Quick Summary: Search lets users find people, training, skills, careers, and certifications across your organization. Admins control which roles have access to search and how much of the organization they can see through granular, role-based permissions.
Overview
Search is a core navigation tool that enables employees, managers, and admins to explore your organization’s talent, training resources, and skills data. Depending on how permissions are configured, users can search for colleagues by skill, find training courses, browse careers, or locate certification holders — all from a single search interface. Because Search surfaces potentially sensitive organizational data, it is fully permission-gated. Admins configure exactly what each security group can search for and how broadly they can see results. For example, managers might only see people within their own chain of command, while admins have unrestricted access. Search is accessible from the left sidebar and is available to any role that has been granted search access by an admin.How Search Works
When users open Search, they can:- Search by keyword — Enter any text to search across multiple content types simultaneously
- Filter by type — Use the type tabs to scope results to People, Training, Skills, Career, or Certifications, or view All results together
- Apply structured filters — Narrow results by organizational structure (business unit, department, team, location) as well as skill grades, career levels, skill flags, certifications, and document content
- Toggle match mode — Choose Match All to require every filter to apply, or Match Any to return results that match at least one
- View recent searches — Previously run searches are stored locally for quick re-use
Configuring Search Permissions
Search permissions are managed from Settings > Search Permissions. This page displays a permission matrix with one column per security group and one row per permission type. Each cell can be independently configured. To open Search Permissions:- Navigate to Settings from the main menu
- Select Search Permissions from the settings list
- The Search Permissions matrix will load, showing all security groups and configurable permission rows
Security Groups
Permissions are configured independently for each of the four security groups:| Security Group | Notes |
|---|---|
| Admin | Search is always enabled; most permissions are not individually configurable |
| Manager | Fully configurable; selecting Chain of Command automatically restricts all filters |
| Employee | Fully configurable; supports the Above Grade people search option |
| Full Access | People Search Access is locked at Full Access; other filters are configurable |
Permission Reference
Enable Search
Controls whether the search feature appears in the sidebar at all for a given role.- Enabled (checkbox checked): The Search button appears in the left navigation
- Disabled (checkbox unchecked): Search is completely hidden from that role
Search is always enabled for Admins and cannot be turned off.
People Search Access
Controls the scope of people a user can find when searching for colleagues. This is the most impactful permission setting.| Access Level | Behavior |
|---|---|
| No Access | People search is disabled; users cannot search for colleagues at all |
| Full Access | Users can find any person in the organization that matches the search criteria |
| Chain of Command | Users can only find people within their direct reporting hierarchy |
| Above Grade | Users can only find people who are graded above a specified minimum grade level when searching by skills |
Minimum to Appear in Results
This setting only appears when People Search Access is set to Above Grade for the Employee or Manager role. It defines the minimum skill grade a person must hold to appear in skill-based search results for that role.The Minimum to Appear in Results selector requires at least one grading rubric to be configured in your organization before it can be set. If no grading rubrics exist, configure them first before using the Above Grade access level.
Filter Permissions
The following filters can each be independently configured per security group. Each accepts one of three values:| Access Level | Behavior |
|---|---|
| No Access | The filter is hidden and unavailable to that role |
| Chain of Command | The filter is available but results are scoped to the user’s reporting hierarchy |
| Full Access | The filter is available with no scope restriction |
Default Search Mode
Controls which content type is active by default when a user opens Search. Options are People (opens to the People tab) or Training (opens to the Training tab).This setting is only configurable by Admins. When People Search Access is set to No Access for a role, the default search mode is automatically set to Training for that role.
Common Questions
Why doesn't the Search icon appear in the sidebar for some users?
Why doesn't the Search icon appear in the sidebar for some users?
What's the difference between Chain of Command and Full Access for filters?
What's the difference between Chain of Command and Full Access for filters?
Chain of Command limits results to people within the searching user’s reporting hierarchy — their direct reports, their reports’ reports, and so on. Full Access returns results across the entire organization with no scoping.
Can I give managers Full Access to people search but restrict their filters?
Can I give managers Full Access to people search but restrict their filters?
Yes. People Search Access and each filter permission are set independently. A manager can have Full Access for people search while individual filters like Skill Flags or Documents are set to No Access or Chain of Command.
Why are some filter dropdowns grayed out?
Why are some filter dropdowns grayed out?
Two situations cause filter dropdowns to become read-only: (1) People Search Access is set to No Access — all filters are forced to No Access automatically, and (2) People Search Access is set to Chain of Command — filters are limited to No Access or Chain of Command; Full Access is not available.
What happens when I set People Search Access to No Access?
What happens when I set People Search Access to No Access?
All filter permissions for that group are immediately forced to No Access, and the Default Search Mode is set to Training. Users in that group can still access Search (if enabled), but they will only see training, skill, career, and certification content — not other people.
Does the Above Grade setting apply when searching by name?
Does the Above Grade setting apply when searching by name?
No. The Above Grade access level only applies when a user is searching by skills. Name-based searches are not affected by the minimum grade threshold.
Can admins restrict what admins themselves can see?
Can admins restrict what admins themselves can see?
No. Admin search access is always fully enabled and cannot be restricted through the Search Permissions configuration.
Related Articles
Surveys
Configure surveys, whose responses can be used as a search filter
Skill Flags
Configure the skill flags that appear as search filter options
Need Help?
If you run into any issues or have questions, reach out to your organization’s SkillsDB administrator or contact SkillsDB Support.