Unlocking Data: A Close Look at Visualizing Employee Skills

Detailed employee training data is the stepping stone to informed management.

Businesses in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction (AEC) and Manufacturing industries are enthusiastically embracing data as a key component of digital transformation. New technologies offer ways to collect increasingly detailed information about your business and its operations, while at the same time, data science continues to advance new methods for extracting insights from it all.

The data-driven approach is a natural fit for the precision of the AEC & Manufacturing industries. With any strategy, regular measurements and course corrections will always be necessary, and access to high-quality data is the foundation of effective decision-making. That’s as true for learning and development as it is for materials and machinery, and it’s why Pinnacle Series LMS includes robust tracking and reporting capabilities.

Leveraging the data available in Pinnacle Series gives you an in-depth picture of the skills in your workforce, both in the moment and over time. Armed with that information, you can refine your hiring searches, streamline training, and set your employees up for success.

The reporting capabilities of Pinnacle Series are significant, but our API also allows you to harness your data for your own analysis—something we’ll explore in much more depth with forthcoming articles. In the meantime, we’d like to offer some early inspiration for your data-driven training goals.

Gain a window into your workforce

Without insight into the strengths and gaps in your workforce’s skills, your business is flying blind. It’s difficult to determine your next steps if you don’t have a clear picture of where you are—and, as the saying goes, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” While time and experience can give you an idea of the strengths and opportunities for development within your teams, detailed metrics could yield unexpected new information.

Pinnacle Series harnesses the data from our KnowledgeSmart skill assessments to personalize training courses for users, but crucially, that data is available to your administrators as well. Take current-state snapshots of your employees’ skills, locate gaps and strengths, and then re-check over time. Regular assessments give you a strong picture of both the state of your workforce and the effectiveness of your learning and development strategy.

At the same time, you can report on employees’ course history and completion, which offers a view into the utilization of the Pinnacle Series platform. You can gain insights into adoption rates within your teams and track progress—invaluable information for demonstrating return on investment.

Integrate with existing data for new insights

The data within Pinnacle Series is valuable on its own—but it can also add useful context to data analyses you’re already running. User training data covers thousands of associated attributes, and Pinnacle Series offers an open API so that you can connect to and utilize your data from the visualization platform you prefer.

For some organizations, that may be as straightforward as Excel or Power BI. But businesses with an existing database infrastructure might have bigger ideas. Employee training data can integrate with your existing business information analyses, adding a new dimension to a project timeline or longitudinal customer satisfaction scores. Layering employee training history with the data from other business systems can reveal unexpected synergies.

Develop targeted, efficient business strategies

Visualizing employee training data can help you pinpoint high-priority goals across your business and measure your progress against them. Insights gained from data visualizations can shape your strategy across a wide range of departments and provide valuable feedback on how your current activities are aligning with broader business goals. These include:

Hiring

Locate skill gaps within your workforce, and then develop your job requirements and candidate search accordingly. You can leverage KnowledgeSmart skill assessments during the candidate search and pre-hire to determine whether you are reaching the kind of candidates you’d like to reach. One of Pinnacle Series’ key strengths is in developing targeted training for onboarding new hires—with historical data, you can evaluate and streamline new hire onboards even further, cutting down the time between first-day jitters and a confident, well-oriented employee.

Employee development

Assessment results can also highlight areas where your employees need additional training. Use them to set relevant learning goals for your teams and check on their progress regularly. You can also use assessment and course data to adjust intermediate goals and customize learning paths for your teams, ensuring that they receive exactly the content they need (and none of what they don’t).

Staffing and project assignments

Set your employees up for success with assignments and roles that play to their strengths. Efficiently assemble project teams that have the right skills and training for the job, reducing both rework and time spent hunting for answers online.

Culture of learning

With data visualization, you can understand platform adoption across your organization and target areas for improvement. Grow a culture that encourages learning and development and celebrates progress. In addition, transparent metrics give employees a view into the expectations of their managers and the development paths that are open to them, and improve employee experience and retention.

Knowledge is your company’s most valuable asset.

Pinnacle Series is designed to capture, share, and reinforce the knowledge that exists within AEC & Manufacturing firms. On one hand, we do that through robust, customizable learning tools and content libraries from the top AEC & Manufacturing software providers. On the other, however, we empower you to uncover and visualize knowledge about your own workforce and your business at large.

Data is driving the future of the industry through digital transformation, and Pinnacle Series is your launchpad. To learn more about Pinnacle Series and the insights you can gain into your workforce and their skill base, contact us today.