Skills Audit Checklist

Day 1, Scope & scale Mon

• Write the 10-line scope statement. Population (in / out), skill set (12-25 columns), time horizon (today or 12 months ahead), and decision purpose.
• Adopt the 0-5 scale. 0 No exposure · 1 Awareness · 2 Supervised · 3 Independent · 4 Proficient · 5 Expert / trains others.
• Write one-sentence descriptors per level, in your team's language. A "3" in CNC reads differently from a "3" in cybersecurity. Match the words.

Days 2-3, Gather ratings Tue, Wed

• Self-rating first. Each person rates themselves before they see the manager view. Reduces deference bias.
• Manager rating second. Each line manager rates without seeing the self-rating. Then both numbers placed side-by-side.
• 15-minute reconciliation on any cell that differs by > 1 level. Most reconciliations surface hidden capability or unspoken expectations, both gold.
• Date every cell. Without a date, the matrix decays into "what we thought once".

Day 4, Calibrate Thu

• Pick 3-4 skills rated by multiple managers. Compare the rating distributions side by side.
• Resolve drift by sharpening the descriptor, not by overruling the rater. Re-rate only where the descriptor genuinely changed.

Day 5, Read & plan Fri

• Read the heat-map. Scan columns for red zones, single points of failure, surplus capability. Don't scan rows for risk.
• Pick the three biggest gaps weighted by business impact. Priority = (gap size × impact) ÷ unit cost to close.
• Build a 90-day plan with named owners and dates. The plan is what the audit was for. Without it you've measured for sport.