Skills are the future

The tight labor market is forcing companies to be frugal with their staff. They used to reorganize to their heart's content, but that is no longer of this time. There are simply not that many new personnel. Therefore, we need to look for alternative and scalable solutions. And that can be done with the smarter and more effective use of the current workforce, the current talent within organizations.

Next Learning Valley brainstormed with ABN AMRO about Skills-based Learning. Because according to them, the future is in skills. For every company it is valuable to know which skills are needed to achieve the company goals. What gap there is between current skills and the skills needed. This is important management information.

Skills framework

The use of a so-called skills framework can help. A skills framework provides up-to-date information on employment, career paths, tasks, roles, existing and emerging skills and competencies, as well as relevant training programs and education.

For different industries, you can purchase a skills framework, and possibly adapt it to your own context. Organizations can also rig such a framework themselves.

Working based on a skills framework is not only quick and cost-saving, it simplifies the decision-making process and connects you to the market. In banking, there is a lot of staff exchange. It is a small world, just like construction or publishing, for example. Employees change jobs and stay in the same sector. When every company in an industry starts from the same skills framework, employees are much more mobile in the industry and more quickly 100% employable at a new company.

Not everyone is eager for such mobility; it can make it easier to switch to a competitor. It is up to organizations to (continue to) take good care of their staff.

What skills are there

When you start with a skills framework, you identify which skills are present in a company and which are missing. This requires data. If you know what you have in house and where you want to go, then you can see what gap exists between them. Pioneers in the market are already proactively working on this. They make the skills of the current workforce transparent and put the organizational goals next to it.

Ideally, use multiple perspectives to provide insight into the current level of different skills through a mixed-method approach. Think knowledge tests, 360-degree feedback, self-assessments and behavior in the learning environment (learning analytics). And also information where the employee himself wants to go and where the employer would like to employ him or her. All this input together provides a solid set of reliable data for arriving at an appropriate development offer.

It is complex but technically possible. The picture will never be 100% objective, but combining these sources gets you close. It provides useful and workable information.

The change process

With a robust skills framework and an understanding of employee skills, an organization can begin the change process. It can get started with Skills-based Learning. Support is invaluable in change. Communication to employees must be clear and motivating. The "what's in it for me" must be clear.

Upskilling is one of the changes. If an employee has all the skills for their current position and still needs 20% for another position that has yet to be filled, they can upskill. Another option is reskilling. This is when an employee is bursting with talent, just not for the position he has. By teaching this employee other skills, he can still be of great value to the organization. Reinventing a function (reinventing) or promoting employees are also parts of the change process.

During up- and reskilling, we apply learning analytics so we know if we are doing the right thing. We can measure effectiveness and adjust the learning trajectory as needed.

Progress is the best motivator

Employees have an understanding of their own skills and the skills needed for their own position and other positions within the company. "Progress is the best motivator. Making that progress transparent motivates employees to continue their learning path and attracts employees. Talent flows to the environment where the potential has the most value and where there is opportunity to actually develop it.

With the implementation of this overall picture, there is much to be gained for an organization. And we like to draw it even wider. A common language with a kind of skills currency can emerge in the Dutch labor market. This will make employees more mobile and make it easier for them to gain experience within different organizations.

A big job

This is really still in the future. In an ideal world, skills are not only cross-organizational but also cross-sectoral. In this way, employees can be flexibly deployed and take their previous experiences with them as valuable baggage. The necessity and urgency has been demonstrated by corona. With Skills-based Learning we could have flexibly deployed the current workforce sitting at home.

In the near future, organizations will find that they cannot get by with competency management and job families. That's mostly nice on paper. With skills you go to practice, it is tangible, usable and workable. It makes it challenging for both the organization and the employee to work with it. It is a big job to be done, but one that is absolutely worth it. The costs are negligible compared to the benefits.

Want to learn more about Skills-based Learning? Then contact Max.