Skills Intelligence User Manual

In today’s fast-paced, skills-driven world, workforce planning and optimization are no longer optional—they’re mission-critical. That’s where our comprehensive Skills Intelligence User Manual comes in. This guide is crafted to help you harness the power of iMocha’s analytics platform to build a future-ready, agile workforce.

Whether you’re an HR Business Partner, L&D professional, Business Leader, or part of a Talent Management team, this blog walks you through how to leverage these insights to drive business outcomes. From navigating skill gaps to driving learning effectiveness and ensuring your organization is always one step ahead, this guide has you covered.

Dive in, explore each section, and unlock the full potential of your talent ecosystem.

TLDR: The iMocha Skills Intelligence User Manual guides HR, L&D, and business leaders in using its analytics platform to build a future-ready workforce. It details 36 reports across six categories (Workforce Planning, Talent Development, Talent Acquisition, DEI, Skills Insights, and Skills Data Management), addressing common challenges like skill gaps, limited visibility, and future readiness, to help organizations optimize talent and drive business outcomes.

Common Challenges Across the Organization

• Incomplete or Outdated Skills Data – Leading to missed opportunities and blind spots in decision-making.
• Limited Visibility on Critical Skills – Making it hard to see where business risks or gaps lie.
• Mismatch Between Skill Demand & Supply – Undermining agility and slowing innovation.
• Limited Future Readiness – Stalling progress in the face of AI, automation, and new market trends.
• Equity & Inclusion Challenges – Hindering efforts to build a truly inclusive, balanced workforce.

How iMocha’s Reports Solve These Challenges

• Complete and Validated Data – Build a reliable foundation for workforce decisions.
• Clear Visibility – See skills across every level, role, and region, so you can act with confidence.
• Alignment with Business Needs – Identify gaps and take proactive steps to fill them—through hiring, reskilling, or internal mobility.
• Future-Ready Workforce – Prepare your workforce for AI, automation, and evolving business demands.
• Equity and Balance – Support inclusive growth and a fair distribution of skills across the organization.

Each section in this manual is designed to guide you step by step through iMocha’s powerful reporting capabilities. Here’s what you can expect to gain from every section:

• Purpose of Each Report
  Understand how each report helps you solve workforce challenges and make better decisions.
• The Problems It Solves
  Connect the data and insights to the real-world challenges your teams face every day.
• The Business Value You Unlock
  Discover the impact these insights can have on your talent strategies, risk reduction, and future readiness.

Section 1: Workforce Planning and Optimization

A robust workforce planning and optimization strategy ensures your organization is always prepared for what’s next—whether that’s scaling for growth, navigating change, or seizing new opportunities. This section equips HRBPs, Talent Management teams, and business leaders with the insights they need to build a workforce that’s future ready.

These reports provide:

• Clear data on current skills and gaps
• Validation of skills for confident decision-making
• Insights to inform hiring, reskilling, and succession strategies
• Visibility on critical and emerging skills to de-risk the business

Each report within Workforce Planning is broken down for better understanding:

1. Skills Data Completeness Report

‍Purpose: Measures what percentage of employees have a complete, up-to-date skill profile, covering both inferred and validated data.

‍Business Impact:

• Identify data coverage gaps across teams and systems.
• Build a trusted foundation for workforce decisions.

2. Skills Validation Coverage Report

‍Purpose: Highlights the share of skills validated by human input versus AI inference.

‍Business Impact:

• Prioritize skill validation for high-stakes decisions.
• Improve confidence in workforce data for strategic planning.

3. Skills Inventory Report

‍Purpose: Comprehensive view of all skills inferred or validated across the organization—by employee, role, location, and proficiency.

‍Business Impact:

• Assess current capability at scale to inform future plans.
• Create a single source of truth for workforce skills.

4. Critical Skills Coverage Report

‍Purpose: Identifies critical business skills and assesses how widely they’re distributed across the workforce.

‍Business Impact:

• Pinpoint potential skill bottlenecks and single points of failure.
• Support strategic planning and de-risk key initiatives.

5. Skills Demand vs. Supply Report

‍Purpose: Compares current workforce skills to organizational demand (driven by roles, projects, or strategy).

‍Business Impact:

• Take proactive action—hire, reskill, or mobilize talent where it’s needed.
• Ensure alignment between business needs and internal capabilities.

6. Future-Readiness Index

‍Purpose: Evaluates how ready the workforce is for emerging trends in technology and business models.

‍Business Impact:

• Identify where new skills like AI, analytics, or automation are already emerging.
• Future-proof your workforce to stay ahead of disruption.‍

Section 2: Talent Development & Learning Effectiveness

In the fast-changing landscape of work, Talent Development is the engine that fuels a future-ready workforce. This section empowers L&D professionals, HRBPs, and business leaders to transform learning initiatives into tangible skill growth—bridging gaps and aligning development with organizational goals.

These reports help:

• Visualize skill growth and development trends.
• Identify and close skill gaps efficiently.
• Assess the effectiveness of learning investments.
• Align learning strategies with emerging skill needs.
  

Each report within Talent Development is broken down for better understanding:

1. Skills Gap Report

Purpose: Compares current vs. required skill levels for individuals or roles.

Business Impact:

• Drive capability-building initiatives that align with business goals.
• Personalize learning journeys to close skill gaps efficiently.

2. Skills Growth Report

‍Purpose: Tracks how skills evolve over time—measuring progress and growth velocity.

‍Business Impact:

• Foster a culture of continuous improvement and development.
• Identify high-potential talent and track readiness for new challenges.

3. Learning-to-Skills Conversion Report

Purpose: Measures how effectively learning translates into verified skills.

Business Impact:

• Prove the ROI of learning programs.
• Optimize L&D investments by focusing on programs that deliver real results.

4. Skills Adjacency Report

Purpose: Identifies adjacent or transferable skills based on current competencies.

‍Business Impact:

• Drive efficient, strategic upskilling by leveraging existing strengths.
• Support talent mobility and future role adaptability.

5. Learning Recommendation Effectiveness Report

Purpose: Evaluates which learning resources actually drive skills acquisition.

‍Business Impact:

• Refine your learning content and recommendations for better outcomes.
• Personalize learning experiences that resonate with real skill needs.

6. Course-to-Skill Mapping Report

Purpose: Maps learning courses (internal & external) to targeted skills.

Business Impact:

• Ensure alignment between learning content and organizational skill needs.
• Eliminate waste—focus on courses that move the needle.

7. Emerging Skills Report

Purpose: Highlights newly inferred skills organically developing within teams.

Business Impact:

• Spot innovation trends and peer-led learning patterns.
• Stay ahead of the curve by tapping into emerging competencies.

8. Skills Assessment Insights Report

Purpose: Deep analytics from skill assessments across departments, roles, and levels.

Business Impact:

• Identify proficiency trends, common challenges, and hidden opportunities.
• Build a data-driven strategy for skill development at scale.

Section 3: Talent Acquisition & Internal Mobility

This section empowers HR, recruiters, and talent teams to make smarter hiring and internal movement decisions. By leveraging data-driven insights, organizations can find the right talent for the right roles, nurture internal mobility, and ensure new hires have the skills to succeed. It combines skill-based intelligence to enhance both recruitment and internal development efforts.

‍These reports help:

• Identify internal mobility and succession planning opportunities.
• Surface high-potential talent for accelerated development.
• Pinpoint skill gaps for new hires and close them faster.
• Align recruitment and internal moves with real business needs.
• Reduce hiring costs and improve time-to-fill by leveraging internal talent pools.

Each report within Talent Acquisition is broken down for better understanding:

1. Talent Mobility Readiness Report

‍Purpose: Identifies employees ready for role changes or new assignments based on skill match and readiness level.

‍Business Impact:

• Supports internal mobility and succession planning.
• Optimizes workforce allocation to improve agility.

2. Internal Candidates Match Report

‍Purpose: Ranks current employees for open roles based on skill alignment and development potential.

‍Business Impact:

• Reduces reliance on external hiring.
• Speeds up filling critical roles with trusted internal talent.

3. New Hire Skill Alignment Report

‍Purpose: Assesses if new hires have the right skills for their roles post-joining.

‍Business Impact:

• Ensures faster ramp-up for new employees.
• Improves retention by setting clear expectations early.

4. High Potential Talent Skill Index

‍Purpose: Surfaces high-potential employees based on skill versatility, growth trajectory, and proficiency.

‍Business Impact:

• Identifies employees ready for accelerated growth.
• Drives targeted development and retention strategies.

5. Skills-Based Hiring Funnel Report

‍Purpose: Tracks the number of candidates in the recruitment pipeline who meet role-specific skill benchmarks.

‍Business Impact:

• Improves hiring efficiency and quality of hires.
• Aligns recruitment with real business needs.

6. Onboarding Skills Gap Report

‍Purpose: Highlights gaps between a new hire's current skills and the skills needed for success in their role.

‍Business Impact:

• Informs structured onboarding and targeted development plans.
• Drives faster productivity and engagement.
  

Section 4: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

This section focuses on building an inclusive and fair workplace by ensuring skill development opportunities and recognition are equitable across all demographic groups. It helps organizations assess skill distribution, identify biases, and implement targeted interventions to promote diversity and inclusion in skill growth.

These reports help:

• Promote equitable access to training and growth opportunities for all employees.
• Identify and address skill gaps and biases based on location, team, or background.
• Support inclusive validation practices that recognize skills fairly.
• Strengthen the organization’s DEI efforts and build an engaged, future-ready workforce.

Each report within DEI is broken down for better understanding:

1. Opportunity Equity Report

‍Purpose: Measures whether all employees have equitable access to skill development opportunities like training, mentoring, or stretch assignments.

‍Business Impact:

• Ensures fair skill-building opportunities for all employees, regardless of background.
• Supports a more inclusive and engaged workforce.

2. Skills Access Report

‍Purpose: Reveals gaps in access to high-demand skills for employees based on location, team, or background.

‍Business Impact:

• Informs targeted development investments to bridge access gaps.
• Promotes fairness in skill development and future opportunities.

3. Skills Diversity Report

‍Purpose: Highlights the distribution and diversity of skills across different demographic groups such as gender, age, location, and department.

‍Business Impact:

• Identifies underrepresented skill areas within specific demographic segments.
• Enables inclusive workforce development strategies.

4. Validation Bias Report

‍Purpose: Examines if skill validation rates (such as manager feedback or assessments) are uneven across demographic groups.

‍Business Impact:

• Reduces bias in how skills are recognized and validated.
• Ensures fair and accurate skill evaluations for all employees.

5. Top Skills by Demographic Report

‍Purpose: Identifies which skill sets are most prominent within different demographic groups.

‍Business Impact:

• Enables better-targeted learning and mentorship initiatives.
• Supports data-driven DEI strategies that uplift underrepresented talent.

Section 5: Skills Insights & Readiness

This section provides comprehensive insights into how skills correlate with performance, readiness for critical roles, and overall talent health. It enables organizations to identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities for capability building, supporting data-driven decisions across succession planning, performance management, and future readiness.

These reports help:

• Highlights which skills are directly driving business outcomes, enabling data-driven decisions on where to invest in skill development.
• Identifies whether successors for critical roles have the necessary skills, ensuring a robust pipeline and business continuity.
• Ensures the organization’s skills framework remains current and comprehensive, avoiding blind spots in critical capabilities.
• Recognizes top talent based on skill strength and growth, motivating continuous improvement and nurturing a culture of excellence.

Each report within Skills Insights is broken down for better understanding:

1. Skill Proficiency vs. Performance Report

‍Purpose: Analyzes the correlation between validated skills and performance outcomes.

‍Business Impact:

• Reveals which skills drive the most business impact.
• Guides targeted investments in skill development.

2. Succession Skills Readiness Report

‍Purpose: Assesses whether successors for critical roles have the required skill depth and breadth.

‍Business Impact:

• Strengthens the leadership pipeline and role continuity.
• Mitigates risk by identifying readiness gaps early.

3. Skills Validation Confidence Report

‍Purpose: Ranks skills by their validation method (AI-inferred, self-rated, peer-rated, assessed) and confidence score.

‍Business Impact:

• Builds trust in using skill data for decisions.
• Supports more accurate and reliable talent insights.

4. Skills Taxonomy Coverage Report

‍Purpose: Audits whether the organization's skills taxonomy captures all necessary and emerging capabilities.

‍Business Impact:

• Keeps the skills framework relevant and future-focused.
• Informs updates to stay aligned with evolving business needs.

5. Skills Leaderboard

‍Purpose: Ranks employees based on skill breadth, depth, validation, and growth.

‍Business Impact:

• Encourages recognition and motivates continuous skill-building.
• Supports a culture of development and healthy competition.

Section 6: Skills Data Management

This section provides organizations with insights and tools to maintain an up-to-date, standardized skills framework that aligns with both internal roles and external market shifts. It ensures the skills taxonomy stays relevant, transparent, and actionable—helping to future-proof the workforce and close competitive gaps.

These reports help:

• Keep your skills taxonomy clean, standardized, and strategically relevant.
• Track emerging roles and trending skills across the internal and external talent landscape.
• Benchmark your workforce's skill strength against industry peers.
• Identify and mitigate obsolescence risk through early detection of outdated skills.
• Foster trust in AI-inferred skill data through transparency in inference sources.

Each report within Skills Data Management is broken down for better understanding:

1. Role-to-Skill Mapping Report

‍Purpose: Defines the skill blueprint for each job role, including required proficiencies.

‍Business Impact:

• Provides a foundation for workforce modelling and job redesign.
• Supports internal mobility and succession planning.

2. Skills Obsolescence Risk Report

‍Purpose: Highlights declining or outdated skills within the workforce and identifies employees whose skill profiles are at risk.

‍Business Impact:

• Informs strategic reskilling and upskilling initiatives.
• Mitigates the risk of skill obsolescence.

3. Skills Inference Source Report

‍Purpose: Breaks down where each skill was inferred from—resumes, learning history, certifications, performance data, etc.

‍Business Impact:

• Builds trust in AI-generated skill data.
• Enables transparency and accountability in skills inference.

4. Skills Duplication & Redundancy Report

‍Purpose: Surfaces similar or duplicate skill entries (e.g., "Java Programming" vs. "Java Dev"), especially from employee self-entry.

‍Business Impact:

• Supports taxonomy cleanup and standardization.
• Improves data quality and consistency.

5. Skills Taxonomy Governance Report

‍Purpose: Tracks updates, additions, and removals within the skills taxonomy over time.

‍Business Impact:

• Ensures taxonomy consistency and alignment with evolving business needs.
• Enables version control and governance of the skills framework.

6. Trending Skills Report

‍Purpose: Tracks the fastest-growing skills across internal employees and external labor market signals (e.g., job boards, industry reports).

‍Business Impact:

• Aligns skills taxonomy with current and emerging market demands.
• Supports future-focused workforce planning.

7. Emerging Job Roles & Required Skills Report

‍Purpose: Identifies new or evolving job roles that are gaining relevance within your industry and maps their required skill sets.

‍Business Impact:

• Supports job architecture updates and early talent pipeline planning.
• Ensures skills alignment for evolving roles.

8. External Skills Benchmarking Report

‍Purpose: Compares your organization's current skill distribution and density to industry peers and competitors.

‍Business Impact:

• Highlights areas of strength or gaps in capability versus the market.
• Informs strategic workforce investments and competitive positioning.