Developing a framework to measure organizational and employee skills development in a professional engineering design consultancy

As we move into a knowledge economy, employee skills are fast becoming an organization’s most valuable asset. Fundamental to successfully completing the complex range of tasks presented by construction projects is bringing together individuals with the correct balance of skills. No one individual has the complete set of skills to do everything themselves, which makes the team only as strong as its weakest link. Sponsored by a leading UK‐based engineering design consultancy, a specification for a technologically driven skills management system was developed. It allowed the organization, its teams and the employees, to better measure, manage and develop their skill capabilities effectively. Key issues addressed by the paper include how skill ability can be measured, how skills can be structured, and how these measurements and structure can be combined to generate skills reports. The development of a prototype application, based on the above mentioned specification, tested the validity of the specification, and demonstrated to the sponsor the benefits that can be achieved by a systematic and practical approach to capturing, reviewing, planning and managing employee skills. It also highlighted the important business rationale for using such systems.