Skills Inventory Job Aid

Prepare to implement a skills inventory to ensure a

meaningful investment that supports organizational
priorities.

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solutions to human resources challenges with executable research, tools, and
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Navigating through a changing world of work requires a solid
understanding of internal skills
Required skills are changing… Analyzing employee skills gaps is associated
with:
Over the next five years… • Facilitating data-driven decisions

40% 50% 3 in 5 employees say COVID-19 and the

• Improved innovation
• A greater ability to support change
of core skills are of all employees resulting economic crisis have
projected to change. will need reskilling. accelerated their need to acquire new Yet only 24% of organizations are
skills. analyzing skills gaps.
(World Economic Forum, (Degreed, 2021)
2020)
(McLean & Company Trends Survey Report, 2021;
…and organizations are already feeling the pressure N=414)

9 in 10 However, fewer than half say Organizations must have a solid understanding
executives and managers say their their organization has a clear of their employees’ skills to future-proof their
organization is facing or is expecting understanding of current skills. workforce.
to face skills gaps in the next five
years.
(McKinsey,
McLean & Company | 2
2020)
A skills inventory keeps track of internal skills to inform
organizational priorities
A skills inventory... A skill... • is a demonstrated and observable ability to perform a task with proficiency.
records current employees’ skills, education, work • often requires the use of equipment, machinery, tools, or automated systems.
experiences, and certifications/licenses. • implies measurable performance.

A skills inventory informs the following organizational priorities:

Workforce planning (WFP): Detects skills gaps and determines whether the current workforce has the required skills to support organizational goals.

Learning & development (L&D): Suggests development opportunities based on an employee’s existing skill proficiencies and career aspirations.

Succession planning (SP): Determines which employees have the skills to fill the organization’s critical roles and if any development areas must be focused
on to prepare employees for these roles.
Team composition: Informs which employees to include in a project team based on what the project requirements are and who has the appropriate skills.

Business continuity planning: Outlines which employees can be redeployed and where in the event of a crisis/disruption.

Career pathing: Provides employees with information on common skills in potential future roles to inform their development.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI): Mitigates biases when selecting talent for projects by providing a holistic and objective view into the workforce’s
skills so projects tap into a wider range of talent as opposed to only the individuals that managers are most familiar with.

Despite all these benefits,

32% of organizations are not creating a skills inventory.
(McLean & Company Trends Survey Report, 2020; McLean & Company | 3
N=446)
However, building and maintaining a skills inventory requires
significant resources
Stakeholder involvement is critical in order to understand:
• The technology requirements that would fulfill their needs for the inventory.
• The skills and organizational language that must be included in the
People inventory. A skills inventory is a large undertaking – do
• The approach to inventory upkeep, through either a dedicated resource or
not implement it without establishing how it
managers/employees updating it themselves.
will support organizational priorities.
Significant time commitment is required to:
• Select a skills inventory platform.
• Complete the pre-work required to implement the skills inventory.
• Collect the skills of all employees. McLean & Company Insight
Time • Assess and validate the skills collected to ensure accuracy. A skills inventory is a big investment to
• Maintain the inventory to reflect any skills changes (e.g. updating
build but an even bigger one to maintain. It
employees’ skills, adding/removing employees from the inventory).
is critical to determine not only whether you
have the resources to support a skills
Associated costs can be high, including:
• Technology inventory but also whether it is an effective
Money • FTE investment required to implement and maintain the inventory use of those resources.

McLean & Company | 4

Skills inventory technology has varying maturity levels to
accommodate organizational needs
Basic
• Manual input database (e.g. Excel).
• List of skills available internally with
minimal skill analysis based on skill
inputs.
• Finite number of employee skill
profiles (e.g. 50) to keep the inventory
manageable.
Skill profile: A list of an employee’s
skills and proficiency levels.
Example use case:
A leader who wants to monitor
skills within their own team.
McLean & Company Insight
Use a technology solution to reap the real benefits of a skills inventory. If you are implementing a basic skills inventory, assess whether it
is still a valuable resource investment given its inherent limitations .
Maturity Scale
Intermediate
• Employee skill profiles with insights
(e.g. L&D recommendations,
additional related skill suggestions,
internal job recommendations).
• Reporting dashboard (e.g.
information on skill demand and
supply).
Example use case:
Organizations looking to search for
skills across the organization to
inform WFP and SP.
Intermediate and advanced maturity
will require a technology solution.
Solutions’ capabilities will differ by
vendor.
Advanced
In addition to basic technology features,
advanced technology:
• Infers skills based on performance reviews,
job descriptions, L&D activities, resumes,
alternative information sources (e.g.
LinkedIn, internal communication software),
etc.
• Provides recommendations on different
organizational priorities (e.g. team
composition, career pathing).
• Often driven by artificial intelligence (AI).
Example use case:
Organizations with a matrix environment
looking for AI-driven recommendations
for team composition.
McLean & Company | 5
Use the following sections to prepare to implement a skills
inventory

Section 1: Define the Need for a Skills Inventory

• Gather information and consult key
stakeholders
• Define the purpose
• Document technology requirements
• Define goals and metrics

Section 2: Implement a Skills Inventory

• Select a skills inventory platform and
vendor
• Create a skills framework to collect data
• Identify a skill collection approach
• Integrate and maintain the skills inventory
McLean & Company | 6
Gather information and consult with key stakeholders

Review organizational information Consult stakeholders

Look at: Have conversations with senior leaders, department leaders, or any
• DEI strategy other subject matter experts (SMEs), such as the L&D or WFP team, to
• Organizational strategy/goals
inform the desired functionalities of the skills inventory. Use the following
• HR and divisional strategies • Workforce and succession plans prompts to guide these conversations:
• What would you do differently in your work processes if you had access
Identify opportunities to leverage a skills inventory to to all employees' skills?
support organizational objectives.
• What are you unable to do because you don’t have knowledge of what
skills employees have?
Example
• How do you see a skills inventory supporting organizational priorities?
Skills inventory opportunity: Provides an • Ideally, what key features would be included in a skills inventory?
Strategic objective view of skills in the organization,
priority: DEI preventing people’s capabilities from being o Which of these features are “must-haves” versus “nice-to-haves”?
overlooked.
Strategic Skills inventory opportunity: Identifies employees
Don’t assume all stakeholders know the capabilities of
priority: with skills required to fill critical roles as well as
Succession skills gaps that need to be addressed to fulfill Tip skills inventories. Provide them with an overview to inform
these conversations.
planning (SP) critical roles.

“ ”
Skills inventories democratize access to opportunities. It mitigates the ability for the old boys’ club to tap on the same people’s
shoulders for help. McLean & Company | 7
– Patrick Whelan, CEO & Cofounder, Paddle
Define the purpose of the skills inventory
Focus the purpose by asking:
• Why is the organization pursuing a skills inventory?
• What does the organization want to accomplish with a
skills inventory?
• Who is this technology going to benefit?
• What organizational priorities will the skills inventory
support?
• What does success look like?
• What will the organization be able to do if the skills
inventory is successful?
McLean & Company Insight
Fight the urge to select the fanciest skills inventory platform by defining a clear purpose for the technology. It will help you navigate
through the extensive technology offerings to ultimately find a solution that is the best fit for the organization.
Estimate the potential budget required to
Example
satisfy the purpose
A skills inventory will inform the • Consult with relevant stakeholders (e.g.
organization’s succession plan by Finance) to understand whether a budget
identifying potential successors and will be provided for the skills inventory.
any skills they need to develop to
• Use the purpose to present the value of the
fulfill the requirements of critical
skills inventory to those estimating the
roles. This will directly inform the
potential budget.
development of potential successors.
• Throughout the technology selection
The skills inventory will also
process, the organization will gain a clearer
contribute to a more inclusive
picture of the required budget. If possible,
process of identifying successors by
use this initial conversation to determine
providing a holistic view into
an approximate amount the organization
employees’ skills rather than relying
is willing to invest to inform realistic
on relationship-based nominations.
technology requirements.
McLean & Company | 8
Document skills inventory technology requirements
Involve the following participants:
Technology users IT 1 Gather
With the identified technology users and IT participants, use the information
Those who will be skills gathered and the purpose of the skills inventory to inform and identify:
inventory power users
Description

(e.g. technology owner,
owners of processes
highlighted in the purpose,
such as SP lead, SMEs).
As the main users of the
technology, they will be
Value
Support staff tasked with
maintaining and upgrading
the system.
IT is likely responsible for
more in-depth
requirements gathering. IT
• Functional Requirements: Essential characteristics of the technology
(e.g. hold 10,000+ employee skill profiles; self-assessment capability).
See Appendix I for a list of possible functional requirements.
• Technical Requirements: Technical standards or interconnection
requirements that the product must address (e.g. integrate with LMS).
• Support Requirements: Special requirements for how and where the
vendor is to carry out work, key responsibilities of the vendor, and any

able to provide key possesses critical

insights into valuable knowledge around system
technology functionalities. compatibility, integration,
and data.
Leverage any technology users/IT participants involved in
WFP/skills-of-the-future project teams.
Rely on these participants to gather, analyze, and validate skills
inventory technology requirements.
Use tabs 2 to 4 of McLean & Company’s
HRIS Evaluation and RFP Scoring Tool to record requirements
and their level of desirability.
special terms and conditions (e.g. responsible for implementation and
training).
2 Analyze
• Use the purpose of the skills inventory to prioritize the requirements
gathered.
• Review the information collected from leaders and SMEs regarding
how a skills inventory would benefit their function and relieve pain
points, as well as their distinction between must-have and nice-to-have
features to inform the prioritization.
3 Validate
• Validate the must-have and nice-to-have list with the identified
technology users and IT to review.
McLean & Company | 9
Measure the success of the skills inventory with goals and metrics
Review the purpose of the skills inventory to select goals and metrics that are relevant to the organization’s use of the technology.
Example
Purpose
A skills inventory will inform the
organization’s succession plan by
identifying potential successors and
any skills they need to develop to
fulfill the requirements of critical
roles. This will directly inform the
development of potential successors.
The skills inventory will also
contribute to a more inclusive
process of identifying successors by
providing a holistic view into
employees’ skills rather than relying
on relationship-based nominations.
Goals
Increase the number of critical roles
filled by internal candidates by 15%
over the next two years.
Decrease time to readiness for potential
successors to fill critical roles by 20%
over the next two years.
Increase the number of female
employees selected as potential
successors by 15% over the next two
years.
Metrics
• Percentage of open requisitions for critical roles filled by internal
candidates
• Percentage of open requisitions for critical roles filled by those
identified as potential successors
• Quality of hire for critical roles
• L&D participation of potential successors
• Percentage of potential successors pursuing L&D experiences
related to skill gaps
• Increased skill proficiency across identified skill gaps
• Percentage of potential successors who are women
• Percentage of potential successors who are women who are
selected to fill critical roles
McLean & Company | 10
 Determine the appropriate skills inventory platform
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Solution
Manual input database (e.g. Excel)
• Maximum of 50 skill profiles need to be
tracked
Use Cases
• A leader who wants to monitor skills within
their own team
• Organizations looking for skills documentation
rather than analysis
• Low cost
• No vendor coordination
Benefits
• Ability to leverage McLean & Company’s
Skills Inventory Tool if there is a maximum of
50 skill profiles and 50 skill options, with 10
skills tracked for each employee
• •
Limited analysis available
• Using for more than 50 skill profiles is
Cautions
unmanageable
• Difficult/time consuming to maintain
• Requires one person to manage/own the tool
• Limitations of having multiple stakeholders edit
the tool (i.e. for manager/self-assessments)
11% of organizations use Excel or other
homegrown solutions.
(McLean & Company Trends Survey Report, 2020; N=446)
Add-On Solution
Point Solution
Modular capability of existing technology (e.g.
Independent solution for skills inventory
HRIS)
• Organizations with a technology solution that
• Organizations without existing technology that
offers skills inventory capabilities
supports a skills inventory
• Organizations in the process of selecting a new
• Organizations looking for specialized skills
all-in-one technology
inventory functionality not offered by their
• Organizations who are hesitant to introduce a current technology solutions
new technology
• Familiarity with technology platform will • Provides specialized insight and advisory on
enable an easier rollout to the organization the uses and applications of a skills inventory
• Vendor relationship already established • Specialized functionalities available
• Functionality may already exist in your • Greater opportunity to align with purpose
technology solution for no additional cost • Ability to integrate with other technologies is
• Easy data integration often available (e.g. HRIS, LMS)
Reduced flexibility in selecting a technology
• Must start a new vendor relationship and
that aligns with the skills inventory purpose
participate in the RFP process
• Requires partnership with IT to evaluate
• Rollout requires training on new technology
current technology to leverage
• Integration setup required with other
• Capability options are less specialized
technologies (e.g. HRIS, LMS)
• Timing of selecting a new all-in-one
• Risk of data inconsistencies from other
technology and a skills inventory solution may
technology
not align
30% of organizations use their
HRIS/HCM system of record. 11% ofsoftware.
organizations use a specialized
McLean & Company | 11
See Appendix II for additional skills inventory stats from McLean & Company Trends Survey Report
2020
Select a vendor
If pursuing an add-on solution,
If pursuing a point solution, engage with vendors to find technology that fulfills the purpose of the skills contact the vendor to understand the
inventory.
required steps to implement skills
Selecting a vendor often involves the following steps: inventory functionalities into
existing technology.
1 Send a request for proposal (RFP) to vendors that highlights the technology’s purpose and
requirements. The responses provide an explanation of how the vendor technology aligns with the
needs of the organization.

2 Evaluate the RFP responses with a clear scoring process. Use McLean & Company’s
HRIS Evaluation and RFP Scoring Tool to assist with this:
Leverage additional McLean &
Company resources:
1. Tab 2: Input vendor information.
• Request for Information Template
2. Tabs 2 to 4: Assess technology requirements against vendor capabilities.
• Request for Proposal Template
3. Tab 5: Record the estimated cost of each vendor.
• Sample Vendor Reference Check
4. Tab 6: Review the final scores of each vendor as well as the estimated cost. Questions
3 Based on the results, identify a shortlist of vendors (e.g. top three) to arrange product
demonstrations and reference checking.
• Service-Level Agreement Templat
4 Finally, select a vendor. e

It will become clear early on in this process whether the estimated budget will be able to • Appendix III for a non-
satisfy the technology requirements. If not, return to relevant stakeholders to request exhaustive list of skills inventory
additional budget or re-evaluate “must-have” technology requirements. vendors
McLean & Company | 12
Create a framework to collect skills data
Activities required to collect skills will differ according to the technology and vendor selected. If applicable, consult with the vendor to identify
preparation activities required for implementation. The following two slides include activities that may be required.
Identify Skills
Identify current skills in the organization, including:
• Functional skills: Specific to each functional area or job family
and may be associated with specific roles (e.g. HRIS proficiency
for an HR coordinator).
• General skills: Apply to various job functions and all employees
(e.g. public speaking).
Uncover these skills through job descriptions and postings.
Look through main responsibilities, required/preferred
qualifications, and competencies (core and functional).
If using a DIY skills inventory, identify a manageable number of
key skills (e.g. 50) to assess employees on.
If using the Skills Inventory Tool for a DIY solution, record
the skills and their associated definitions in tab 2.
Define Skills
Define skills by using:
• External definitions: Look to industry or function reports to help
inform current skills definitions (e.g.
Occupational Information Network, Burning Glass, SFIA).
• Internal definitions: Consult a variety of relevant stakeholders
(managers, leaders, employees) for key skill components or
organization-specific language.
• Technical definitions: If skills are technical in nature, certification
programs are a good starting point to define them.
As you define skills, determine whether consolidation is
possible, especially if using a DIY skills inventory. However, do
Tip not force groupings, or you risk confusion and inconsistencies
in skill assessments.
McLean & Company | 13
Outline skill proficiency levels
Select an approach to define proficiency levels:

1 General 2 Customized

Basic definitions for each proficiency level that are applicable to all
Unique definitions for each skill’s proficiency levels (e.g. Intermediate
skills regardless of job level or function (e.g. Intermediate: Practical
Excel: Ability to perform basic formulas [sum, average, etc.] and
application of the skill). See Appendix IV for sample general
formatting).
proficiency levels.

Simple setup and maintenance, especially for DIY skills
inventories
Ease of use for assessors to refer to one rating scale
Leaves greater room for error due to varying interpretations of
definitions, resulting in less-reliable assessments
Requires very specific skill definitions to guide the proficiency
level assessment
Greater consistency in proficiency level interpretations
Ability to include specific descriptions of proficiency levels to
anchor assessments, creating less room for bias (e.g. ability to use
sophisticated functionality in Excel, including pivot tables and index
matching)
Requires significantly more time, effort, and input from stakeholders
to define each skill and related proficiency levels
Time consuming for assessors to refer to customized proficiency
levels for each skill they are assessing

Use a combination approach if customized proficiency levels provide value to some skills but not all. Make sure assessors know which skills they
Tip need to evaluate against customized proficiency levels.

McLean & Company | 14

 Determine the skill collection approach
Although skill collection activities will differ according to the technology and vendor selected, the following are common skill collection
approaches:
Self-assessment
Employees identify which skills they possess and
evaluate themselves against proficiency levels.
• Quickest assessment process
Benefits
• Opportunity for employees to highlight skills
that others are unaware of
• Requires employee training on how to use the
skills inventory technology and self-assess.
Cautions
• Risk of inconsistencies in how employees
interpret proficiency levels and assess
themselves.
• Individual biases impact self-assessments, which
may disadvantage certain demographic groups.
For example, women consistently assess their
performance lower than men (National Bureau of
Economic Research, 2019).
McLean &
The reliability Company
and Insight
applicability of a skills inventory is
reduced when skill collection is less objective. Select the right
skill collection approach according to the skill inventory’s
intended use.
Manager assessment Formal assessment
Managers assess their direct reports’ skills Employees undergo formal assessments to
and proficiencies. determine skill proficiency levels.
• Quick assessment • Mitigates personal biases from influencing
• Minimized impact of an employee’s assessments, making it the most objective
own biases approach
• Ratings are based on the manager’s • Requires significant resources (money, time).
perception, which may not be • Requires a set list of skills to assess against.
completely accurate. • Resource-intensive to alter skills being
• Managers have their own biases that assessed.
impact how they assess their • May require multiple assessments to evaluate
employees. all required skills.
• Managers may be unaware of skills an • May be difficult to find assessments that
employee possesses. properly evaluate for a skill.
Keep in mind: The skills inventory platform/vendor will determine whether employees:
• Assess themselves against a set list of skills (see previous slide on identifying and defining
skills), or
• Have flexibility to add any type of skill to their profile.
Alternatively, use a hybrid skill collection approach
McLean & Company | 15
Determine whether to pursue a hybrid skill collection approach
A hybrid approach combines both self-assessment and manager assessment activities for more objective skill collection. There are two main options
for this approach:
Option 1
• Employees and their managers assess the employee’s skills and
proficiency levels independently.
• Employees and their managers then discuss their independent
ratings and any discrepancies.
• Together they agree upon a final rating to be included in the
employee’s skill profile.
• Formal assessments are used for certain skills when valuable (e.g.
internal certifications for facilitation and public speaking).
McLean & Company recommends this approach
Use case:
• Organizations with a strong feedback culture.
• Organizations providing employees with a set list of skills to assess
themselves against.
Option 2
• Employees submit a skills self-assessment to their manager.
• Managers create a final rating based on the employee’s self-
assessment and their own observations of the employee’s skills.
• Formal assessments are used for certain skills when valuable.
Use case:
• Organizations that are using skills inventories as an input for talent
management program decisions, such as succession planning.
If pursuing this option, ensure managers connect back with
employees about any change in ratings. This is especially critical
if employees have access to their skill profile.
Due to its resource-intensiveness, it is unrealistic to formally assess
Tip for all skills included in the inventory. Only use formal assessments
for skills where it would add value.
McLean & Company | 16
Integrate the skills inventory
Refer to the purpose to identify where the skills inventory needs to be integrated. For example:

Use the skills inventory to identify skills gaps and determine what the best approach is to address them
Workforce Planning
(i.e. build, buy, or borrow).

If developing employees is not an option, the organization’s TA strategy needs to focus more on buying or
Talent Acquisition (TA) borrowing talent. This will impact the TA process, such as sourcing and screening, which will need to be
updated to reflect the in-demand skills.

Determine whether to update core and functional competencies to include language around skills
Competencies
identified as organizational gaps or development areas.

Succession Planning
Business Continuity
Planning
Leverage the skills inventory to gain information on required skills for critical roles, the employees who
have the required skills, and any skills gaps that need to be focused on to prepare employees for critical
roles.
Review business continuity planning processes to incorporate the use of a skills inventory in identifying
where employees can be redeployed in a crisis/disruption.

Build L&D activities to support skill development based on employee proficiency levels, development
Learning & Development
goals, and career aspirations.

“
The evidence of knowing is doing. The real value of a skills inventory isn’t just identifying
employee skills, but applying that information to support organizational priorities and
personalized development.
– Mike Kritzman, Founder & CEO, SkillNet Software
” McLean & Company | 17
Maintain the skills inventory
Determine who is responsible for
updating the skills inventory
• Skills inventories can be maintained
by managers (who update their direct
reports’ profiles), employees (who
update their own profiles), or a
dedicated resource (who gathers skill
assessments from managers/employees
to input into the tool).
• The platform and technology used will
impact this decision.
Outline employee and manager
accountabilities, including who is
responsible for assessing skills
and updating the skills inventory.
McLean & Company Insight
One of the greatest challenges of a skills
inventory is maintaining it with updated
data. Without doing so, the extensive
investment of the skills inventory will
provide minimal return.
Establish a cadence to update the skills Provide relevant stakeholders with information and resources
inventory on using the skills inventory
The cadence will depend on the technology • Communicate the “what’s in it for me” to stakeholders to
and skill collection approach. encourage adoption rates. Explain the benefits of using a
• If employees have access to update their skills inventory generally and individually.
own skill profiles, encourage them to • For example, an employee may benefit from updating
update their skills on a regular basis. their skill profile as profiles will be used to assign
• However, if managers are responsible for project teams.
updating employee skills, align the • Communicate the purpose of the technology and what
cadence with other milestones (e.g. programs it will inform (e.g. succession planning). Ensure
quarterly/twice yearly performance owners of those programs understand how to use the
reviews) to encourage compliance. technology in their work processes.
Ultimately, if the technology and skill • Outline the functionalities of the skills inventory tool to
collection approach enables it, update relevant stakeholders.
skills on an ongoing basis. At a minimum, • Provide training on how to use the new technology to
update skills yearly. relevant stakeholders based on defined accountabilities.
• Set a cadence to review the skills inventory goals and metrics.
• Evaluate whether the skills inventory is fulfilling its purpose based on the
progress of the goals and metrics.
Track the success of • If the skills inventory is not fulfilling the goals and purpose, determine the
the skills inventory root of the problem (e.g. difficulty updating skills leads to a lack of
relevance and value, alternative technology capabilities are required,
additional training is needed). McLean & Company | 18
Appendix I: Sample functional requirements
The following is a non-exhaustive list of possible skills inventory functional requirements
Unlimited skill profiles
Unlimited skills tracked per profile
Self-assessment capability
Management validation capability
Formal assessment integration
Employee access to edit own skill profiles
Employee access to other employees’ skill profiles
Skill search ability
Skill endorsements from other employees
Skill suggestions based on inputted skills
Skill inference based on performance reviews, job descriptions, L&D
participation, resumes, alternative information sources (e.g. LinkedIn,
internal communication software, document sharing platform), etc.
Profile filtering based on proficiency levels
Integration with calendars to identify availability of employees who have
certain skills and proficiency levels
Employee identification of desired skills and proficiency levels
Recommendations for L&D opportunities based on skills
Identification of desired career path, resulting in skill and L&D
recommendations
Team composition/project assignment suggestions based on skills and project
demands
Advertise internal work opportunities (i.e. assignments) to employees with
relevant skills
Skill supply and demand analysis to inform skill gaps and workforce
planning
Mentor and coaching matching according to skills and desired career paths
Content integration from other learning platforms
Benchmarking information to inform skill analysis
Employee’s interest level in developing skills incorporated into L&D
recommendations
McLean & Company | 19
Appendix II: McLean & Company Trends Survey Report – skills
inventory data

Count Percentage
Employees self-rate their skills 189 42%
Managers rate employees’ skills 241 54%
Employees’ skills are evaluated using formal assessments 152 34%
What are you doing
to create a skills Maintaining employee profiles in our HRIS/HCM system of record 133 30%
inventory? Maintaining employee profiles in specialized software 51 11%
(select all that apply)
Maintaining employee profiles in Excel or other homegrown solution 51 11%
Leveraging public employee profiles, e.g. LinkedIn 25 6%
We’re not creating a skills inventory 142 32%

McLean & Company Trends Survey Report, 2020; N=446

McLean & Company | 20

Appendix III:
Sample vendor list
• AG5 • iCombine
• Avilar • Paddle
• Degreed • SkillNet
• EdCast • Skills Base
• Eightfold AI • Starmind
• Fuel50 • Trailhead (by
Salesforce)
McLean & Company does not • Gloat
recommend any vendor or technology • Workday Skills Cloud
over another. Vendors listed are for • Ibbaka Talent
information purposes only. This is not
an exhaustive list.

McLean & Company | 21

Appendix IV: General skill proficiency level descriptions

Level General Skill Proficiency Descriptions

Level 1 Novice: Limited application of the skill

Level 2 Intermediate: Practical application of the skill

Level 3 Proficient: Advanced application of the skill

Level 4 Expert: Advises, coaches, or trains on the application of the skill

McLean & Company | 22


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resources and company management teams, creating complete solutions that supply the tools you
need to get each project done right.

McLean & Company analysts bring real-world experience to the table and apply their knowledge
Las Vegas, NV
to solving the challenges faced by our clients on a daily basis. This process is informed by the 3960 Howard Hughes
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McLean & Company | 24

McLean & Company offers various levels of
support to best suit your needs

Guided Implementation
DIY Toolkit
“Our team has already made this “Our team knows that we need to
critical project a priority, and we fix a process, but we need
have the time and capability, but assistance to determine where to
some guidance along the way focus. Some check-ins along the
would be helpful.” way would help keep us on
track.”
Workshop
“We need to hit the ground
running and get this project
kicked off immediately. Our
team has the ability to take this
over once we get a framework
and strategy in place.”
Consulting
“Our team does not have the time
or the knowledge to take this
project on. We need assistance
through the entirety of this
project.”

Diagnostics and consistent frameworks are used throughout all four options.

McLean & Company | 25

Research Contributors and
Experts
Lisa Highfield David Piazza
Research Director, Enterprise Applications President
Info-Tech Research Group SoftwareReviews

Mike Kritzman Patrick Whelan

CEO & Founder CEO & Co-founder
SkillNet Paddle

Carlene McCubbin
Research Director, Leadership & Organizational
Transformation
Info-Tech Research Group

McLean & Company | 26

Works Cited

“Beyond hiring: How companies are reskilling to address talent gaps.”

McKinsey, Jan. 2020. Web.
Exley, Christine L., and Judd B. Kessler. “The Gender Gap in Self-
Promotion.” National Bureau of Economic Research, Oct. 2019. Web.
“The Future of Jobs Report 2020.” World Economic Forum, 20 Oct. 2020.
Web.
“The State of Skills 2021: Endangered.” Degreed, 2021. Web.

McLean & Company | 27

 McLean & Company is a research and advisory firm that provides practical
solutions to human resources challenges with executable research, tools, and
advice that will have a clear and measurable impact on your business.
© 1997-2021 McLean & Company is a division of Info-Tech Research
Group Inc.