Four New HR Templates for Roles, Skills, Development and Training

I built four new workbooks for small employers: a RACI matrix kit, a skills gap analysis workbook, a professional development plan kit and a training needs analysis workbook. Each one checks your entries as you type, includes a filled example and a facilitation guide, and is sold singly or as a bundle in the UHR store.

I am Mac Malbrough. I hold a J.D. and an MS-HRM, I am not an attorney, and this is general information, not legal advice. These templates are for owners, managers and HR leads in 10 to 150 person organizations who have the same four problems every growing team has: unclear ownership, unclear skills, unclear development and training money that goes to the wrong place.

Why these four templates?

Most small employers I talk to do not have a compliance gap first. They have a clarity gap. Nobody is sure who owns a decision, which skills the team really needs, what a good development plan looks like or whether a training request will fix the problem it was bought for. Those four questions sit upstream of almost every HR issue, which is why I built one workbook for each.

I also checked my own shelf before building. The store already has a performance review and PIP documentation set and a 30-60-90 onboarding program kit, so I did not build a second version of either. These four fill the gaps around them.

What problem does the RACI matrix kit solve?

The problem is a task that three people think someone else owns. A RACI matrix names who does the work, who answers for the result, who is asked first and who is told afterward. The RACI matrix kit ($24) checks every row as you fill it in. A task with no accountable owner, or with two, shows a warning in the Check column, and the Role Load tab shows when one person carries too many marks. It includes a filled hiring example and a 45 minute facilitation guide so a team can agree on the matrix in one meeting.

What problem does the skills gap analysis workbook solve?

The problem is spending a training budget on a guess. The skills gap analysis workbook ($39) has you list the skills a role requires, set the level it requires from 1 to 5, rate each person from evidence and read the gap. The Priorities tab ranks skills by total gap and by how many people fall short, so the first dollar goes to the biggest need. It uses one scale for everyone in the same role, and the guide explains why ratings must describe skills at work and nothing else.

What problem does the development plan kit solve?

The problem is a development conversation that ends with good intentions and no dates. The professional development plan kit ($29) turns a career goal into dated actions with an owner and a measure of success. The Actions tab counts your mix of on-the-job work, coaching and courses, the Plan tab shows progress, and the Check-ins tab gives you a fixed rhythm at 30, 60 and 90 days. It promises growth in skill and scope. It does not promise a promotion or a raise, and I wrote the guide so managers do not accidentally make that promise.

What problem does the training needs analysis workbook solve?

The problem is buying training for something training cannot fix. The training needs analysis workbook ($39) asks three screening questions for every problem: is it a skill gap, is the standard clear and are the tools and time adequate. If the answer to the skill question is no, the row says it is not a training need. If the standard or tools are the issue, it tells you to fix those first. What remains is scored by impact and urgency, ranked and planned with a method, an owner, a cost and a measure.

One category skips the scoring. California requires harassment prevention training for supervisors on a set schedule, and that training goes first. The workbook flags it in the guide so it does not wait behind lower priorities.

Can you use them together?

Yes, and the order matters. Start with the RACI matrix so the team knows who owns each decision. Run the skills gap analysis for the roles that matter most. Take the top three skills into the training needs analysis to see which gaps training can close, and write the plan for each person in the development plan kit. The capability development bundle ($99) includes all four with their guides. Bought separately they total $131.

Who should buy which one?

If your problem is a missed handoff, start with the RACI matrix kit. If you are about to approve a training request and are not sure it fits, start with the training needs analysis. If you manage a team and have never written down what each person is growing toward, start with the development plan kit. If you cannot say which skills your team lacks, start with the skills gap analysis. Owners of a company with fewer than 25 people usually get the most from the first two, because ownership and training spend are where a small team loses the most time. Managers of established teams usually get the most from the second two.

How did I price them?

I priced single-purpose workbooks at the low end of what HR templates sell for and the kits that need a guided conversation a little higher. The bundle is priced for a team lead or HR manager who wants the whole system. My own limit is that each file has to save the buyer more time than it costs, so I did not pad the products to justify the price.

What did I leave out on purpose?

I left out macros, add-ins and anything that needs a login, so the files open in any spreadsheet program and stay yours. I left out ratings tied to personal traits, because skill ratings must describe work. I left out a performance improvement plan and a 30-60-90 day plan, because the performance set and the onboarding kit already cover them. I also did not include legal advice. When a question turns on a statute or a specific employee situation, talk to an employment attorney.

Once the training is chosen, make it stick with the steps in why training does not stick and a four-step follow-through plan.

What should you do this week?

Pick the one problem above that costs you the most time right now and open the matching workbook. If you would like a person to review how your team is organized and what to build first, the HR compliance check-up covers the foundations, and fractional HR support can run the process with you.

For a related angle, see what each organizational structure means for HR.

Sources

• California Government Code Section 12950.1, read on the California Legislative Information site

McKinley holds a J.D. but is not a licensed attorney. Articles here are general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, talk with an employment attorney.