Sistava

Assign Skills They Master

Skills are detailed playbooks that teach an employee how to do a specific type of work, step by step.

TL;DR

Skills define HOW TO do work. Each skill is a step-by-step process that loads on demand when the task matches. You can add as many skills as you want without slowing anything down. Every employee comes with foundational skills pre-assigned, plus role-specific skills based on their template. Think of skills as recipes your employee follows when the right situation comes up.

How It Works

Each skill is a playbook the employee follows when a matching task comes in.

Skills vs. Duties vs. Tools

Capability What it defines Analogy Loading
Skill HOW TO do the work The recipe Loaded on demand when the task matches
Duty WHAT TO uphold always The health code Always active on every interaction
Tool ABLE TO execute actions The kitchen equipment Available whenever needed

Where to Find It

  1. Go to your Workspace
  2. Click on any employee in the sidebar
  3. Open the Skills tab

You will see skills organized into categories (Content, Marketing, Sales, Research, Communication, Data, Development, Design, Operations, Custom). Foundational skills appear in a collapsible section at the bottom.

What You Can Do

Action How
View all skills Open the Skills tab. Skills are grouped by category with a count badge on each section
Enable or disable a skill Toggle any skill on or off. Foundational skills show a warning before disabling
Read skill instructions Click any skill card to expand it and see the full instructions
Edit skill instructions Expand a skill card, modify the instructions text, and click Save
Edit "When to use" Expand a skill card and update the "When to use" field to control when the skill activates
Change category Expand a skill card and select a different category from the dropdown
Create a custom skill Click Create Skill in the top-right toolbar. Fill in the name, "When to use", instructions, and category
Browse the catalog Click Browse Skills in the toolbar. The catalog shows Workspace skills and Marketplace templates
Add from the catalog In the catalog, click any skill to assign it. Already-assigned skills are marked
Duplicate a skill Click the 3-dot menu on any skill card and select Duplicate. Creates an editable copy
Copy as Markdown Click the 3-dot menu and select Copy to copy the skill content to your clipboard
Remove a skill Click the 3-dot menu and select the delete option. Foundational skills cannot be removed
Ask the employee to create one In chat, say something like "When you write blog posts, always start with keyword research" and the employee builds a skill from your description

How to Set It Up

Nothing to do. Every employee comes with skills pre-assigned based on their role. Foundational skills are auto-assigned to everyone. You can add, edit, or remove skills anytime from the Skills tab.

To create a custom skill:

  1. Open the Skills tab and click Create Skill
  2. Give it a clear Name (e.g., "Blog Post Writing")
  3. Set the When to use field so the employee knows when to load it (e.g., "When asked to write a blog post")
  4. Write detailed Instructions with step-by-step guidance
  5. Pick a Category to keep things organized
  6. Click Create Skill

Tips and Tricks

Good to Know

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I create custom skills from scratch? A: Yes. Click Create Skill in the Skills tab. Write your own step-by-step process, set when to use it, assign a category, and it is ready to use.

Q: Do skills apply to every task? A: No. Only when the request matches. A blog-writing skill will not activate for an email request. The employee reads the skill name and "When to use" description to decide relevance.

Q: What if an employee does not have the right skill? A: They will do their best with general knowledge. They can also search the platform catalog and add skills themselves.

Q: Is there a limit to how many skills an employee can have? A: No. Skills are loaded on demand, so you can add as many as needed without affecting performance.

Q: Can different employees share the same skill? A: Yes. Skills from the catalog can be assigned to multiple employees. Each employee gets their own copy that can be customized independently.