The importance of Skills Management today and for future of business

Why is skills management of people so important today? To be fair it has always been important, however, today, skills management of employees is both an enabler and blocker to the changing ways in which we work in the US, the UK and the rest of the world

At Skills Base we define skills management as the practice of measuring and monitoring the skills of people within a group or organization, for the purpose of developing workforce capability and aligning it with organizational objectives.

Key themes that are both impacting the skills and behaviours required to deliver at work include:

Digitization

The process of how skills management is performed, if done well, creates a more effective and engaging workforce. This approach captures the various types and levels of skills in alignment with the workplace and the interest of the individual.

The power of digital platforms, like cloud based software on global teams means that decisions can be made faster when planning and engaging the individual and the team about existing skills they possess and regarding which projects they are allocated to or what activities they are assigned. Being able to access a database and dashboard in real time provides a competitive advantage to organisations who cannot afford to ‘fall behind’. Organizations can report on what skills need to be developed and transferred to others; and what skills leave the workplace when a team member resigns.

Data Led

The world is increasingly data centric. The rise in roles like data scientists, analysts, developers and other digital professions is estimated to grow by 10% in the next 4 years. It is now the norm to use this data and apply the insights to how organisations transform and make strategic and innovation led decisions.

Skills required to operate effectively as an individual, team and partner/consulting firm are changing rapidly as digitised platforms and processes become more commonplace,Today and into the future we will see a need for:

Technology and how it supports us at work

Technological developments and advancements will affect all future workforces. In the last 12 months, new concepts of management have emerged out of world leading educational institutes.

One example of the future of thinking and the skills required to action this theory is demonstrated by The Singapore Management University where the Masters and Robots subject offers future leaders opportunities to learn:

  • Where do we deploy robots?
  • Where do we deploy both humans and robots?
  • Where do we re-engineer humans back into the customer experience and how to do so in a ‘smart’ nation?

Pharmaceutical and food manufacturers have operated for some time with little to no human intervention in the production of product. However, as this approach becomes more commonplace in other professional services like law, accounting, consulting and data measurement, skills management at work becomes an interesting proposition for enabling participation.

Leaders

The complexity of problems that we as individuals and teams need to solve at work requires collaboration to deliver outcomes. The breadth of technical and soft skills required to work effectively, means that drawing on others’ knowledge and skills, enables and empowers employees to apply their knowledge and skills in the workplace. Establishing ways to deliver collaborative outcomes is imperative.

Human and Collaborative

Being able to work as part of a team that shares diversity of opinion, collaborative approaches, critical thinking and swift decision making is at the heart of any major change or transformation project.

Conversations and regular meaningful communication is required to develop our thinking and make new meaning together.

Mature skills management approach achieves outcomes

At Skills Base we’ve worked with organizations in the US, UK and throughout the world to identify how an organization’s maturity of skills management plays a significant role in achieving outcomes. We have identified five levels of maturity:

Level 1: The lowest level of maturity often indicating less defined and more ad-hoc processes, and organisations at Level 5: the highest level of maturity indicate more defined or optimized processes.

Our Skills Management Maturity Model:

The Skills Base Skills Management Maturity Model

Skills Base can support you and your organisation to build and maintain a high performing and competitive business to identify, track and effectively manage skills.

We work with over 50,000 users in the US, UK and throughout the world to support multinational teams; teams transitioning through significant change; through to high performing teams of 2,000 – 20,000 users track, progress and manage their skills on a daily basis.

Visit https://www.skills-base.com/ for more information on how Skills Base can help deliver better skills management in your business. Enquire today.

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