SkillPanel workforce intelligence report 2026

Skill composition

Skill composition defines how ready your workforce is for what comes next. Across all participating organizations, employees on SkillPanel reach a 68% job position fit which shows strong foundations but also clear space for targeted improvement.

This finding highlights the remaining space for targeted improvement. The 32% gap represents skills that limit performance, mobility and readiness for change. Organizations that use this insight to focus development in the right areas can strengthen capability faster, improve job fit across teams and build a more adaptable workforce.

Skills assessment

How people see their skills and how managers see them is rarely the same. The data reveals a 20% point perception gap between self assessments and supervisor ratings which shapes promotion and development decisions across the organization.

This perception gap has significant consequences for growth and decision making. When expectations and evaluations are out of sync, development needs can be overlooked, promotions can stall and feedback loses clarity. Closing this gap helps organizations make fairer talent decisions and create a more transparent and trusted performance environment.

Skill gaps

Most employees are far from full mastery of the skills their role requires. On average there is a 33% skill mastery gap between the current level of skills and the 75% benchmark needed for full proficiency.

This gap directly affects execution, productivity and readiness for advancement. When a third of role critical capability is missing, teams struggle to operate at full strength and business goals become harder to reach. By addressing these gaps with targeted learning and reskilling, organizations can raise performance and strengthen long term workforce resilience.

Internal mobility

Internal moves are closer than many organizations think. Across SkillPanel customers, the average career path distance is 23% which means most employees already hold the majority of skills required for their next role.

This level of readiness creates a strong foundation for talent retention and internal growth. When employees can see that their next step is within reach, engagement rises and reliance on external hiring decreases. Organizations that activate this potential through clear pathways and structured development can move talent faster and reduce critical skill shortages.

Reskilling and upskilling

Hidden skills are a major source of untapped value. Employees on SkillPanel hold 3.2 additional skills per person that sit outside their formal role which can power project work, innovation and internal mobility before you turn to external hiring.

Unlocking these additional skills can transform the way teams operate. When hidden strengths become visible, organizations can redeploy talent strategically, reduce dependency on external recruitment and accelerate projects that require cross functional input. Tapping into this internal capability pool strengthens agility and increases the overall value of the workforce.

Succession planning

Readiness for key roles is improving but not yet where it needs to be. 62% of critical roles across SkillPanel customers have at least one ready internal successor which still leaves more than one third of essential positions exposed.

The remaining 38% represents roles that lack continuity and place organizations at risk if leadership changes unexpectedly. Without identified successors, knowledge transfer slows and strategic initiatives can lose momentum. Strengthening succession pipelines ensures stability, protects institutional expertise and supports long term organizational health.