thoughtfulness, honesty, and heart to the way you lead our team. You bring out the best in all of us and we are so lucky to have you!

- Product Designer (Direct Report)

I appreciate the guidance and vision you give our team. Can't wait to see what 2024 holds for TUX [our team].

- UX Researcher (Direct Report)