Validate skills and give badges
- Who
- Direct managers and admins
- Where
- My Circle › a team member › Validate
- What you validate
- Skills, badges and certificates from your organisation's lists
- Your team member sees
- Validated by, with your name
Validation is how you, as a manager, confirm what a team member can do. In My Circle you can set a validated level for a skill, give a badge for training or an achievement, and validate a certificate. Your team member sees who validated what, next to their own rating.
How it works
Validation in MuchSkills builds on four things:
- People map their own skills. Adding skills is quick and gives people something back, so profiles are complete.
- Ratings are visible. When someone adds a skill and a level, they see how colleagues and managers rate the same skill. That keeps self-ratings honest.
- The manager confirms. You validate in conversation, ideally in a one-to-one, so there are no surprises.
- MuchSkills records it. You set the validated level, give the badge or validate the certificate in My Circle, and it shows on the person's profile with your name.
What you can validate comes from lists your organisation creates: lists of validated competences (skills and badges) and certificate lists. Your MuchSkills admin sets them up, as described in Set up validated competences. Each item can be validated in one of three ways:
| Item | What you do | Button |
|---|---|---|
| A skill with levels | Choose the level you have seen them work at | Save |
| A skill without levels | Confirm they have it | Validate |
| A badge | Give it to them, with a level if the badge has one | Assign (or Save for a badge with levels) |
Only direct managers and administrators can validate competences for their team members.
Steps
- Open the person in My Circle. Click My Circle in the top menu and click their name under Reporting to you.
- Open the Validate tab. You can also click Validate a competence at the top of their page.
- Pick an item. Under Validated competences, click a skill or badge. Items you have already validated show their level.
- Compare the levels. If your organisation shows it, you see their own level next to yours: Left: Self-assessed / Right: Manager-evaluated.
- Set your validation. Choose the level and click Save, or click Validate or Assign.
- Validate certificates. Under Certifications, click a certificate to check its dates and proof, then validate it.
- Check the result. Open Certs & Validations. The tabs Certifications, Validated Skills and Badges show everything validated for that person.
Check it worked
- On the person's Certs & Validations tab, the item is listed under Validated Skills, Badges or Certifications.
- On their profile, the skill shows Validated as with the level and your name, and a certificate shows Validated by with your name.
Tips
- Validate together. Do it in a one-to-one with the person, so you can talk about evidence and there are no surprises.
- Validate what you have seen. Base your level on work you know about: projects, results, feedback from colleagues.
- Talk about differences. If your level differs from theirs, say why and agree what would move them up. It is a good start for a goal.
- Use badges for what is not a skill. Finishing a mandatory training, a safety induction or an internal programme fits a badge better than a skill level.
- Keep it current. Revisit validations when people change roles or finish a big project.
Troubleshooting
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No Validate tab | Your organisation has no lists of validated competences or certificates yet | Ask your MuchSkills admin to create them |
| No validated competences have been created yet. | The same: there are no validation lists | Ask your MuchSkills admin |
| A skill you want to validate is not in the list | It is not in your organisation's validation lists | Ask your admin to add it |
| You cannot validate someone in your circle | You are not their direct manager, for example they report to one of your managers | Ask their direct manager, or an admin |
| There are no items to display here | The list has no items for this person yet | Choose another list, or ask your admin |
Frequently asked questions
Who can validate?
A person's direct manager and the organisation's admins. Colleagues and goal buddies cannot.
Why don't I see the Validate tab?
It appears once your organisation has created lists of validated competences or certificates to issue. Your MuchSkills admin creates them in Team/Org › Settings.
Can I validate any skill?
You validate the skills, badges and certificates in your organisation's validation lists. If something your team needs is missing, ask your MuchSkills admin to add it to a list.
Does my validation replace my team member's own rating?
No. MuchSkills keeps both: their own level and the level you validated. Their profile shows Validated as, the level and your name, next to their own rating.
Can I see their own level while I validate?
Yes, if your organisation has switched it on. The level picker then shows both: self-assessed on the left and manager-evaluated on the right.
What is the difference between a badge and a validated skill?
A validated skill confirms a level on the nine-step scale. A badge is an internal credential, for example for finishing a training or meeting a compliance requirement. Some badges have levels, most are simply given.
I validated something by mistake. Can I undo it?
Yes. Open the same item on the Validate tab and remove the validation.
Can I validate a certificate my team member added?
Yes. Their certificates are on the Validate and Certs & Validations tabs. Once validated, the certificate shows Validated by and your name.