---
title: "What Is a Skills Map in SkillPanel?"
canonical: "https://help.skillpanel.com/space/TBG/2893479939/What%20Is%20a%20Skills%20Map%20in%20SkillPanel%3F"
format: markdown
---
The **Skills Map** in SkillPanel is a visual tool that helps supervisors and employees understand the company’s complete skill landscape — showing which skills exist, how strong they are, and where development is happening.

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### When to Use This

- You want to visualize the company’s overall skills coverage.
- You need to identify which areas are strong or need upskilling.
- You’re exploring team composition or planning training initiatives.
- You’re analyzing how individual expertise contributes to organizational goals.

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### Prerequisites

- Manager or admin access to **SkillPanel** (for full visibility).
- Updated skill assessments completed by employees.
- Skills already structured in the company’s **Skill Map hierarchy**.

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### Quick Start

1. Open the **Skills Map** tab in SkillPanel.
2. Use your mouse or trackpad to **zoom in/out** and **navigate** across skill areas.
3. Click on an **Area** to see its **Sub-areas** and **Skill Groups**.
4. Drill down further to view **individual skills**.
5. Click a skill to see average expertise, related skills, and employees who have it.

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### Detailed View

#### 1. Understanding the Map Visualization

- Each **dot** represents a skill or skill group.
- **Dot size** = the average level of expertise in that skill.
- **Dot darkness** = how many people possess that skill.

*Why this matters:* it gives you a live snapshot of where your organization’s capabilities are concentrated and where skill gaps exist.

#### 2. Exploring the Map

- You can freely **zoom** and **pan** to navigate different skill areas.
- Each level expands progressively:
  - **Area → Sub-area → Skill Group → Individual Skill**
- Selecting an area shows its **knowledge level breakdown** on the right side of the screen.

![image-20251007-131110.png](media://32de2596-3926-4786-a746-79a46632001b)

#### 3. Viewing Skill Details

Clicking on a specific skill opens a detailed view that includes:

- **Average Level of Knowledge:** aggregated from all employees with that skill.
- **Relations:** other competencies linked to the selected skill.
- **Employee List:** who possesses the skill, sorted from most to least experienced.
- **Learning Activity:** who is currently developing or improving that skill.
- **Recommendations:** a thumbs-up icon allowing users to suggest the skill as valuable for the team.

![image-20251007-131219.png](media://c582e5c2-8919-47f2-a252-8d30819f8a2e)

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### Use the Product to Go Faster / Safer / Clearer

| Step | Feature | Benefit | How? |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Zoom & Navigate | Interactive Skill Map | Instantly see organization-wide strengths and gaps | Scalable to company size |
| Skill Relations | Linked Competencies | Reveals dependencies between key skill areas | Visual network of related skills |
| Recommendations | Peer-Endorsed Learning | Highlights valuable skills to focus on | Collaborative skill validation |

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### Examples

**Example 1:**  
A manager reviews the Skills Map and sees that “Cloud Architecture” appears as a small, light dot — indicating few employees have it. They mark it as a priority for training next quarter.

**Example 2:**  
An employee clicks on “React” and sees they’re among the top-rated developers in that skill. They use this data to offer mentorship in the skill.

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### FAQ

**Q:** Who can see the full Skills Map?  
**A:** Managers and admins can view the complete map; employees see filtered views relevant to their skills.

**Q:** Can we add new skills directly from the map?  
**A:** No. New skills must be added through the skill management section.

**Q:** What do the colors and fills mean?  
**A:** Color intensity points to the number of people who have the skill; larger dots represent higher average skill level.