“We really value our partnership with Greenbeam. In technology, where capability requirements are constantly evolving, having a clear, data-driven view of our strengths, gaps and potential risks helps us make better decisions for both our business and our people.”
Andrew Cresp,
Chief Information Officer, NGM Group
With a number of transformation projects on the horizon, NGM Group wanted to move beyond broad skills awareness and create a consistent, evidence-based view of capability across its technology workforce. The immediate need was to help employees understand what their roles required, give managers a stronger basis for development conversations and surface capability risks that were difficult to see through job titles, tenure or informal judgement alone.
The initiative also needed to accommodate an important reality: managers and employees do not always see capability in the same way. Rather than treating that difference as an error to be corrected, NGM wanted a structured process that could turn differing perspectives into useful conversation and shared understanding.
The program delivered included the creation of a skills framework, skills mapping, and workforce insights and analytics.
Delivery initially focused on two technology teams covering 120 people: Website, Payments & Digital Support and Testing & Environment Management. Position descriptions were translated into levelled capability profiles using the SFIA framework, giving each role a clearer definition of the skills and proficiency required.
A capability score began the discussion; it did not end it. Where employee and manager assessments differed, both parties could test their view against consistent criteria such as independence, complexity, influence and demonstrated experience. This helped shift the conversation away from who had rated a skill ‘correctly’ and towards what the person could do, how consistently they demonstrated it and what they may be ready to take on next.
This process also challenged assumptions. Experience within NGM remained valuable, but it was no longer the only proxy for capability. Managers could consider transferable experience, evidence from outside the immediate team and strengths that may previously have been overlooked.
By April 2026, NGM had established skill success profiles, completed capability assessments across the two initial teams and completed manager–employee alignment conversations. Action plans had been created, early development plans were emerging and more than 25% of the team were logging into the platform each week.
Feedback from employees included that they valued:
The combined data gave NGM a team-level view that could be used to prioritise development and reduce workforce risk. This helped highlight areas of strength, identify where further development could have the greatest impact and provide a more consistent evidence base for future workforce planning.
The analysis showed that capability development needs were concentrated in a relatively small number of areas, including systems development, business skills, governance, risk and compliance, and change analysis. This gave NGM a practical starting point for considering where targeted learning, cross-skilling and knowledge sharing could add the most value.
The insights also helped make capability that may previously have been less visible easier to recognise. This included identifying people with strengths beyond the immediate requirements of their role who may be able to contribute more broadly, share knowledge or support the development of others.
The initiative has created a foundation for NGM to use capability evidence more actively in regular one-to-ones, targeted learning, internal mobility, succession thinking and 12-month workforce planning. It has also created a practical method for mapping how roles are changing as AI reshapes engineering work, including the capability required to prompt, validate, review and supervise AI-generated outputs.
Want a clearer view of capability across your workforce? Talk to us about how Greenbeam can help.
