How to Use Seat Skills on Your Org Chart in Ninety
The Org Chart Skills feature helps your organization document what it takes to succeed in every Seat. It provides:
Seat-specific skills and competencies: Assign specific skills or competencies to each Seat in the Org Chart.
Knowledge Portal integration: Link each skill to a topic, subtopic, or task in the Knowledge Portal.
Central Skills Manager: Owners, Admins, and Managers can manage a centralized list of Seat skills.
All features of the Org Chart tool, including adding skills and competencies, are available to every company on Ninety, regardless of subscription plan (Free, Essentials, Accelerate, and Thrive).
What are skills and competencies?
A skill is a specific, trainable capability that enables an individual to perform a task or activity with proficiency. A competency is an integrated combination of knowledge, mindset, and behaviors that enable someone to fulfill their Seat's responsibilities. These can include:
Certifications or degrees.
Traits.
Programming language proficiencies.
Business operating system abilities (like "Process Documenter" or "Meeting Facilitator").
Org Chart terminology
Org Chart term | Definition | Example |
Seat | A function-specific position in an organization that carries roles, accountabilities, and responsibilities. | Head of Finance. |
Role | A subtitle of the Seat describing one of its specific functions. | Payroll. |
Responsibilities | The more-specific tasks associated with a given role. | Ensure paychecks are on time and accurate. |
Skill | A specific, trainable capability that enables an individual to perform a task or activity with proficiency. | Certified Public Accountant (CPA). |
Competency | An integrated combination of knowledge, mindset, and behaviors that enable someone to fulfill their Seat's responsibilities. | Meeting Facilitator. |
To learn how to define roles and responsibilities clearly in your Org Chart and why it matters for company structure and growth, read Defining Roles and Responsibilities: "When every person is clear about their roles and responsibilities, we're engaged with defined goals and priorities that align with our organization's purpose."
Creating a new skill or competency
To create a new skill:
Navigate to the Org Chart. Click Org Chart from the left navigation.
Open the Skills page. Click the Skills tab next to Primary Chart and Drafts.
Add the skill to the Skills & Competencies list. Click Add Skill/Competency on the bottom left of the list, name the skill or competency, and then click Add Skill.
Assigning a skill to a Seat
To assign an existing skill to a Seat:
Navigate to the Org Chart. Click Org Chart from the left navigation.
Open the Skills page. Click the Skills tab next to Primary Chart and Drafts.
Open the skill's Seats window. Click the ellipsis at the end of the skill's row and select Add Seats or Modify Seats from the dropdown.
Add the Seat to the skill. Click the dropdown arrow to open the list of Seats on your Org Chart. Search for and click the checkbox for the Seat(s) to add this skill to.
Save your changes. Click Apply to save your changes (or cancel to undo your changes).
Linking Knowledge Portal content to a skill or competency
Linking content to the Knowledge Portal is only available to companies on the Thrive pricing plan.
To link a skill or competency to a section of your Knowledge Portal:
Navigate to the Org Chart. Click Org Chart from the left navigation.
Open the Skills page. Click the Skills tab next to Primary Chart and Drafts.
Open the Link to Knowledge Portal window. Click the linked icon or the ellipsis at the end of the skill's row and select Link items from the dropdown.
Assign one or more sections from your Knowledge Portal. Click the dropdown arrow to open the list of available content from the Knowledge Portal. Then, click the checkbox of one or more topics, subtopics, or tasks. Next, click the up arrow to hide the list. Finally, click the Link button.
To remove a Knowledge Portal item from a skill or competency, click the x next to its title or uncheck its box while viewing the full list of available Knowledge Portal content. You can also remove all linked items from a single skill or competency by clicking the trash can icon.
Getting started with the Skills feature
To get started with the Skills feature, consider implementing this action plan:
Choose a pilot group. Raise an Issue with your leadership team to select a department or team to pilot the feature. Choose a pilot group with Seats with well-defined success criteria (such as Finance, Marketing, or IT).
List the core skills and competencies. Brainstorm the technical and soft skills someone in one of these Seats needs to succeed (such as certifications, software proficiencies, or leadership traits).
Add these skills and competencies to the list. Navigate to the Skills tab in the Org Chart tool and follow the directions above to add these items to your Skills Manager.
Create content in the Knowledge Portal. With these skills in mind, create content in the Knowledge Portal to support team members who aspire to gain these skills and competencies. Consider linking your content to courses, accreditation services, or educational resources. You can also create your own content, such as onboarding documents, training videos, or SOPs.
Link learning resources. Link each skill to relevant training content in your Knowledge Portal.
Assign skills to Seats. Assign skills and competencies to their relevant Seats and create a Cascading Message to encourage your team members to review the new additions on your Org Chart.
How the Skills feature supports career development
All team members in Ninety, including free users with the Observer role, can view the organization's primary Org Chart. While planning for personal career development or collaborating with their leader in 1-on-1 meetings, team members can view the roles, responsibilities, skills, and competencies your organization associates with Seats that team member is targeting for their future.
With linked Knowledge Portal content, anyone can immediately access training or documentation related to a specific Seat or role to turn their curiosity into actionable learning. These links between your company's function-specific Seats and the skills and competencies required for their success create a more transparent environment for everyone in your organization to understand what right person, right Seat looks like.
User roles and permissions for Org Chart Skills
Owners, Admins, and Managers have full control to add, remove, and edit skills and competencies and apply them to Seats.
Team Members and Coaches can view skills and competencies of any Seat in the primary Org Chart. They cannot view the Skills tab to edit, add, or delete skills and competencies.
Observers can view skills and competencies of any Seat in the primary Org Chart. They cannot view the Skills tab, nor can they click to view the linked Knowledge Portal content.
Frequently asked questions
Can I add skills if I'm not a manager?
No. Only users with Owner, Admin, or Manager permissions can access the skills and competencies page to add to or edit your organization's Skills Manager.
What happens if content linked to a skill is deleted in the Knowledge Portal?
If content linked to a skill is deleted in the Knowledge Portal, the system will remove the broken links, ensuring only active content is shown in the Org Chart.
Is the Skills feature available on mobile?
No. At this time, the Org Chart tool and its features, including Skills, are only available on the desktop version of Ninety.
What pricing plan is this available on?
The Org Chart and all of its features, including Skills, are available on every pricing plan. Linking Knowledge Portal content to a skill requires the Thrive plan. For more information, see Ninety's pricing page.