Hire, move and develop people on skills, with a matrix, fair methods and records you can defend
For HR business partners, talent leads and operations managers: a 30-sheet workbook, 5 fillable forms, brand-ready templates and an e-book that follows one 500-person Belfast operations centre through a 12-week pilot.
- A 30-sheet workbook: 0-4 maturity self-assessment, skills library, team matrix, gap heat map, degree review, selection-rate checks, gigs and a dashboard with five charts
- 5 fillable forms: role skills profile and degree test, structured interview guide, work sample design, skills check-in and AI tool assessment
- Brand-ready job description templates, 5 policy and procedure starters, a decision memo and 32 messages and scripts
- A business case calculator with the low case first, 26 AI prompts, a 45-minute briefing and a 14-question LMS-ready knowledge check
The Skills Matrix and Skills-Based Hiring Kit · Bodhih Pro Kits · 333 by Bodhih Training, trainers to 2,000+ companies since 2008.
How do you move to skills-based hiring?
Build a small skills library with one 0-4 scale, rate teams and read the gap heat map, rewrite roles on must-have and trainable skills, test every degree requirement, hire with work samples and structured interviews, and check selection rates at each stage. Bodhih Training's Skills Matrix and Skills-Based Hiring Kit gives you the files for each step.
Want the full free guide first? Read How to build a skills matrix and start skills-based hiring.
You already feel the problem. Here is what it is costing you.
Adverts nobody can explain
Degree and years requirements copied from old templates turn good people away, and no one can say why they are there.
No picture of the skills you have
Every gap is a surprise. You find out a skill depends on one person when that person resigns.
Interviews that test confidence, not skills
Unstructured chats reward people who remind interviewers of themselves, and nobody checks who gets through each stage.
AI features switched on by default
Your systems now rank applicants and infer skills. You are not sure what they do, whether they are fair or what the law says.
Picture the next few weeks with the kit open beside you.
Imagine week 12. You open the Dashboard and read, in numbers and colours, how mature your practice is, which skills depend on one person, how many degree requirements have gone and what every selection-rate check showed. You know exactly what to say to your sponsor.
As you print the pilot review, you notice something: every decision has a record. Why each requirement stayed or went. How each candidate was assessed. What you checked when a ratio flagged, and what you changed.
When a manager next asks for 'a degree, obviously', open the Role Skills Profile worksheet and run the necessity test together. It takes ten minutes, and the answer is written down.
Whether you start with the Self-assessment tonight or the Degree review at Monday's meeting, the Start-here map tells you which file to open next.
23 files that do the work for you
The e-book shows you how. The tools make it happen. Here is exactly what you download.
The Skills Matrix and Skills-Based Hiring Kit (e-book, PDF)
The guide: methods, worked examples, scripts and exercises
Start here: skills-based talent map
The job in nine steps with the file for each, your first hour, your first week, a 30/60/90-day plan, the 'Brand it in five minutes' box and what is in the kit.
Skills-Based Talent Workbook
30-sheet workbook: Settings, 0-4 maturity self-assessment with ranked gap plan, skills library, proficiency scale, role profiles, team skills matrix, gap heat map, coverage and depth, degree review, hiring funnel, campaign log, selection-rate monitoring, gig marketplace, upskilling plans, AI tools register, decision log, rollout trend, RACI, roadmap, crosswalk, sources, glossary, What changed and a dashboard with five charts and traffic lights.
Skills-Based Hiring Business Case Calculator
Five-sheet calculator: your estimates and quotes, year 1 and year 2 costs, benefit and net position in low, expected and high cases (low case first) and a dashboard with three charts.
Role skills profile and degree review worksheet
Three-page fillable worksheet for a 45-minute job analysis with the hiring manager: the work itself, must-have and trainable skills with levels and how each is assessed, and the degree necessity test with a recorded decision.
Structured skills interview guide and scoresheet
Four-page fillable guide: interview plan with the skills and questions, anchored 1-5 rating scales for each question, an independent scoresheet for each interviewer and the panel wash-up with the decision and adjustments record.
Work sample design and scoring form
Three-page fillable form for building a short, job-related work sample: the real task it mirrors, timing, adjustments and fairness checks, a scoring rubric, and a scoring record with a second marker.
Skills check-in and development plan
Three-page fillable form for the twice-yearly skills conversation: employee and manager ratings with evidence, how disagreements are settled, a 70-20-10 development plan and gig interests, with the employee's data notice.
AI talent tool assessment form
Three-page fillable assessment for any AI tool that sorts, scores, infers skills or recommends in hiring, mobility or development: what it does and how much it influences decisions, evidence of accuracy and fairness, notices by market, human review, data protection and the decision.
Skills-based job description templates
Brand-ready template for skills-based job descriptions and adverts (the work, day-one skills with how each is assessed, trainable skills, what you do not need, how we select, adjustments and AI-use lines), an advert checklist and three filled examples.
Skills-based talent policy and procedure starters
Five brand-ready starters: skills data governance policy, fair selection procedure, internal mobility and gig marketplace procedure, AI in talent decisions standard and skills rating challenge procedure, each with owner, rules and the records it creates.
Leadership sign-off and decision memo
Brand-ready three-part memo: Part 1 the pilot decision with options, limits and the honest business case; Part 2 the week-12 pilot review and scale-up decision with ten checks; Part 3 the yearly review questions.
Skills-based talent message library
32 ready-to-edit emails, chat messages, calendar invites, notices and scripts for sponsors, employee representatives, managers, employees, gig applicants, candidates, AI vendors and data protection, including hard moments.
Worked example pack: Larkfield, Belfast
The kit's main records filled in for one realistic composite case: decision memo, self-assessment, skills library, team matrix and heat map, degree review, pilot campaign, selection-rate check, gigs and upskilling, AI register and the week-12 pilot review.
AI prompt pack for skills-based talent work
26 tool-agnostic prompts grouped by step (taxonomy, role profiles and adverts, interviews and work samples, fairness, mobility and upskilling, governance and communication), each with what to paste in, the prompt and what to check, plus human-review rules.
Team briefing session plan and answer key
A 45-minute briefing for managers, interviewers and HR in seven timed segments with materials and facilitator notes, plus the printable answer key for the 14-question knowledge check.
Skills-based talent knowledge check (LMS-ready)
14 scenario questions with four options, the correct letter and an explanation; imports into Bodhih LMS or any LMS that accepts CSV quizzes.
Numbers that matter: skills-based talent KPI card
14 numbers with plain-words definition, formula, where each lives in the workbook and what to do when it moves, plus a flow mini-infographic.
Decision card and mistakes to avoid
Eleven 'if this, do that' decisions with the file to open, the path in one line and fifteen mistakes with what to do instead.
Interviewer and proficiency scale card
The 0-4 scale, five rating errors and their fixes, structured interview and work sample rules, an interview flow mini-infographic and sample questions.
Fair hiring and skills rules by market (November 2026)
Dated sheet: fair hiring and AI-in-hiring rules for the US (federal, NYC, Illinois, Colorado, California), Canada and Ontario, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the EU, Australia and New Zealand; open skills frameworks and their reuse terms; the research the book cites.
Skills-based talent pilot and first-year calendar
22 calendar events: twelve weekly pilot meetings, calibration, interviewer training, the pilot review, quarterly checks, the six-month re-rate, the scale-up checkpoint and the yearly review.
Skills-based talent task board (CSV import)
39 tasks with phase, owner role, start and due week, labels and the kit file to use; imports into Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira.
Chapter by chapter
Each chapter opens with a real situation, gives you a method and ends with something to do today, using the tools in your kit.
- Format
- PDF e-book + XLSX + fillable PDF + DOCX + printable PDF + ICS + CSV
- Files
- 23 files plus a one-click ZIP
- E-book
- 74 pages
- Works with
- Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers, LibreOffice, Word, Google Docs, Acrobat Reader, Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner, Jira, Bodhih LMS and most LMS quiz importers
- Best for
- Teams, sites and organisations of about 50 to 5,000 people moving to skills-based talent practice
Why skills, and what changes
Why proxies such as degrees and years are blunt, what the research says about structured, job-related methods, and what changes on Monday.
Where you stand, and the case for change
A 0-4 maturity self-assessment of 24 practices, a ranked gap plan and an honest business case with the low case first.
A skills library you can keep
A small skills library in your own words, checked against ESCO, O*NET, SFIA and national frameworks, with one 0-4 scale.
The team skills matrix and gap heat map
Rating a team fairly, calibration, the gap heat map, coverage, depth and key-person risk.
Roles without the proxies
Skills-based role profiles, must-have versus trainable skills, the degree necessity test and skills-based adverts.
Structured interviews and work samples
Work samples and structured interviews with anchored scales, built and trialled for fairness.
Fair selection and the law
Selection-rate monitoring and impact ratios, reading flags and small numbers, and the law by market, including Northern Ireland.
Internal moves and gigs
Internal-first vacancies and a gig marketplace that turns red cells into useful work.
Building skills that stick
Upskilling plans from the heat map, mostly on the job, done when the new level is seen at work.
Skills data and AI tools
Skills data governance, AI skills inference cautions, decision-influence levels and the AI tools register.
Not just reading. Tools you will actually open again.
Start here
- 00-Start-Here-Skills-Based-Talent-Map.pdf: the job in nine steps with the file for each, your first hour, your first week, a 30/60/90-day plan and the 'Brand it in five minutes' box
Workbooks
- Skills-Based-Talent-Workbook.xlsx: 30 sheets including Settings, 0-4 self-assessment, ranked gap plan, skills library, proficiency scale, role profiles, team matrix, gap heat map, skill coverage, degree review, hiring funnel, campaign log, selection rates, gig marketplace, upskilling plans, AI tools register, decision log, RACI, roadmap, crosswalk, sources, glossary, What changed and a dashboard with five charts and traffic lights
- Skills-Based-Hiring-Business-Case-Calculator.xlsx: 5 sheets setting the cost of doing nothing against the cost and benefit of doing it in low, expected and high cases, low case first
Fillable forms
- Role-Skills-Profile-and-Degree-Review-Worksheet.pdf: job analysis, must-have and trainable skills, and the degree necessity test
- Structured-Skills-Interview-Guide-and-Scoresheet.pdf: plan, anchored scales, independent scoresheet and panel decision
- Work-Sample-Design-and-Scoring-Form.pdf: task design, fairness checks, rubric and second-marker record
- Skills-Check-In-and-Development-Plan.pdf: employee and manager ratings, 70-20-10 plan and the data notice
- AI-Talent-Tool-Assessment-Form.pdf: influence level, evidence, notices by market, human review and decision
Word templates
- Skills-Based-Job-Description-Templates.docx: template, advert checklist and three filled examples
- Skills-Based-Talent-Policy-and-Procedure-Starters.docx: skills data governance, fair selection, internal mobility and gigs, AI in talent decisions and rating challenges
- Leadership-Sign-Off-and-Decision-Memo.docx: pilot decision, week-12 review with ten checks and yearly review
- Skills-Based-Talent-Message-Library.docx: 32 emails, chat messages, notices and scripts
- Worked-Example-Pack-Larkfield-Belfast.docx: the main records filled in for one composite case
- AI-Prompt-Pack-Skills-Based-Talent.docx: 26 prompts with what to paste in and what to check
- Team-Briefing-Session-Plan-and-Answer-Key.docx: 45-minute session plan and answer key
Cheat sheets
- Numbers-That-Matter-Skills-Based-Talent.pdf: 14 numbers with formulas and what to do when they move
- Skills-Based-Hiring-Decision-and-Mistakes-Cards.pdf: eleven decisions and fifteen mistakes to avoid
- Interviewer-and-Proficiency-Scale-Card.pdf: the 0-4 scale, rating errors, interview and work sample rules
- Fair-Hiring-and-Skills-Rules-by-Market-November-2026.pdf: dated rules for the US, Canada, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the EU, Australia and New Zealand, plus frameworks and research
LMS, calendar and import
- Skills-Based-Talent-Knowledge-Check.csv: 14 scenario questions for Bodhih LMS or any LMS
- Skills-Based-Talent-Pilot-Calendar.ics: 22 events for the pilot and first year
- Skills-Based-Talent-Task-Board.csv: 39 tasks for Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira
When you have worked through it, you will be able to…
Every outcome is practised with a worked example and a tool, not just described.
- Score your skills-based maturity honestly and work a gap plan ranked by formula
- Build a skills library and one proficiency scale people recognise
- Rate a team fairly and read coverage, depth and key-person risk from the heat map
- Rewrite role profiles and adverts on skills and record a decision on every degree requirement
- Design job-related work samples and structured interviews with anchored scales
- Check selection rates at every stage and record what you did about each flag
- Run an internal gig marketplace and upskilling plans from real gaps
- Register and assess AI tools and give employees a way to see and correct their skills data
Know your starting point. Prove your progress.
People who measure before and after improve faster and can show it. AssessAll, our sister assessment platform, has AI-graded assessments that pair with this kit. Take one now, work through the kit, then re-take it.
Training Needs Analysis Work Sample for Learning and Development Teams and Human Resource Business Partners
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentStrategic Workforce & Talent Planning
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentInformation Technology Competence Level Assessment for Role Placement and Team Capability Planning
Take the assessment →JobularySet goals you actually reach with the WOOP method (Jobulary)
Make it a growth plan →A taste of Chapter 4
After calibration on 19 February, the Payments Investigations team's coverage was 68%: of 140 person-skill ratings, 45 fell short of the role's requirement, adding up to 46 gap points across the team. Four skills carried key-person risk. Nobody was at level 3 or 4 in querying data (SQL), process improvement or coaching, and only the team leader was in stakeholder management. Querying data was the biggest gap: 8 of the 14 people were below their role's requirement, for 9 gap points. Written communication, by contrast, had ten people at level 3 or above, a strength Nadia had not appreciated. The decisions followed. SQL: build (a course plus a gig writing investigation queries) and borrow (an MI analyst for two months). Process improvement: a workshop and two gigs. Coaching: a workshop for senior analysts. Stakeholder management: watch. The newest analyst, PI-14, had the largest personal gap at 9 points, normal three months into the job.
The honest comparison
| Free templates and typical advice | This kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Skills library | A huge framework printout or a blank list | 36-skill sample library in plain words with framework references, owners and duplicate checks |
| Team matrix | Self-ratings in a spreadsheet | Employee and manager ratings, calibration, a calculated heat map, coverage and key-person risk |
| Degree requirements | Change 'required' to 'preferred' | A four-question necessity test with a recorded decision and approver for every role |
| Selection | CV sift and an unstructured chat | Work sample and structured interview with anchored scales and independent scoring |
| Fairness | Assumed | Selection rates and impact ratios at every stage, small-numbers flags and a decision log |
| Compared with a consultant or a skills platform | A consultant brings hands-on time; a platform automates data collection | The method, files and decision rules in one place; works alongside either, or on its own |
Made for you if…
- HR business partners asked to 'do skills-based hiring' with no method or budget
- Talent acquisition leads who want to drop needless degree requirements without lowering the bar
- Operations and team managers who need to see their team's skills and key-person risks
- L&D leads who want upskilling tied to real gaps
- People teams in the US, Canada, the UK and Northern Ireland, the EU, Australia and New Zealand
- Consultants who want a clear, brandable starting kit for a client (within the licence)
Probably not for you if…
- Anyone looking for legal advice: employment, discrimination and data protection law needs your adviser
- Organisations wanting a skills software platform: this is a method and toolkit that works with your existing systems
- Anyone wanting a validated psychometric test: the kit shows how to build job-related work samples, not licensed tests
- Anyone hoping for guaranteed savings, retention or performance gains: the kit measures, it does not promise
Built by trainers, tested in real rooms.
Bodhih Training has designed and delivered corporate programmes since 2008. Bodhih Pro Kits package what works in those workshops into a guide plus the exact tools we use, so you can apply it the same day without a facilitator in the room.
From here to using it in three steps
- STEP 1
Tap Get the kit
Name, email and country. UPI, card or netbanking in India; international cards everywhere else. No account to create.
- STEP 2
Download instantly
Your download page opens at once, with every file and a one-click ZIP. A permanent link lands in your inbox too.
- STEP 3
Open the first tool
Start with the quick-start chapter, then the main spreadsheet or planner. Most buyers use something from the kit the same day.
Your skills-based talent programme, in one place
Open the Start-here map and give it one hour. Whether you begin with the Self-assessment tonight or the Degree review at your next team meeting, you will know what to do next and which file to open.
Personal licence for the buyer's own use, including use within your own organisation and with its staff. Please don't share or resell the files. Team, company and consultant licences: solutions@bodhih.com.
What buyers say
No ratings yet. Only people who have bought this kit can rate it - every buyer gets a one-click rating link a couple of days after their purchase.
The Bodhih family, when you are ready for more
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Run product management end to end in a small or growing software or digital product team.
The Compensation and Salary Band Builder
Build a fair, market-based pay structure for a company of 20-1,000 people.
AssessAll
250+ AI-graded assessments to measure skills and earn verified credentials.
Jobulary
Individual development plans that start from evidence and stay yours.
Bodhih Training
Run this topic as a live workshop for your team, in person or online.
Pewple
Book a vetted coach for career, leadership or communication. Pay per session.
Bodhih.org pathways
Certification pathways in Applied AI, Workplace English and management.
The Skills Matrix and Skills-Based Hiring Kit: FAQs
Read the free guideAlready bought? Resend my linkWhat is skills-based hiring?
Making hiring decisions on direct evidence of the skills the job needs, such as a work sample and a structured interview, instead of proxies like degrees, job titles or years of experience. It does not remove regulatory or licensing requirements. The kit covers moves, development and data governance as well as hiring.
How do I build a skills matrix for my team?
Pick up to ten skills from a small library, agree the level each role needs, have each person and their manager rate on the same 0-4 scale, calibrate across managers, then read the gap heat map. The workbook does the calculations and flags skills that depend on one person.
Can I remove degree requirements without lowering the bar?
Yes, if you replace the degree with direct assessment of the skills it stood for. The kit's necessity test keeps requirements a rule imposes and records every decision. Changing 'required' to 'preferred' is not enough: the sift still favours the degree.
Is skills-based hiring legal in the UK, US and EU?
Assessing job-related skills fairly is generally consistent with discrimination law, but monitoring, positive action, AI tools and data protection rules differ by country, and Northern Ireland differs from Great Britain. The dated sheet covers the main rules at November 2026; check with your adviser.
What is the four-fifths rule, and should I use it outside the US?
It is a rule of thumb from the US Uniform Guidelines: a group's selection rate below 80% of the highest group's rate is generally treated as evidence of adverse impact. Many employers elsewhere use 0.8 as a review point. The workbook flags it, plus small groups, as a prompt to review the step, not a verdict.
Do I need a skills platform or AI tool to do this?
No. Everything runs in the workbook with your existing HR systems. If you buy a platform later, the kit helps you judge it, and the AI Talent Tool Assessment Form covers evidence, notices and human review before you switch anything on.
How long does it take?
The e-book's sample organisation ran a 12-week pilot in three job families, then scaled. Your first hour is mapped on the Start-here card; the 22-event calendar and task board turn the rest into dates.
Can I use this with my team?
Yes, within your own organisation under the personal licence: share the files with your managers and HR colleagues, run the 45-minute briefing and load the knowledge check into your LMS. Company-wide, multi-site and consultant licences are available via solutions@bodhih.com.
Does it work in my country?
The method works anywhere. The dated sheet and the workbook's Crosswalk cover the US (federal, NYC, Illinois, Colorado, California), Canada and Ontario, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the EU, Australia and New Zealand, with a note for India and the Gulf. Laws change: check the official sources listed and your adviser.
Will this reduce our hiring costs or turnover?
The kit does not promise savings, retention or performance gains. The Business Case Calculator shows low, expected and high cases from your own estimates, low case first, and the dashboard tracks what actually happens campaign by campaign.
How can I measure my team's starting point?
Alongside the kit's self-assessment, AssessAll offers the Training Needs Analysis Work Sample for L&D teams and HR business partners, the Strategic Workforce and Talent Planning assessment and the IT Competence Level Assessment for role placement and team capability planning, at assessall.com.
How do I turn a skills gap into a personal development plan?
Pick one red cell from your heat map and plan it with the WOOP method (wish, outcome, obstacle, plan); Jobulary explains it in its guide to setting goals you actually reach.
How much does The Skills Matrix and Skills-Based Hiring Kit cost?
₹1,499 including 18% GST for buyers in India, or $39 for buyers outside India. One-time payment, no subscription, with an automatic invoice.
How do I get the files after paying?
Instantly. Your download page opens the moment payment succeeds, and a permanent download link is emailed to you. Download each file separately or everything in one ZIP.
What software do I need?
Any of the usual tools: Excel or Google Sheets for spreadsheets, Word or Google Docs for templates, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview, Xodo or GoodNotes for the fillable PDFs, and Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar for the calendar plan.
Can I get a refund?
Because it is a digital download, kits are not refundable once downloaded. We always refund a duplicate charge or a failed delivery, and if a file is corrupted and we cannot fix it within 3 working days. Full terms: bodhih.org/refunds.
Can my company buy this for a team?
Yes. Team and company licences, and workshops on this topic run by Bodhih Training, are available. Write to solutions@bodhih.com or call +91 99000 11601.
