Evaluating skills tells you where each employee stands against the level expected for their position. You can do this in three ways, and this guide explains each one, when to use it, and who can evaluate.
Note: Every assessment, wherever you make it, shows up as the latest result on the employee's profile. To see how skills appear there, read Viewing skills on employee profiles.
Choosing the right method
The three methods serve different moments. Use this to pick the one that fits what you're trying to do.
On the profile: best for a quick, individual assessment or a minor adjustment. A manager or HR evaluates one employee directly, with no workflow to set up.
In the new reviews (preferred for scale): best when you want to roll skill assessment out across the company, a department, or a subset of employees. HR can track who has completed it, and you can build richer conversations involving the employee, their manager, and peers. It runs as a dedicated skill assessment review, or inside the yearly performance review.
In 1-on-1 reviews (legacy): only if you're still using the legacy feature. The employee and their manager are always both involved.
Method | Best for | Who's involved | Scale |
On the profile | Quick checks and minor adjustments | Manager or HR | One employee |
New reviews | Rolling assessment out and tracking completion | Employee, manager, peers | Company, department, or subset |
1-on-1 reviews (legacy) | Legacy setups only | Employee and manager | Per review |
Method 1: Evaluate skills on employee profiles
Evaluating on the profile is the fastest way to assess a single employee, with no review to launch.
Before you begin
Make sure the following are in place:
The skills library is configured with proficiency scales.
Positions are created and assigned to employees.
The employee has an assigned position.
Manager evaluation permissions are configured, if you want managers to assess.
Accessing profile evaluations
Go to the People section.
Select the employee you want to evaluate.
Click the Skills section tab.
How skills are displayed
The skills shown on a profile come from the employee's assigned position and the skill mappings connected to it. For example, an employee assigned to "Junior Backend Developer" sees every skill from the mappings linked to that position.
Previously assessed skills for an employee can also be shown under the Other section.
Performing the evaluation
Find the skill you want to evaluate.
Click the assessment button when hovering over the skill, or select a level by clicking the leaf.
Choose the proficiency level.
The result saves automatically.
Reading the proficiency indicators
After you assess a skill, a color shows how the result compares to the expected level:
🟢 Green: above the expected proficiency.
🔵 Blue: at the expected proficiency.
🔴 Red: below the expected proficiency.
Tip: Consistent green across an employee's skills can signal readiness for a next step, and red highlights where to focus development.
Method 2: Evaluate skills in the new reviews
The new reviews are the preferred way to assess skills at scale. You can run a review across the whole company, a department, or a chosen group of employees, and HR can track who has completed it.
Skills are assessed using the skill assessment question, which automatically provisions the skills connected to each employee's position and the skills connected to their skill mappings. You can run this as a dedicated skill assessment review, or include it in your yearly performance review.
📌 Note: For how to set up a skill assessment question and run the review, see Assessing skills in reviews.
Method 3: Evaluate skills in 1-on-1 performance reviews (legacy)
Use this method only if you're still on the legacy skill assessment feature. It's being replaced by the new reviews, so new setups should use Method 2.
In this method, the employee and their manager are always both involved. Skills are assigned to employees in the skills library, then assessed inside the 1-on-1 review.
Assign the skill for review in the skills library.
Include a form template with a skill assessment question in the review.
Assess each skill during the review, then submit to save.
📌 Note: For how skill assignment works in the library, see Assigning skills to employees.
Who can evaluate skills
Who can assess a skill depends on the method and the person's role.
User type | On the profile* | In reviews | Scope |
HR | ✅ | If reviewer | All employees |
Group HR | ✅ | If reviewer | Within groups |
Manager | ✅ | If reviewer | Managed employees |
Employee | ❌ | ✅ (self-assessment, if enabled) | Self |
* You cannot assess yourself on the profile
In reviews, evaluation permissions follow the review configuration. The reviewer, usually the manager, can assess every skill in the review, and the employee can assess their own skills when self-assessment is enabled.
Best practices
Keep it consistent: write behavioral indicators and examples for each proficiency level, so different evaluators rate the same way.
Combine perspectives: pair manager evaluation with self-assessment to build awareness and buy-in.
Link to development: after assessing, identify skills below expectation and turn them into development plans with clear timelines.
Troubleshooting
No skills appear on the employee profile
No skills appear on the employee profile
Check that the employee has an assigned position, and that a published skill mapping is linked to it.
A manager can't evaluate skills
A manager can't evaluate skills
Confirm that manager evaluation is enabled in the permission settings.
A recent assessment isn't showing on the profile
A recent assessment isn't showing on the profile
The profile shows the latest assessment. If it looks out of date, refresh the page, and confirm the assessment was submitted rather than left in progress.
The proficiency scale doesn't match our needs
The proficiency scale doesn't match our needs
Edit the skill in the library to adjust its proficiency levels.