Skills & Qualifications

Overview

The Skills & Qualifications feature helps organizations track and manage employee competencies, certifications, and training requirements. This is essential for industries where specific qualifications are required for certain roles or locations, such as:

• Safety certifications (e.g., First Aid, Fire Safety)
• Equipment licenses (e.g., Forklift License, Heavy Machinery)
• Professional certifications (e.g., Food Safety, OSHA)
• Language proficiencies
• Specialized training

z8 validates employee qualifications during shift scheduling and alerts managers when assigning employees who lack required skills or have expired certifications.

Skill Catalog

The Skill Catalog is your organization's central repository of all skills and qualifications. Only administrators can manage the catalog.

Accessing the Skill Catalog

Navigate to Settings > Skills & Qualifications to access the skill catalog management interface.

Creating a Skill

1. Click the Add Skill button
2. Fill in the skill details:
   • Name (required): A descriptive name like "Forklift License" or "Food Safety Certification"
   • Category: Select from predefined categories:
     • Safety: Health and safety related certifications
     • Equipment: Equipment operation licenses
     • Certification: Professional or industry certifications
     • Training: Internal or external training completions
     • Language: Language proficiency qualifications
     • Custom: Define your own category name
   • Description (optional): Additional details about the skill
   • Requires Expiry Date: Enable if this certification needs periodic renewal
3. Click Create to save the skill

Editing a Skill

1. Find the skill in the catalog table
2. Click the edit icon (pencil) in the Actions column
3. Modify the skill details as needed
4. Click Save to apply changes

Deleting a Skill

Skills are soft-deleted to preserve historical data. When you delete a skill:

• It will no longer appear in the catalog
• Existing employee assignments remain for audit purposes
• The skill cannot be assigned to new employees

Assigning Skills to Employees

Administrators and managers can assign skills to employees from the employee profile.

Adding a Skill Assignment

1. Navigate to the employee's profile page
2. Locate the Skills & Qualifications card
3. Click Assign Skill
4. Select a skill from the dropdown (only unassigned skills appear)
5. If the skill requires an expiry date, provide the certification expiration date
6. Optionally add notes (e.g., certificate number, training provider)
7. Click Assign to save

Skill Assignment Details

Each assignment tracks:

Removing a Skill

1. On the employee's Skills & Qualifications card, find the skill
2. Click the remove icon (trash can)
3. Confirm the removal

Qualification Tracking

Expiry Monitoring

z8 automatically monitors certification expiry dates and provides visual indicators:

• Valid: Skills with no expiry or future expiry dates display normally
• Expiring Soon: Skills expiring within 30 days show a yellow warning badge
• Expired: Skills past their expiry date show a red "Expired" badge

Skill Requirements on Subareas

You can define which skills are required to work in specific location subareas. This is useful for areas with special requirements like:

• Kitchen areas requiring Food Safety certification
• Warehouse zones requiring Forklift License
• Hazardous areas requiring safety training

Requirements can be marked as:

• Required: Employee must have this skill (hard requirement)
• Preferred: Skill is recommended but not mandatory (soft requirement)

Skill Requirements on Shift Templates

Shift templates can also specify required skills. When creating shifts from templates, z8 validates that assigned employees have the necessary qualifications.

Validation Alerts

When scheduling shifts, z8 validates employee qualifications and displays alerts for any issues.

Warning Alert Types

The skill validation system checks for:

1. Missing Required Skills: Employee lacks a mandatory skill
2. Missing Preferred Skills: Employee lacks a recommended skill
3. Expired Certifications: Employee has the skill but it has expired

Override Logging

When a manager assigns an employee despite qualification warnings, the system:

1. Prompts for an override reason
2. Logs the override with full audit details:
   • Which skills were missing
   • Who approved the override
   • When the override occurred
   • The associated shift
3. Optionally sends notifications for compliance tracking

Best Practices

Skill Catalog Design

• Be specific: Use clear, unambiguous skill names
• Use categories: Organize skills by type for easier management
• Enable expiry tracking: For any certification that requires renewal
• Add descriptions: Help managers understand what each skill represents

Assignment Management

• Keep records current: Update expiry dates when employees renew certifications
• Use notes effectively: Record certificate numbers and training dates
• Regular audits: Periodically review employee qualifications

Requirement Planning

• Start with required skills: Focus on mandatory certifications first
• Use preferred skills sparingly: Reserve for "nice to have" qualifications
• Document policies: Create internal guidelines for skill requirements

Compliance Workflows

• Monitor expiring certifications: Use the expiring soon indicators to plan renewals
• Review override logs: Regularly audit skill requirement overrides
• Train managers: Ensure scheduling managers understand qualification requirements

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Skill not appearing in assignment dropdown

The skill may already be assigned to the employee. Each skill can only be assigned once per employee.

Expiry date required error

The selected skill has expiry tracking enabled. You must provide an expiration date when assigning this skill.

Cannot edit skill assignment

To update an assignment (e.g., change the expiry date), remove the existing assignment and create a new one with the updated details.

Qualification warnings not showing

Ensure that:

1. Skills are defined in the catalog
2. Skill requirements are set on the subarea or shift template
3. The employee lacks the required skills or has expired certifications

Error Messages

Getting Help

If you continue to experience issues with skills and qualifications:

1. Check that you have the appropriate permissions (admin for catalog, admin/manager for assignments)
2. Verify the skill exists and is active in the catalog
3. Contact your organization administrator for assistance