Skills Taxonomy

What is a skills taxonomy? 

A skills taxonomy is a hierarchical, categorized list of skills that are relevant to an organization. It includes both hard and soft skills—such as software knowledge and communication skills—and links to specific job roles or functions (e.g., customer service, marketing, sales). Skills taxonomies help organizations identify core competencies needed for business success and design targeted talent acquisition and development strategies to close skills gaps. 

Example: An HR manager’s skills taxonomy includes broad skills categories like performance coaching and HR operations. Then, they break down into specific competencies like feedback and HRIS skills. 

A skills taxonomy differs from both a skills ontology and a workplace skills framework. While a skills taxonomy simply organizes and categorizes skills, a skills ontology—also called a skills classification system—defines the relationships between skills and the context in which they’re used. A skills framework goes even further and outlines skill proficiency levels and performance standards. Then, you can move from defining skills to evaluating and developing them among employees. 

Why is a skills taxonomy important? 

A skills taxonomy helps leaders understand the core competencies your employees need to succeed in their roles and advance business objectives. 

For example, a sales representative’s skills taxonomy would help you identify communication, selling techniques, and product knowledge as skills not only essential for success in the role but also central to your organization’s revenue goals.

Maintaining an up-to-date skills taxonomy also helps you identify skills gaps in your workforce, so you can hire candidates who possess those skills or train existing employees to develop them. This keeps your workforce agile and responsive to changes in the job market.