> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.skillsdb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Skill Flags
> Learn how to create and configure skill flags in SkillsDB — custom designations that identify experts, trainers, and other roles across skills, sections, and careers.
**Quick Summary:** Skill flags are colored labels you apply to people at the skill, section, or career level to mark specific designations — such as subject matter experts or approved trainers. Admins create and configure flags from the Flags Configuration page. Managers apply flags to their team members.
# Overview
Skill flags are designations that mark a person's relationship to one or more skills. A flag might identify someone as the go-to expert for a skill, an approved trainer who can sign off on training requests, a focus area for development, or any other custom designation that matters to your organization.
Flags can be applied at three different scopes — a single skill, an entire section within a career, or an entire career — allowing broad designations to cascade naturally without requiring individual assignments for every skill.
Admins create and manage the available flag types from **Settings > Flags Configuration**. Managers apply those flags to their direct reports from within career and skill views. Employees can view flags applied to their own skills but cannot create or modify flag assignments.
Flags appear throughout SkillsDB: in skill profiles, in the Flag Matrix view for a career or section, and as a search filter — allowing managers and admins to quickly find flagged employees.
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## Understanding Flag Scope
When a flag is applied to a person, it is assigned at one of three scope levels. Each level determines which skills the flag is visible on for that person.
| Scope | Description | Example |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Skill** | The flag applies to one specific skill | "Expert" applied to Python only |
| **Section** | The flag applies to all skills within a career section | "Expert" applied to all skills in the "Backend Development" section |
| **Career** | The flag applies to all skills across an entire career | "Expert" applied to all skills in the "Software Engineering" career |
When viewing the Flag Matrix, flag sources are color-coded:
* **Direct** (skill-level assignment) — indigo
* **Section** (inherited from a section assignment) — purple
* **Career** (inherited from a career assignment) — pink
A person can hold multiple flags for the same skill — for example, having both an Expert flag from a career-level assignment and a separate Mentor flag applied at the skill level.
***
## Creating a Skill Flag
Administrators can create custom skill flags to represent any designation used in your organization. New flags are immediately available for use once created.
**To create a new skill flag:**
1. Navigate to **Settings > Flags Configuration**
2. Select the **Skill Flags** tab
3. Select **Add Flag**
4. In the **Add new skill flag** modal, enter a **Flag Name** (required, maximum 100 characters)
5. Optionally enter a **Description** (maximum 500 characters)
6. Select a **Color** using the color picker — the color will appear as the flag's badge color throughout SkillsDB
7. Select **Add Flag**
The new flag appears in the Skill Flags list and becomes immediately available for assignment across SkillsDB. New flags are enabled by default with Trainer Permission off.
**Note:** After creating a flag, use the inline **Enabled** and **Trainer Permission** checkboxes on the flag row to configure those settings. They cannot be set during initial creation.
***
## Editing a Skill Flag
Administrators can update the name, description, and color of any custom skill flag. System default flags cannot be edited.
**To edit a custom skill flag:**
1. Navigate to **Settings > Flags Configuration**
2. Select the **Skill Flags** tab
3. Select the edit icon (pencil) on the flag you want to update
4. In the **Edit skill flag** modal, update the **Flag Name**, **Description**, or **Color** as needed
5. Select **Save Changes**
Changes take effect immediately. Any existing flag assignments retain the updated name and color.
**Note:** System default flags display a **System** badge instead of edit and delete icons. The name, description, and color of system defaults cannot be changed. Trainer Permission and Enabled toggles are also unavailable for system defaults.
***
## Enabling and Disabling Flags
Each flag has an **Enabled** checkbox that controls whether the flag appears in the assignment dropdown throughout SkillsDB. Disabling a flag hides it from use without deleting it or removing existing assignments.
**To enable or disable a flag:**
1. Navigate to **Settings > Flags Configuration**
2. Select the **Skill Flags** tab
3. Check or uncheck the **Enabled** checkbox on the flag row
When you disable a flag, it is immediately hidden from all flag selection dropdowns and is no longer available for new assignments. Existing assignments to people are preserved and remain visible in the Flag Matrix and skill profiles. When you re-enable the flag, it reappears in dropdowns and all historical assignments are restored without any reassignment required.
**Important:** Disabling a flag does not remove it from people who already have it. It only prevents new assignments. Re-enabling the flag restores full visibility.
***
## Managing Trainer Permission
The **Trainer Permission** toggle grants the holder of a flag the ability to approve training requests for the skills they are flagged on. This integrates directly with SkillsDB's training approval system.
When a person holds a flag with Trainer Permission enabled, they receive training approval requests in their Inbox for any skills covered by that flag assignment.
**To enable or disable Trainer Permission on a flag:**
1. Navigate to **Settings > Flags Configuration**
2. Select the **Skill Flags** tab
3. Check or uncheck the **Trainer Permission** checkbox on the flag row
When Trainer Permission is enabled on a flag, a **Trainer** badge appears on the flag row to confirm the setting is active.
**Note:** Trainer Permission is only available for custom flags. System default flags do not have this toggle. Changes to Trainer Permission take effect immediately for all current holders of that flag.
***
## Reordering Flags
The order flags appear in the Skill Flags list determines the order they appear in flag selection dropdowns throughout SkillsDB. Drag flags to arrange them in the order most useful for your team.
**To reorder skill flags:**
1. Navigate to **Settings > Flags Configuration**
2. Select the **Skill Flags** tab
3. Click and drag the drag handle (the grid icon on the left of a flag row) to a new position
4. Release to drop the flag in its new position
The new order is saved automatically. Flag order cannot be changed for system defaults relative to one another, but custom flags can be reordered freely.
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## Applying Flags to People
Once flags are configured, managers and admins apply them to individuals from within career and skill views. Applying a flag creates the association between a person and the flag at the skill, section, or career scope.
Flags can be applied or removed in bulk from the **Flag People** workflow, accessible from career, section, and skill pages.
**To apply a flag to people:**
1. Navigate to the career, section, or skill you want to flag people on
2. Select the **Flag People** button (or the flag icon)
3. In the **Select Flag Type** step, choose the flag you want to apply
4. In the **Select People** step:
* Use the search bar to filter by name, email, or employee ID
* Select each person to apply the flag to (or use **Select All** to select everyone eligible)
* To remove a flag instead of applying one, toggle to **Remove** mode using the Apply/Remove toggle
5. Select **Apply Flag to \[N] People**
The flag is immediately applied to all selected people. Existing flags on each person are shown in the list to help avoid duplicates.
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## Deleting a Skill Flag
Administrators can permanently delete custom skill flags. Deleting a flag removes it from the system and unassigns it from all people. This action cannot be undone.
**To delete a skill flag:**
1. Navigate to **Settings > Flags Configuration**
2. Select the **Skill Flags** tab
3. Select the delete icon (trash can) on the flag you want to remove
4. Review the confirmation message — if the flag is currently assigned to people, the message will indicate how many assignments will be removed
5. Select **Delete** to confirm
The flag is permanently deleted and all assignments are removed from every person's profile.
**Warning:** Deleting a flag permanently removes all existing assignments. People who held that flag will no longer have it on any skill, section, or career. If you want to stop new assignments without losing history, disable the flag instead of deleting it.
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# Common Questions
System default flags are pre-configured by SkillsDB and cannot be edited or deleted. They appear with a **System** badge. The Trainer Permission and Enabled toggles are not available for system default flags. Custom flags can be created, edited, reordered, enabled/disabled, assigned Trainer Permission, and deleted by admins.
Yes. A person can hold multiple flags for the same skill. For example, someone might hold an Expert flag (applied at the career level) and a Mentor flag (applied at the skill level) simultaneously. Each flag appears independently in the Flag Matrix and on the person's skill profile.
All existing assignments are preserved when you disable a flag. Disabling hides the flag from selection dropdowns so it cannot be applied to new people. Re-enabling the flag restores full visibility without requiring any reassignment.
Yes. In addition to the bulk Flag People workflow, individual skill flags can be applied directly from skill profile tables. When viewing a person's skills in the skills table, hover over a skill row to reveal the **Assign flag** button for that skill.
Admins can apply flags to any person in the organization. Managers can apply flags to their direct reports. The scope of who a manager can flag is controlled by their search permissions. Standard employees cannot apply or modify flag assignments.
Trainer Permission applies to the scope of the flag assignment. If a person holds a Trainer-enabled flag at the section level, they can approve training requests for skills within that section. If the same flag is assigned at the career level, they can approve training for any skill in the career.
Yes. Editing a custom flag's name updates it everywhere in SkillsDB — in the Flag Matrix, in skill profiles, in search filters, and in flag selection dropdowns. Existing assignments are automatically updated and do not need to be re-applied.
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# Related Articles
Configure flags that are applied to individuals as a whole rather than to specific skills
Control which roles can filter search results using skill flags
View skills and flag designations across your team
How skill flags appear in employee and manager views
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# Need Help?
If you run into any issues or have questions, reach out to your organization's SkillsDB administrator or contact [SkillsDB Support](https://www.skillsdb.com/support).