Skills Tracking
I need a person that has Project Management skills, can handle budget preparation, and who has excellent people skills. We have hundreds of employees...how can I find this person? Sound familiar? You need help!
TrackStar Skills Tracker is a comprehensive and affordable system for managing and tracking employee skills and job requirements. Using TrackStar, managing skills is fast, easy and accurate. The system is 100% web based, and can be deployed as an in-house solution, or hosted by Internal Systems. Either way, all you need is a browser to run the software!
You will use the Skills Tracker system to create a master list of skills that are meaningful to your company. You also define standard skill levels and categories that are used throughout the system. Once built, employees use the system to assess their skills against the master list. Managers use the system to review skills submissions, and to make adjustments where necessary. Managers also have the ability to specify a required skill level when doing approvals. For example, an employee might rate themself as being proficient at "negotiating", and the manager might agree with that assessment. But, the manager might also specify that the employee needs to be an expert, thereby defining a skill gap. Gap reports are useful for training, employee development, and other purposes.
Once skills have been entered and approved, the database can be used in multiple ways. The system includes skills search and compare tools that are used by both employees and managers. Complex searches can be named and saved for future use, and workflow tools facilitate requesting of resources outside your domain. The reporting system provides numerous reports, which are useful to management in performing employee assessments, determining training needs, etc. While many common reports are provided, TrackStar has a built-in report writer that can be used to develop custom reports should you need them.
In addition to managing skills, the software also tracks and manages job profiles. For example, you can define standard jobs, and then identify skill levels required to qualify. Employees can test their skills against standard jobs, to see what they are qualified for, and to identify areas for development when deficienies exist. The system also helps you to identify job requirements enterprise wide, which is very useful when budgeting, or planning for training and HR development. This unique set of capabilities can enhance any large organization's ability to understand, develop and utilize their workforce!
TrackStar Skills Tracker can be used as a stand alone solution, or can be integrated into a more robust PTO, Time, Expense and Project Tracking system. ISC makes it easy to add additional modules or users later. A link at the bottom of this page will take you to other product description pages.
The sections that follow describe features of TrackStar Skills Tracker, and show sample screens to help you understand its’ capabilities.
Getting Started Creating the Skills Database Defining Skill Levels Defining Skill Lists Creating the Jobs Database Performing a Skills Assessment Requesting a New Skill Uploading your Resume Approving Skill Sheets Skill Sheet Changes Searching for Skills Viewing Employee or Manager Information Requesting a Resource Comparing Employee Skills to Jobs Comparing one Employee to Another Skill Dashboard Defining Job Requirements Email Notifications Reporting - Skills Matrix Reporting - Skills Analysis Administration Tools Outstanding Support Skills Tracking Software Attributes Skills Tracking Software Features Technology Benefits/Justification Licensing Options TrackStar Pricing Next Steps
You access TrackStar by clicking on a browser link. The system provides multiple levels of security and encryption, so your data is safe and secure.
Each employee logs on to TrackStar using their unique ID and password. Once signed on, a menu system is presented that reflects the capabilities that have been granted each user. Though simple to use, multiple levels of help are provided to assist users if needed.
Every organization has skills that are unique to its business. TrackStar provides a maintenance tool that facilitates import, entry and editing of the skills database. You can define as few or as many skills as needed. Each skill can include a detailed description, which might contain information pertaining to the levels. For example, the description field might be used to define “what is an expert”, versus “what is proficient”. The system also provides tools to define skill categories, such as “Technical” or “Administrative”. These categories are used throughout to simplify assessments and approvals.
The system administrator will setup skill levels that are used during assessment. Skill levels are used by employees to describe their level of proficiency at each skill defined. The value field is used to assign a numeric value to each level, which is used for comparisons and analysis.
When defining skill levels, it is possible to group levels into sets that can then be used in Skills Maintenance to specify which levels are used with which skill. One skill might use "Expert" and "Proficient", while another might use "Yes" and "No".
Skill Lists can be created making a named subset of the master skills list. Once a subset has been created, the list can be assigned to one or more employees. This allows you to tailor the skills that each employee sees. For example, the "IT List" might contain skills that pertain to Information Systems professionals, while the "Production List" might contain skills for warehouse people.
When employees perform assessments, they only see skills relevant to them.
TrackStar includes a job tracking facility as part of the Skills Tracking module. You use the system to define jobs, which may mimic the job classifications or positions used by your organization. Each job contains a detailed description, various category and filing codes, and a skills profile. The administrator (or an HR manager) would typically enter a job profile, and then associate skills and levels.
Employees perform a periodic assessment of their skills, by simply reviewing the skills list and choosing their proficiency level for each one. Once a skills “sheet” has been completed by an employee, it can be submitted to a manager for approval.
Skills are organized into categories to make assessments fast and easy. You can update previous sheets with only ratings that have changes. Assessments can be done in minutes!
When performing assessments, employees sometimes discover that a skill that they think should be in the database is not there. A workflow is provided so that employees can request a skill be added. Clicking the Request New Skill link creates an email request that will be sent to the system administrator. The email is pre-filled with employee information to help the administrator evaluate the request.
The skills database can also be used to store employee resumes. When stored, managers can search resumes for key words or phrases when looking for a given set of skills. The system can be configured to allow employees to upload their own resume from a local file. Once stored, the resume can be edited, viewed and searched. Employees can also be granted the ability to upload their picture which can be used to identify employees when doing searches.
Managers are automatically notified through email when skill sheets are submitted, which indicate the need to log on and perform approvals. Managers performing approvals have the option to override employee assessments. For example, if the employee entered “Expert” as a level for a skill, the manager could override this selection and set the approved level to “Proficient”. Reports and queries in the system are based upon the approved levels.
When performing approvals, managers have the option to override skill levels entered by employees. A workflow is provided to assist in communicating these changes to the employee. Clicking the Send Override Email link opens an email form that lists the skills that were changed. The manager can then type in the reasons for the changes, and click Send to complete the process.
An employee search tool is provided to find people with needed skills or other attributes. For example, you could search for employees that are “Proficient” in “Project Management”, and “Expert” in “Customer Communications”, and work in "New York". The tool can be used to generate simple or very complex queries. You may also include department and location values into queries, to make your searches location dependent.
In addition to structured queries, you can also search employee resumes for key words or phrases. User defined fields can be added to the skills database, and can be searched as well.
Once a search has been done, you can view information about the employee or the employee's manager with a simple click. The detail view shows relevant information about the employee or manager, and includes a picture if one is available.
A workflow is provided to facilitate requesting of resources through the Skills Tracking system. After performing a search, clicking the Request Resource link generates an email window with the pertinent information pre-filled. You simply complete the email, and click Send to make the resource request.
This workflow helps managers request the resources of other managers in the skills system.
The Skills Comparision tool is an option that can be enabled by the System Administrator.
Employees use the compare tool to compare their current skills to job requirements. They can determine if they are qualified for different jobs, and see any skill deficiencies they may have.
Managers have access to the employee compare tool. They can compare any employee to any other employee or job. Using filters, the manager can quickly see where levels are different or deficient. This tool can assist managers when doing employee evaluations, or employee development planning.
A Skill Dashboard tool is provided that allows the operator to view statistics about any skill. Once a skill is selected. a database analysis is performed and statistics are shown. You can obtain lists of people, jobs and locations using this tool. It complements the Skills Search tool described previously.
The Job Requirements tool is used to specify how many of each type of job are needed by department. When you select a department, the form allows for entry of the number of positions needed. You can enter the current count, a minimum count, and a future count which usually refers to the next planning period. The summary view (shown) shows the company wide totals. This information feeds the reporting system, and is used to determine skills and job needs enterprise wide.
TrackStar integrates with your existing email system to keep managers and employees informed. Whenever approvals are pending, managers receive email messages indicating there are requests for them to review. This feature keeps managers aware of requests needing their attention, and helps keep data up to date and accurate. Flooded with emails? Don’t worry. This is a configurable feature.
Numerous reports are included in the Skills Tracking module to analyze and use skills information. All reports are exportable to Excel, where they can be further manipulated, distributed, or archived. Reports can also be scheduled to run on planned intervals, and are delivered via email to specified recipients.
This report shows the skill levels for each skill. A column is included for each level defined, and the number of people with the corresponding rating displayed. Use this report to view your overall competency for each skill defined in the system.
TrackStar includes a robust set of administration tools to help you configure and tailor the system. You use the admin tools to load and maintain employee, department, skill, and various other data tables in the system. It also includes a scheduling tool that can be used to generate background jobs or tasks, such as data extracts and reports. For example, you can setup a job to email a reminder to employees who haven't updated their skills in the last month.
Tool
Use
Department Maintenance
Used to define your company's organizational structure.
Employee Maintenance
Used to enter and maintain the employees who use the software.
Report Maintenance
Used to create custom reports.
Schedule Maintenance
Used to setup jobs to run at preset intervals.
Security Maintenance
Used to define employee access to system functions.
System Preferences Maintenance
Used to setup operational preferences.
User Field Maintenance
Used to define custom fields to extend TrackStar.
User Code Maintenance
Used to enter coded fields for choice lists.
ISC provides world-class support for its software. When you have a question or problem, our staff provides the answers you need, when you need them. For ASP customers, the support fees are built-in to the monthly fee. This includes updates, bug fixes, and periodic enhancements. For in-house customers, our support plan is required in the first year and optional thereafter.
TrackStar is built using the latest Microsoft .Net technology. For in-house installs, it requires a Windows based server, with IIS and SQL Server. For ASP installs, the only thing required is a browser!
TrackStar Skills Tracker is priced on a per Active user basis. An active user is one who has been entered in to the software and has the ability to log on. Employees who terminate can be marked inactive, and no longer consume one of your licenses.
A small number of administrative licenses are needed to perform setup and maintenance. Admin licenses are priced separately from Skills Tracker licenses.
Sample Pricing
SkillUsers
Monthly ASP Price
One Time In-house Price
100
$174
n/a
250
$400
$10,089
500
$744
$18,585
A one-time setup fee of $1,000 is required for all configurations.
All prices are subject to change without notice. Please ask for a quote on your specific configuration. In-house price includes first year annual support.
1. Fill out an information request form by following the Request Information link. A sales representative will contact you and can provide additional information, and pricing specific to your configuration.
2. Request demonstration access so you can experience the system first hand. ISC will guide you through the system, and point out its features and capabilities.
3. Confirm configuration, pricing and obtain approvals.
4. Review and execute our standard ASP or License agreement.
5. Begin using TrackStar!
ISC makes getting started fast and easy. A complete planning guide is provided to assist you with your data collection and policy definition tasks. Once information has been gathered, you use the administration functions of TrackStar to enter/import data. Excel templates are provided to help you organize your data and to simplify import. You can be up-and-running in a few days!
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