With more than half of enterprise leaders worried about future skills shortages, many organizations are turning to a range of new techniques to expand potential talent pools.
According to Workday's Global State of Skills report, only 54% of leaders say they have a clear view of the skills within their workforce today, and fewer than a third are confident that their organization has the skills needed for long-term success.
It's not always technical skill sets that are in high demand, however, with the research finding an equally critical need for uniquely human skill sets.
Social skills like communication and teamwork, and individual skills like resilience and creativity are listed as the most impactful skill gaps faced by organizations today, followed by digital fluency, including AI and software proficiency.
Indeed, the study noted that these skills shortages are leading to a move away from the traditional focus on job roles, qualifications, or titles when hiring and fostering talent.
Workday found firms are instead moving to ‘skills-based talent strategies’, which prioritize an individual’s capabilities over traditional credentials and focus on identifying, developing, and deploying specific skills and competencies.
According to the study, more than half of organizations worldwide are already switching to a skills-based talent model, with another 23% planning to start this year.
Eight-in-ten leaders agree that adopting a skills-based approach improves productivity, innovation, and organizational agility. They also said it increased access to job opportunities for employees, improved workforce equality, and cut unemployment.
Notably, AI is helping here by streamlining routine and repetitive tasks, enhancing decision making with data-driven insights, personalizing learning and development programs, and predicting the need for future skills.
"AI is reshaping the workplace, but the human element has never been more essential," said Chris Ernst, chief learning officer at Workday.
"Organizations that embrace a skills-first mindset will not only unlock AI’s potential but also harness human ingenuity in new and transformative ways."
There are, though, challenges to a skills-based approach. The time needed to reskill employees was a problem for 43% of business leaders, with 38% having difficulties caused by resistance to change.
Meanwhile, 28% cited a lack of infrastructure to support skills-based talent management, and the same number highlighted inadequate skills measurement tools.
‘Hiring for promise’ gains traction
Running parallel to the skills-based strategy approach, many organizations are also employing ‘hiring for promise’ practices.
Hiring for promise is a recruitment technique which takes into account a candidate’s potential willingness to expand on their existing skill sets, developing new capabilities to support the organization.
Recent analysis from Gartner found that adopting this approach - rather than focusing primarily on traditional criteria - is the most effective and efficient way to close skills gaps in enterprises.
Gartner’s study found that employees hired on promise were 1.9 times more likely to perform effectively, and played a vital role in plugging talent gaps.
Notably, half of HR leaders said this has been driven by the fact that demand for skills is evolving rapidly, meaning in-house talent can’t keep up with new requirements.
Similarly, with talent pools drying up across a range of professions, recruitment professionals are widening their nets to compensate.
"Waiting to find an employee with all of the exact skills listed for a role significantly shrinks the pool of potential candidates," said Annika Jessen, director of the Gartner HR practice.
"Instead, managers should focus on defining simple, foundational role requirements to reach a wider group of candidates."
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