Skills Matrix
See your team's capabilities at a glance and spot training gaps before they cause problems
The Skills Matrix shows you a grid of your team's capabilities. Each staff member is a row, each skill is a column, and the cells show competency levels using a colour-coded heatmap. You can spot training gaps, expiry risks, and single points of failure at a glance.
Skills Matrix grid showing competency levels by staff member and skill
This article refers to a live TurfWise screen. Media is omitted here so the written steps stay current across releases.
What this page does
The Skills Matrix displays every staff member against every skill tracked in your organisation. Each cell shows a competency level from 1 (lowest, red) to 5 (highest, green), or a dash if no level is recorded. Expired qualifications show as "E" on a dark background.
You can search, filter, and edit skill levels directly in the grid. The page also highlights gaps where someone's current level is below the required level for a skill.
When would you use this?
- You're planning the weekly rota and need to know who can operate specific machinery
- A qualification is about to expire and you need to arrange training
- You've just completed training and need to update someone's competency level
- You're checking whether specialist tasks have at least two competent people (to avoid single points of failure)
- You need to export the matrix for a committee or compliance meeting
How to read the matrix
Open the Skills Matrix
Go to Work > Staff, then click Skills Matrix in the navigation bar. Or open /skills-matrix directly.
Understand the colour coding
Each cell is colour-coded by competency level:
- Red (1) -- basic awareness only
- Orange (2) -- limited competence
- Yellow (3) -- competent
- Light green (4) -- proficient
- Green (5) -- expert
- Dark/E -- expired qualification
- Dash (-) -- no data recorded
Look for red dots
A small red dot in the corner of a cell means there's a gap between the person's current level and the required level for that skill. These are your priority training areas.
Search and filter
Use the search box to find specific staff or skills. Filter by category (technical, safety, management, equipment) to focus on one area at a time.
How to update a skill level
You can edit skill levels directly in the grid. Click on a cell to open the edit view, set the new level, and save. The change takes effect immediately.
You can also update skills from individual staff profiles under the Skills tab.
Update skills on the day training completes
Don't wait until month-end. If someone finishes chainsaw training on Tuesday, update their level on Tuesday. Waiting creates a window where planning might assign them work they aren't recorded as competent for.
What happens when you update the matrix?
When you change a skill level:
- The grid updates immediately with the new colour
- Gap indicators recalculate
- The staff member's profile reflects the change under their Skills tab
- Planning tools can see the updated competency when you're assigning work
How to spot and fix common risks
Single points of failure
Look for skills where only one cell in the column is green. That means only one person can do that task. If they're off sick or on leave, you're stuck.
Expiry risk
Look for cells showing "E" (expired). Then check the Qualifications tab on that person's profile to see the expiry date and arrange renewal.
Cluster gaps
If an entire column is mostly red or dashes, you have a team-wide training need. Prioritise it before it causes operational problems.
Exporting the matrix
Use the export function to download the current matrix view. This is useful for committee meetings, compliance evidence, or sharing with training providers.
Common problems and fixes
- Grid looks empty -- skills need to be set up in your organisation and assigned to staff. If no skills are configured, the grid will be blank.
- Can't edit a cell -- check your user role. Editing may be restricted to managers and above.
- Expired qualifications still showing old levels -- an expired qualification overrides the competency level with "E". Renew the qualification on the staff profile to restore it.
- Too many skills to read on screen -- use category filters to narrow down to one area at a time.
Good habits that prevent issues later
- Review the full matrix monthly, not just when someone asks
- Make sure safety-critical skills always have at least two competent people
- Schedule qualification renewals before the expiry date, not after
- Keep skill and certificate names consistent -- avoid duplicates like "Chainsaw" and "Chain Saw"
- After any training day, update the matrix before the end of that working day
Where does this data go?
The Skills Matrix data is shared with individual staff profiles (Skills tab). It also influences planning decisions when you're assigning work that requires specific competencies. Committee and compliance reports can reference skills data.
Where to find it
Open Work > Staff, then click Skills Matrix in the navigation bar (direct link: /skills-matrix).