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I recently finished the book “<a href="https://davidepstein.com/range/">Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World</a>” by David Epstein. It was a fantastic read and really got me thinking about (you guessed it) skills and the workplace of the future. 
It was such a thought-provoking book for me because of the way that it calls into question a deeply entrenched narrative in our culture: the idea that specialization leads to success. Epstein argues that, contrary to popular belief, developing wider, broader, and more diverse skillsets is the key to greatness. <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
How could that be possible? We send our kids to “head start” programs and sign them up for soccer immediately after they take their first steps because that’s how they’ll dominate the competition&#8230; right?!<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
Not so fast, says Epstein. Using the story of Tiger Woods in contrast with Roger Federer, he makes his case. Tiger Woods was a golf prodigy, and a shining example for parents hoping to create their own sports stars one day. Roger Federer, on the other hand, tried many sports (e.g., skateboarding, wrestling, basketball) in his foundational years, gravitating to tennis later. Both athletes have had impressive careers, but the difference in approach couldn’t be wider. <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
Tiger took the more specialized approach from the start. Whereas Roger Federer gained the skills of balance, hand-eye coordination, and footwork from other sports, contributing to his overall athleticism. He then gravitated to a set of specialized skills when tennis became his passion and focus.  
So which athlete took the “right” approach? Turns out, in most environments, early specialization does not equate to dominance in any given field. Golf is the exception, not the rule!<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
Golf creates something called a “kind” environment for players, which means that the path to learning is straightforward. Kind environments are the fields where we’ve already seen AI start to surpass our best human minds (e.g., IBM’s Deep Blue <a href="https://www.ibm.com/history/deep-blue">defeated</a> a chess grandmaster all the way back in 1997).<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
In contrast, most workplaces are “wicked” learning environments. No shade to any employer out there – it just means that the path to learning <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/how-to-prosper-in-the-wicked-learning-environment-of-young/424277">is much more complicated</a>. The “rules” aren’t clear, and feedback is delayed or obscure. There are more variables at play – more ambiguity. Not surprisingly, these environments also make it harder for AI to compete with the human mind (e.g., AI won&#8217;t replace a firefighter anytime soon). <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
<h2>Having Range Means Having Adaptability within Ambiguity<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> </h2>
To elaborate this point, let’s look at the animal kingdom. <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
Some species can be found all over the place, including in our cities and towns, while others are much rarer and are usually seen in a zoo. For example, the raccoon can survive in a wide variety of environments like the forest, mountains, and our urban backyards. Think of raccoons as the “generalists” here. In contrast, an animal like the koala lives in a small geographic zone based on its diet and behavior. You might say it’s a “specialist.”<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
Many people have been taught that being successful means being a koala: specialize and go deep on a certain skillset. This could mean becoming a microbiologist with a PhD studying a niche organism with interesting properties. Or an analyst with a deep set of data skills. <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
But not everyone is wired to get their PhD in microbiology or be a data whiz. Some people have more varied interests, experiences, and talents that make it difficult to “pick a lane.” They&#8217;re like raccoons. And their strength lies in their ability to adapt and adjust to changing environments.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
We can’t all be koalas. And that’s more than okay, because healthy ecosystems require a diversity of creatures to thrive, and so do our organizations. Also, we need to be ready for the inevitability of AI encroachment on certain specialized tasks. So, while employees often need specialized skills to do certain aspects of their jobs, teams need to be able to draw on varied knowledge to overcome obstacles in the workplace of the future. <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
Back to the book – Epstein shared several examples to demonstrate how crucial it is to have a range of skillsets in the room when tackling a novel problem. In one story, a group of scientists couldn’t figure out how to clean up a catastrophic oil spill off the coast of Alaska (it couldn’t be pumped out of the water due increased viscosity at cold temperatures), and a complete outsider, a construction worker, was able to develop a solution based on his experience working with concrete!  
<h2>Finding, Nurturing, and Retaining Generalists for Maximum Impact<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> </h2>
I think now, more than ever, generalists can shine in today’s workplace.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
They aren’t people with many skills with limited proficiency; rather, they have a unique combination of skills and expertise that make them adaptable to the new, post-Covid workplace. They can see a bigger picture, connecting diverse groups and concepts to tackle problems and find novel solutions. <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
We can see the benefits of this in education, as well. I experienced it first-hand! One of my degrees required that students take 75 percent of their course work in areas not related to the specific degree. The goal was to create graduates with a generalist viewpoint and broad, worldly knowledge.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
The gig or flex work economy bears this out, too. I once worked with a client who had a set of generalist skills that their primary role necessitated. These were broader skills that allowed them to adapt and work across the business. Additionally, they had the opportunity to learn and earn new skills to create depth and specialization to work in other areas. It allowed them to flex where there was a need within the business or a desire by the employee to apply their learned skills and increase their compensation. <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
<h2>Creating a “Kinder” Workplace with HR Strategy<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> </h2>
So, how can you avoid creating teams with too-narrow focus while striving to become a skills-based organization? Especially as AI capabilities are becoming increasingly powerful&#8230;<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
First, visibility for HR leaders into who has what skills across the organization is going to become increasingly necessary. With this view, leaders can make informed decisions about where to lean into AI and where to mix things up to increase innovation. They&#8217;ll see which teams have become too specialized and which need deeper skillsets. <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
I&#8217;ve shared in the past how important <a href="https://www.skillcentrix.com/news/skillcentrix-three-legged-skills-strategy">culture</a> is for creating a thriving skills ecosystem. Culture, learning, and skills work hand-in-hand as you build out the environment to allow your employees know, grow, and move within the business. <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
To build out a culture that supports generalists and specialists alike, you need to start answering questions like:<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
<ul>
<li>Do you create a generalist framework for jobs with a broader set of skills, looking for unique combinations of expertise that can be applied across the business? <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}"> </li>
<li>Do you create project- or rotation-based roles that allow those individuals to float across to apply their skills while gaining new ones – benefiting them and the business? <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}"> </li>
<li>What are the skills that support your cultural mindset? <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}"> </li>
<li>How do those skills help create a workforce comprised of specialists AND generalists, reinforcing your culture, and allowing employees to learn, earn, and move as the business needs? <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}"> </li>
</ul>
As you build your strategy around skills, your organization can help the generalist by giving them opportunities to apply their strengths, gain new skills, and receive recognition for what they’ve accomplished. <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
It will only strengthen your employees’ purpose, connection to the organization, and a culture of success. <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">

In Our “Generalist” Era: Skills and Specialization in the Age of AI

Keeping up with the latest HR topics can feel overwhelming, especially amidst significant transformations in employee relations, technological advancements, and skills development.
To help you navigate these changes, we&#8217;ve created a comprehensive HR Glossary based on a recent Gartner survey that highlights HR leaders&#8217; top priorities for 2024. This glossary includes all the new phrases you need to know to stay ahead. It focuses on five key themes:
<ul>
<li>Leader and Manager Development</li>
<li>Organizational Culture</li>
<li>HR Technology</li>
<li>Change Management</li>
<li>Career Management and Internal Mobility</li>
</ul>
Ready for a sneak peek? Here’s a glimpse into a few key terms and how they can revolutionize your HR approach. Stay ahead of the curve and empower your HR journey with our 2024 HR Glossary. Let&#8217;s dive in!
<h2>Leader and Manager Development</h2>
In this section, we focus on key concepts essential for navigating the evolving landscape of leadership, from new phenomena to strategies that redefine expectations and equip managers for change.
<h3>The Great Exhaustion</h3>
The Great Exhaustion refers to a pervasive feeling of burnout amongst employees due to a combination of prolonged stress and lack of work-life balance. People are not just tired from the day-to-day grind; they&#8217;re experiencing a persistent sense of dread that impacts their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. And really, after enduring a pandemic, recession, inflation, housing scarcity, and other global stressors, can you blame anyone? Unsustainable lifestyles, uncontrollable stressors, and financial insecurity contribute to this stressed state we find ourselves in. There are, however, many ways to mitigate the effects of these factors. Organizations need to recognize the systemic issues that contribute to exhaustion and work towards creating environments that prioritize employee well-being. Flexible work arrangements, adequate compensation, and access to resources for mental health support are just a few examples of measures that can alleviate the burden of exhaustion in the workforce and create a better work environment for all. Ultimately, this will mean you’ll have a more productive and satisfied workforce. Check out <a href="https://www.skillcentrix.com/news/understanding_the_great_exhaustion">this blog</a> for more!
<h3>Leadership </h3>
Leadership encompasses the art of inspiring and guiding individuals or groups toward achieving common goals and objectives. Effective leadership involves qualities such as vision, integrity, empathy, communication, and strategic thinking. Although leadership can seem targeted at group efforts, it&#8217;s crucial to recognize the individuals that make up such a team. Being mindful of the larger-scale business goals while managing daily dynamics is how a good leader achieves their objectives. By helping employees reach their own goals and assisting in developing their skills, leaders guide each employee to contribute to the overall goal. They play a crucial role in shaping organizational culture, driving innovation, and ensuring the success and sustainability of their teams and businesses.
<h3>Balance of Power</h3>
The balance of power within HR is dynamic and multifaceted, shaped by the interplay between employers, employees, and external factors. Traditionally, employers have held significant power due to their control over job opportunities, salaries, and workplace conditions. However, in recent years, this power dynamic has shifted. The rise of employee advocacy, the increasing importance of corporate social responsibility, and the influence of social media have all contributed to employees gaining more voice and leverage in the workplace. As a new generation that heavily prioritizes different values enters the workforce, employers are recognizing the importance of maintaining a fair and inclusive environment. Not only for ethical concerns, but also for attracting and retaining talent. The competition for top talent in a globalized economy has compelled companies to offer more than just competitive salaries. They now need to provide holistic employee experiences that include career development opportunities, work-life balance, and diverse workplace cultures.
<h2>Get Your Guide Today</h2>
Ready to get your team ramped up on the latest HR Glossary? Download your copy now and equip your team with the essential knowledge to navigate 2024&#8217;s dynamic HR landscape!

Your Updated HR Glossary for 2024 [Downloadable Guide]

Last month, HR strategist and expert Josh Bersin published a new article that paints a stark picture of the current hiring landscape, where a <a href="https://www.uschamber.com/workforce/understanding-americas-labor-shortage-the-most-impacted-industries">dwindling talent pool</a> and an <a href="https://www.noemamag.com/how-ai-could-help-rebuild-the-middle-class/#:~:text=Because%20artificial%20intelligence%20can%20weave,such%20as%20doctors,%20lawyers,%20software">aging workforce</a> pose growing challenges for today’s businesses. 
In today’s installment of &#8220;Views on the News,&#8221; we’ll dive into Bersin’s insightful article and explore the benefits and challenges of his proposed solution.
<h3>Josh Bersin’s Most Recent Take on Internal Hiring </h3>
Josh Bersin’s recent article, <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/91066013/that-great-new-hire-youre-looking-for-is-already-working-for-you">That great new hire you’re looking for is already working for you</a>, asserts that it’s high time for businesses to ramp up internal hiring given our current workforce numbers. The article notes the impending US labor shortage, emphasizing the alarming statistics surrounding the diminishing pool of available workers and the aging workforce. With labor economist David Autor&#8217;s grim projection that the U.S. and other affluent nations may soon face a shortage of workers, Bersin&#8217;s message serves as a clarion call for business leaders to take proactive steps to address this looming crisis before it’s too late.
Bersin advocates for a paradigm shift towards internal mobility and flexible work arrangements as viable strategies to combat these oncoming talent shortages. Instead of defaulting to external hiring, Bersin suggests that HR leaders get creative about their approach to meeting talent needs. 
Drawing from real-world examples and data, he illustrates how organizations have leveraged internal hiring since the peak of the pandemic to manage their workforces more effectively. 
<h3>There Are No Stupid Questions: What is Internal Hiring? </h3>
Before we dive into the benefits and challenges of internal hiring, it’s important to level-set. Let’s take a quick moment to outline a clear definition of what Bersin is referring to when he uses the term “internal hiring.”
Internal hiring, also known as internal mobility or internal recruitment, refers to the practice of filling job vacancies or promoting employees from within an organization rather than sourcing candidates externally. It can take various forms, including promotions, lateral moves, job rotations, and transfers.
In internal hiring, businesses consider existing employees for new roles, either within or outside of their current department. This process allows businesses to leverage the skills, knowledge, and experience of their current workforce to meet their talent needs, while also providing continuous career development opportunities for top-performing employees. 
<h3>Major Pay Off: The Compounding Effects of Internal Hiring </h3>
Now, Bersin makes it clear that internal hiring is a critical practice for teams to stay afloat. At Skillcentrix, we tend to agree with his expertise, but let’s break down the key benefits of internal hiring for any skeptics out there: 
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Higher Retention Rates. As highlighted in a <a href="https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/report-hr-pros-rank-top-reasons-turnover">2022 SHRM study</a>, the lack of opportunities for growth and advancement ranks as one of the primary reasons for <a href="https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/organizational-employee-development/career-progression-workers-will-stay-can-advance-career">employee turnover</a>. Internal mobility programs play a pivotal role in improving employee retention by offering a clear pathway for career development. By implementing internal mobility programs, companies can proactively address<a href="https://www.skillcentrix.com/news/fighting-against-the-quiet-riot-3-ways-that-workday-users-can-minimize-quiet-quitting"> retention concerns</a> by providing employees with avenues to explore new roles, acquire new skills, and advance their careers without having to seek opportunities elsewhere. Rather than feeling stagnant or unfulfilled, employees are encouraged to explore new growth opportunities, leading to higher levels of job satisfaction and loyalty. This ultimately creates an environment where employees are more likely to stay for the long term.</li>
<li aria-level="1">More Skilled Employees. Internal hiring practices are like giving your employees a passport to explore the diverse landscapes of your organization. By promoting from within and encouraging internal mobility, you&#8217;re not just offering them a sturdy career ladder but a journey through different climates within your company. With each new role or promotion, employees expand their horizons, gaining valuable insights into various departments and projects, much like exploring different countries on a map. This experience cultivates a workforce that is not only well-versed in your organization&#8217;s culture and values but also adaptable, resourceful, and resilient—like seasoned travelers equipped to navigate any terrain. Just as a well-traveled individual brings a wealth of experiences and perspectives to the table, internal hires emerge as more well-rounded professionals, ready to contribute meaningfully to the ever-changing landscape of your business.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Faster and Cheaper. Real talk: shrinking US talent pool aside, internal hires are like gold mines within your organization, ready to be tapped into with minimal effort and expense. Think about it: these candidates are already familiar with your company culture, processes, and expectations, saving you the time and resources typically spent on slow and costly external recruitment. With internal hires, there&#8217;s no need to splash out on expensive job postings, recruiter fees, or exhaustive interview rounds. Plus, since these candidates are already part of the team, they can hit the ground running, requiring less time for onboarding and training. </li>
</ul>
<h3>The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Biggest Internal Hiring Challenges </h3>
We’ve covered the benefits of internal hiring, but now the question remains: why aren’t more teams jumping on board? Well, it boils down to two main factors. Firstly, there&#8217;s a persistent sense of apathy. Many teams have been comfortable with external hiring for so long that the idea of adopting or expanding internal mobility programs seems like a stretch. Change is hard, especially when the old ways have been somewhat successful. But with the shifting demographics in the US workforce, clinging to tradition won&#8217;t cut it in the long run. Those who take proactive steps now to establish robust internal hiring systems will be better positioned for success down the line.
Then there&#8217;s the challenge of what Bersin aptly labels as &#8220;talent-hoarding managers.&#8221; These are the folks who hold onto top talent on their teams, fearing the hassle of finding and training replacements. But this short-sighted approach stunts both the employees&#8217; growth and the team&#8217;s potential. While managers may think they&#8217;re keeping their stars happy, they&#8217;re actually driving them to seek opportunities elsewhere where they can continue to learn and thrive. 
So, how do teams tackle these hurdles? Bersin&#8217;s solution is to incentivize internal mobility and cultivate a culture that champions promoting from within. It&#8217;s crucial to help managers understand that nurturing talented individuals benefits not only their team but the entire organization. We recommend offering bonuses, public recognition, or even career advancement opportunities for managers who embrace internal mobility. Flexible team structures, like cross-functional projects or job rotations, can also retain key talent while fostering their career growth—a win-win for everyone involved.
<h3>5 Ways to Establish a Culture That Supports Internal Hiring Efforts </h3>
So, we’ve explained why teams will have to get creative with filling new roles, we’ve covered the benefits and challenges of internal hiring. Finally, it’s time to get into the nitty gritty of how to get the internal mobility ball rolling within your very own organization. While there are many places you can start, our Skillcentrix experts recommend the following: 
<ol>
<li>Start building a <a href="https://www.skillcentrix.com/news/skills-and-the-future-of-self-service-career-development">skills strategy</a>. Conduct skills assessments for employees to identify their current strengths and areas for development. Then, create a centralized database or system to catalog all of your employees&#8217; skills and qualifications. This will make it quick and easy to identify strong internal candidates for new roles. </li>
<li>Reward managers. In order to get buy-in from your organization, it’s important to incentivize managers to submit their qualified employees for open roles. You can really get creative here, but a few ideas include bonuses, public recognition, or career advancement opportunities to managers who actively support internal mobility and talent development within their teams.</li>
<li>Introduce job shadowing or rotational programs. Start by offering job shadowing opportunities where employees can see what other roles exist in the company and learn from colleagues in different departments. You can also take this a step further by establishing rotational programs where employees can temporarily work in different positions or teams to gain exposure to diverse experiences and skill sets.</li>
<li>Create an internal jobs board. Try developing an internal jobs board or platform where employees can look through and apply for open positions within your organization.Make sure to update the board regularly and provide clear information on job requirements and qualifications to get the best applications.</li>
<li>Provide interdepartmental mentor programs. Another way to promote a culture of continuous learning and internal development is to establish mentorship programs that pair employees from different departments or levels of experience. Encourage mentorship pairing to focus on skill development, career growth, and knowledge sharing across departments.</li>
</ol>
By implementing these strategies, teams can cultivate a strong internal hiring framework that empowers employees to grow and advance within your organization while fostering a culture that values continuous learning and development.
<h3>Conclusion </h3>
As we’ve highlighted above, the benefits of internal hiring are manifold: from higher retention rates to cultivating a more skilled and adaptable workforce—all while saving time and resources. However, navigating the implementation of internal hiring programs is not without its challenges. Apathy towards change and talent-hoarding managers pose significant hurdles that teams must address in order to achieve success. 
If you’re looking to start building your own internal hiring framework, there are actionable steps you can take to set yourself up for success. From establishing a formal skills strategy to incentivizing managers and introducing job shadowing programs, the path to fostering a culture of continuous learning and internal development is clear and attainable. By embracing these strategies and embracing internal mobility, your team will not only address the pressing challenges of a shrinking talent pool but also create an environment where employees are empowered to grow and thrive.

The Talent Pool Is Shrinking — Is Internal Hiring the Solution?

As organizations build out their talent framework with skills as the DNA connecting jobs, learning, and employees, they need to also look at how they manage it.
The mantra of “If we build it, they will come,” doesn’t apply to skills because the framework needs to be refreshed, reviewed, and updated to keep your talent coming to what you’ve built and engaging in it. Skills need to help answer and deliver on the “what’s in it for me” for employees.
<h2>Planting the Field </h2>
Building an organizational initiative that permeates through your talent needs to have process around it. Your talent is always evolving. Market trends drive constant changes in what skills are relevant to an employee to learn and earn.
As you prepare to implement skills, there are some basic best practices you should put in place to help guarantee success with a governance model.
1. Get Leadership buy-in. The leaders need to demonstrate the value of skills by walking the talk of skills. It needs to be part of talent objectives, tied to the overall mission and values, and be part of what they can demonstrate in what they do. It then becomes part of the culture where leaders can identify cultural skills that are shared across the organization but owned by the individual employees.
2. Make it “real” for employees. You need to make sure you understand the mindsets of your employees and the overall user journeys. This will provide insight into the “what’s next” for them and helps you create an experience showing value and encouraging adoption in the skills ecosystem.
3. Demonstrate the benefit to employees. Telling the story of skills brings skills to life for employees. We all like reward and recognition for what we do. Providing real-life stories on how skills have benefited employees helps create the reason for them to engage. If employees see and relate to the benefit, they will engage in skills as well.
4. Manage Change. We talk about this being an evolution. The evolution is a big shift that needs cultural and organizational support. Bringing employees along for that journey with education, communication, and assistance helps drive the culture shift to a skills-centric organization.
5. Connect the skills dots. See how skills should or could fit into other initiatives within the company. Define and outline where skills can be integrated to add value to existing programs or where programs can support skills development.
Companies that are building a skills ecosystem need to make sure that the skills remain applicable to the employee, company, and industry. Rolling out skills is only a piece of the larger skills puzzle. Building a skills field of dreams starts with putting the system(s) in place to organize and manage your skills. The next step you need to do is weed, fertilize, water, and cultivate your field. How do you build a field that creates a big yield long after you implement the skills systems?
<h2>Organizing the Field Crew</h2>
The initial “planting” stage of building a skills framework is no small task. It involves tagging or assigning skills to your job framework, the learning content, and employee work history. But who is determining the taxonomy of the skills? Or the competency of each skill as it is assigned?
Building a skills taskforce (akin to the field crew in our analogy) to help govern this process is essential to the success of your initiative. The objective is to drive the coordination and connected nature of skills, ultimately enabling the employee experience, bringing skills across the employee journey, and unlocking talent mobility to add value for the business.
This governance group should be an assembly of cross-functional individuals acting as the council that reviews the processes and provides direction regarding management of the skills ecosystem. The group can provide strategy and guidance as an advisory team for the roll out and management of skills across your organization. The council  should be the liaison across employee-facing initiatives to improve alignment throughout the employee experience.
The taskforce creates alignment across human resource enterprise initiatives. Skills go across the talent lifecycle and are driven by employee engagement; the group needs to understand the employee talent journey to make sure it aligns as skills go across it.
The size of your organization will determine the hierarchy of the taskforce. We typically see it broken into at least two tiers of strategic and operational teams. The team’s objectives vary based on your size and where you want the responsibilities to be positioned.
There are key objectives to account for in determining who within the overall taskforce owns each specific objective. Foundationally, it is typically broken down into two categories, with higher day-to-day engagement at the operational level and more advisory at the strategic level.
<h3>Strategic objectives:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Set the direction for the management and execution of enterprise skills</li>
<li>Make critical decisions and cross-initiative coordination</li>
<li>Advocate and communicate program importance across the business</li>
<li>Ensure alignment with the company’s Talent and Skills Strategy</li>
<li>Support alignment with other initiatives</li>
<li>Provide oversight and sponsorship of programs</li>
</ul>
<h3>Operational objectives:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Manage the workplan and skills day-to-day governance</li>
<li>Manage delivery of key activities and materials</li>
<li>Drive roll-out planning</li>
<li>Secure and develop Operational Readiness plan (e.g., team resources, change management)</li>
<li>Identify integration opportunities for skills to align with other employee-facing initiatives</li>
<li>Drive communication about skills at all levels across the organization</li>
<li>Advocate for skills and identify opportunities to weave them into day-to-day activities, especially those regular talent processes (e.g., 1:1s, annual reviews)</li>
</ul>
<h2>Maintaining and Cultivating Growth</h2>
Once the foundation is set with the skills across jobs, learning, and employees, the work has just begun. Like any cash crop, the skills ecosystem needs to be maintained to stay healthy.
Skills are always evolving, and Skills Cloud uses AI to provide suggestions to employees on skills that could be of interest or relevant to them. The AI  not only does this for foundational pieces (e.g., jobs, learning, people), but also it reviews and parses skills that are important to your organizational taxonomy.
A governance model needs to put processes in place that keep skills relevant to the jobs, learning, and  the employee. Procedures need to be implemented to prevent your organization from defaulting back to updating content only when it is required, remembered, or replaced. The tools you have with your different systems are there to help manage, refer, and maintain the skills taxonomy.
The governance taskforce needs to put the framework in place with parameters to review, refresh, update and populate your organizations skills taxonomy. They need to set processes on how the skills are reviewed, approved, and added to new jobs and learning content.
When you build your skills ecosystem, you need to do more than just stand the systems up. To get your employees to come, you need to put the framework, governance, and structure in place to enable the organic growth of your skills ecosystem. Like a field, you need to cultivate the skills to help create the dreams for your employees.

Field of (Skills) Dreams: Avoiding Regrets by Creating Governance Along the Way

When you’re looking for a new hire, sifting through a stack of resumes can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. You&#8217;re knee-deep in qualifications, experience, and a whole lot of buzzwords. But then, a candidate walks in, and there&#8217;s something about them—a secret ingredient. Personality!
Now, if you&#8217;ve spent any time scrolling through TikTok (or you’ve seen it on Instagram three days later), you&#8217;ve probably stumbled upon some comedic “<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLPtC6EA/">personality hire</a>” videos.
Some folks may treat it like a punchline, and yes… I&#8217;ve read those articles claiming that these personality-driven individuals lack the ‘hard skills’ necessary to thrive in the workplace. But let me tell you, I&#8217;m here to flip the script.
The ability to uplift company culture through high emotional intelligence should not be seen as just some fluffy ‘soft skill.’ Leadership, effective communication, teamwork, time management, and adaptability skills are equally as important to programming, project management, and marketing. In fact, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/caileygleeson/2024/04/16/biden-administration-proposes-sweeping-student-loan-forgiveness-rules-what-to-know/?sh=752685df6692">studies show</a> that the best leaders are those who combine tactical, functional knowledge with the EQ and leadership capabilities to drive results inside (and outside) their teams.
Experts repeatedly assert that these soft skills – you know, your actual personality, are the concrete foundation upon which thriving teams are built. So, buckle up as we show you why personality hires aren&#8217;t just a punchline—they&#8217;re the secret sauce that keeps companies thriving. 
What IS a Personality Hire? 
Personality hires are individuals recruited not solely for their technical skills or experience, but their characteristics and cultural fit within the organization. They are sought after for their ability to mesh well with existing teams and contribute to the overall workplace environment. More and more companies recognize that a diverse range of personalities can enrich team dynamics, foster creativity, and enhance collaboration. Personality hires play a crucial role in driving organizational success, lets dive into why and how you can implement it into your company! 
<h2>The Power of Personality</h2>
In any workplace, technical skills, like data analysis or coding can be taught, and experience can be gained. But a person’s personality— their attitudes, values, communication style —is often deeply ingrained and less malleable. This makes personality a significant factor in determining team dynamics, collaboration, and ultimately, success.
When teams are composed of individuals with complementary personalities—some more analytical, others more creative; some more introverted, others more extroverted—they often achieve a balance that fosters greater productivity. Conversely, when personalities clash or key traits are lacking within a team, it can lead to friction and a decrease in morale.
Yet, it’s crucial to have diverse perspectives at the table – so, how do we create cohesion within our teams without just looking for clones of ourselves and falling into the trap of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2023/08/29/7-ways-to-break-common-hiring-biases-for-more-equitable-recruiting/?sh=750b7f8458b8">similarity bias?</a> One answer might be to look for a “personality hire” who can smooth the social fabric of the team and the larger organization.
<h3>1. Being the Bridge</h3>
Personality hires with strong communication skills and emotional intelligence can facilitate open and transparent communication within teams, across departments, and even through executive levels.
By understanding how to adapt their communication styles to different situations and personalities, they promote companywide collaboration. In a team of 10 or 10,000, conflicts inevitably arise, whether due to project/responsibility overlap or even behavioral differences. This is where personality hires come in to save the day. The ability to mend those bonds through de-escalation can help team members work more effectively. And, overall, more happily!
Further, although a symbiotic relationship between the executive level and the team is always desired, sometimes employees don’t feel comfortable communicating upward. Having an inside person, then, who can elevate the office vibes, helps to close the gap between the C-Suite and employees.
<h3>2. Work Friends</h3>
Employee engagement and retention are key indicators of organizational health and performance. Personality hires who not only align with the company’s culture, but also ADD to it, are more likely to be engaged and committed to their roles. Better yet, personality hires aren’t just more engaged themselves, they also help others connect more deeply to the company. Which in turn increases engagement across the organization.
This can be as simple as starting chit-chat before meetings, suggesting an after-work activity, or even sending memes in the group chat. This might feel trivial, but it creates a sense of inclusion and belonging in the workplace. If employees feel connected to the organization and its people, they’ll benefit from higher job satisfaction and productivity.
Additionally, employees who relate to their coworkers and the company itself tend to feel less lonely. This is not surprising, considering a <a href="https://hbr.org/2022/10/the-power-of-work-friends">Harvard Business Review article</a> cited that the average person spends 81,396 hours — <a href="https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace-2022-report.aspx">the equivalent of more than nine years</a> over the course of a lifetime — at work. Further, having work friends is strongly linked to “improvements in profitability, safety, inventory control, and employee retention.”
<h2>The Art of Personality Hiring</h2>
Personality hiring means doing more than simply assessing technical skills and experience. It involves finding candidates whose personalities will add something positive to the dynamics of the team, while also meeting role requirements. This is not easy! It requires recruiters to look beyond the resume and delve into the intangible qualities that make each candidate unique. To be familiar with both the existing culture and the ideal candidate’s personality traits by leveraging past experiences, the interview process, and reading between the lines of resumes.
<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1938965510363377">A recent study</a> suggests that hiring managers already place an emphasis on traits such as agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and extraversion, as it has demonstrated to be a strong predictor of employee performance. Companies often try to hire those who share the organization’s values, mission, and working norms. But to get personality hires right, you might need to be even more intentional about what personality traits and perspectives are lacking.
When we talk about personality hiring, it&#8217;s essential to emphasize that it&#8217;s not about surrounding ourselves with carbon copies of your own characteristics. In fact, it can be quite the opposite. It’s about recognizing the intrinsic qualities that each candidate brings to the table. Embracing diversity of thought, background, perspective, and experience. Personality hires aren&#8217;t just about &#8220;fitting in&#8221;; they&#8217;re about adding something new and invaluable to the team.
A successful team is like a puzzle where each team member brings something unique to the table. Personality hiring involves evaluating how a candidate’s personality will complement existing team dynamics and contribute to overall cohesiveness.
<h2>Embracing the Power of Personality </h2>
As you embark on your hiring journey, remember this: personality isn&#8217;t just a nice-to-have; it&#8217;s a crucial ingredient for building strong, resilient teams and fostering a thriving workplace culture. Let&#8217;s seek out those individuals whose attitudes, values, and communication styles align with and add to our company&#8217;s ethos. Personality hires serve as bridges, connecting teams and fostering open communication, collaboration, and morale. They uplift company culture, promote engagement, and contribute to a more vibrant and cohesive workplace. It’s time to acknowledge that soft skills are not just a punchline, but the secret sauce that keeps companies thriving.
Ready to bring some pizzazz to your team? A &#8220;personality hire&#8221; might be the right move.

Personality Hires: Bringing the Energy to the Office

&nbsp;
Welcome to our latest segment of Views-on-the-News! Today, we&#8217;re exploring insights and trends from Josh Bersin&#8217;s latest guide: &#8220;<a href="https://joshbersin.com/josh-bersins-predictions-for-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Definitive Guide to Human Resources Systemic HR</a>&#8220;.
With so many insights and data points at our fingertips, we&#8217;re excited to share key findings from Bersin&#8217;s recent report – and offer our own perspective on the major trends shaping employee expectations and organizational changes for the year(s) ahead.
Now let’s get started.
<h3>2024: Embracing the Post-Industrial Age in HR Organizations </h3>
To understand the future, let&#8217;s first reflect on the recent past. Needless to say, the past few years have been a rollercoaster for employers, navigating fluctuating employment rates and economic uncertainties.
We all saw the shockwaves of widespread uncertainty which began in 2020 and led to a staggering unemployment rate of 15%. But…. fast forward to the present, unemployment rates have settled just under 4% (at least at the time of publishing), marking a remarkable turnaround. (Phew!)
Companies have started regaining their footing and economic conditions have improved, ushering us into a new era in the HR landscape – the &#8220;<a href="https://joshbersin.com/post-industrial-age/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Post-Industrial Age</a>,&#8221; according to industry leaders.
This era embodies a delicate balancing act for businesses, characterized by rapid workforce expansions to meet surging demands, followed by necessary <a href="https://www.skillcentrix.com/news/leading-through-layoffs-advice-for-managers-and-executives-hint-reskilling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">downsizing during inevitable slowdowns</a>. It&#8217;s a dizzying cycle that underscores both the dynamic nature and unpredictability of today&#8217;s business environment.
While this business tightrope act may seem daunting, it presents a unique opportunity for organizations to carve out a clear path forward. This is where Josh Bersin&#8217;s new guide comes in: &#8220;<a href="https://joshbersin.com/josh-bersins-predictions-for-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Definitive Guide to Human Resources: Systemic HR</a>&#8221; serves as a beacon for HR teams navigating this new era.
Drawing from the largest HR dataset ever analyzed, including insights from over 1,000 companies, interviews with CHROs, and LinkedIn&#8217;s extensive database, the report offers actionable guidance to HR professionals as they navigate the evolving landscape of HR management.
In the following sections, we’ll recap key trends and takeaways including: What is systemic HR; what it means for businesses; and how you can achieve it.
<h3>The Importance of a Strategic and Systemic HR Function </h3>
In his guide, Josh Bersin urges businesses to transition from traditional HR models to a more agile, and potentially strategic approach.
He advocates that businesses move on from legacy HR paradigms, focused on efficiency and cost control, in favor of what he terms as &#8220;Systemic HR&#8221; – a comprehensive framework characterized by a business-aligned strategy, integrated operating model, agile organizational structures, and employee-centric technologies.
Essentially, Systemic HR equips organizations with the tools and strategies needed to thrive in today&#8217;s ever-evolving business landscape. Don’t believe us? The proof is in the pudding.
Let’s delve into the data from Bersin’s guide that illustrates how teams with systemic HR practices are getting ahead of their competition.
1. Business Outcomes
Organizations are twice as likely to exceed financial targets and delight customers when their HR functions strategically and systemically.
When you align talent management strategies with overarching business goals, you can ensure that every hire, promotion, and development initiative directly supports the company&#8217;s bottom line.
2. People Outcomes
Organizations with systemic HR are seven times more likely to attract the needed talent. Plus, they enjoy 12 times higher workforce productivity, indicating a workforce that is not only highly skilled but also committed to delivering exceptional results. Furthermore, systemic HR organizations boast a retention rate nine times higher than average.
In today&#8217;s competitive talent landscape, attracting and retaining top talent is imperative for organizational success – making those numbers pretty compelling.
Systemic HR practices significantly enhance an organization&#8217;s ability to achieve these goals by prioritizing <a href="https://www.skillcentrix.com/news/skills-and-the-future-of-self-service-career-development">employee development</a>, engagement, and well-being.
3. Innovation Outcomes
Organizations with systemic HR are seven times more likely to adapt well to change. Moreover, they are six times more likely to innovate effectively.
This showcases how systemic HR plays a pivotal role in fostering a culture of innovation. It does so by leveraging the diverse talents and perspectives of a team to drive continuous improvement and innovations.
As you can see, Systemic HR practices can serve as catalysts for organizational excellence, driving business success, empowering people, and fueling innovation.
<h3>The Four Pillars of Systemic HR </h3>
Now that we’ve defined systemic HR and its benefits, it’s time to explain how to get there. According to Bersin, systemic HR consists of four key pillars, each with its own timeline for implementation and scale of impact.
Below, we quickly outline each pillar and its contributions to organizational success.

bersin-systematic-four-r-framework

Bersin - Systematic Four R Framework

<ol>
<li>Reskilling involves developing career pathways, skills taxonomies, and talent mobility programs. Despite a slow implementation, it has an immediate impact and empowers your workforce to adapt to evolving needs.</li>
<li>Redesigning includes evaluating and rethinking your employment model and technology infrastructure. While implementing it takes time, it has an impressive payoff. Those who redesign are able to streamline processes, eliminate inefficiencies, and position themselves for sustainable growth.</li>
<li>Recruiting means optimizing your recruiters&#8217; skills, enhancing the candidate experience, and strengthening your employer brand. This is a quick win: it has a fast implementation and quickly helps attract top talent.</li>
<li>Retaining focuses on improving the employee experience through leadership practices, benefits, and analytics. With a quick implementation and long-term impact, it’s a compelling area to focus on. In turn, it fosters employee engagement, loyalty, and satisfaction.</li>
</ol>
All of this to say, these four areas of systemic HR represent a big shift away from traditional HRSD models.
By focusing on the four pillars of reskilling, redesigning, recruiting, and retaining, you’re better suited to unlock the full potential of your team, drive innovation, and achieve sustainable growth in today&#8217;s competitive landscape.
<h3>Skillcentrix’s Addendum: How to Move Towards Systemic HR Status in 2024 </h3>
For most organizations, the path to becoming a systemic HR organization is a journey marked by continuous improvement and evolution.
While systemic HR represents the pinnacle of HR excellence, it&#8217;s crucial to acknowledge that many organizations are still quite far from achieving this status. If you’re reading this blog and thinking, ‘this whole systemic HR thing sounds nice and all but where the heck do I start?’ This next section is for you.
Step #1 to Systemic HR: Start with Skills 
If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by the prospect of achieving systemic HR status, that’s ok. Take a deep breath. As they say, the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.
In this case, your first step is a skills strategy. A skills strategy should be the cornerstone of your HR strategy, providing a roadmap for <a href="https://www.skillcentrix.com/news/skills-and-the-future-of-self-service-career-development">talent development</a>, workforce planning, and organizational growth.
A well-defined skills strategy enables HR teams to identify and prioritize the skills needed to drive business objectives, aligning talent development efforts with organizational goals.
While implementing a skills strategy requires a significant investment in time and resources, its impact is immediate and far-reaching.
By investing in reskilling and upskilling initiatives, you can equip your workforce with the capabilities needed to thrive in today’s rapidly changing environment.
A robust skills strategy can set the stage for your firm’s long-term success and longevity. By continuously assessing and updating skill requirements, you can future-proof your workforce, ensuring they remain agile and adaptable in the face of evolving market demands.
Even more, a skilled workforce enhances employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention. It fosters a warm culture of development that both attracts top talent and drives organizational excellence.
In essence, a skills strategy is not just a roadmap for talent development; it is a powerful tool for organizational transformation. By prioritizing skills development as the first step towards systemic HR, you can lay the groundwork for sustainable growth, resilience, and success in the digital age.

Views on the News: Systemic HR and Why It’s Important for 2024

In recent years, a concerning trend has emerged in the workforce: exhaustion.
People are not just tired from the day-to-day grind; they&#8217;re experiencing a pervasive sense of drain that impacts their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. This phenomenon, aptly termed &#8220;<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2023-in-review/an-exhausting-year-in-and-out-of-the-office">The Great Exhaustion</a>&#8221; reflects a deeper issue.
And really, after enduring a pandemic, recession, inflation, housing scarcity, and other global stressors, can you blame anyone?
From unsustainable lifestyles to exposure to stress beyond our control and financial insecurity, the root causes of exhaustion run deep.  Understanding these factors is the first step towards addressing them effectively within your own company.
In a recent Time article, <a href="https://time.com/6694092/exhaustion-increasing-causes-essay/">Why We’re More Exhausted Than Ever</a> by Emily Ballesteros, three critical factors emerge: unsustainable lifestyles, exposure to uncontrollable stress, and financial insecurity. These elements, often overlooked, play a pivotal role in shaping our physical and mental well-being.
These personal stressors don&#8217;t exist in isolation; they inevitably permeate into the workplace, hindering employee performance and overall productivity. As employers, it&#8217;s imperative to recognize these challenges and provide support mechanisms for team members.
In this blog, we’ll dive more into Ballesteros’ three factors of exhaustion, and explore how teams can foster a culture of understanding and offer resources for holistic well-being. By the end, you’ll learn key strategies to help your employees mitigate the effects of exhaustion and empower them to thrive in the face of adversity.
<h3>Factor #1: Unsustainable Lifestyles</h3>
Ballesteros asserts that our modern lifestyle, which often prioritizes work over fundamental human needs, is one of the key contributors to our exhaustion. The erosion of work-life balance consumes our daily experience. Contrary to prioritizing social connections, movement, and meaningful work, many people find themselves trapped in a cycle of constant demands and unfulfilling obligations.
The relentless pursuit of productivity and success has led to an unsustainable lifestyle, contributing to <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2023-in-review/an-exhausting-year-in-and-out-of-the-office">widespread chronic stress and burnout</a>. In this fast-paced world, individuals often sacrifice their well-being in the pursuit of professional advancement, neglecting crucial aspects of their physical and mental health.
We all need to ask where we draw the line between hustle culture and self-care.
To address these challenges, employers can take proactive steps such as fostering a workplace culture that prioritizes purpose-driven work by giving employees the opportunity to pursue their interests and expand their capabilities within the company at large – even between departments. (Pro Tip: Leveraging skills strategies to grow adjacent capabilities is a killer way to bring potential to life.)
Such opportunities allow team members to grow and learn, providing them with a sense of purpose which is key for self-fulfillment and satisfaction – the opposite of burnout.
There is a meme going around the self-care universe these days that reads: when you are utterly spent, sometimes it’s not that you are doing too much, but that you’re not doing enough to set your soul on fire. Creating opportunities for your teams to follow their professional curiosity is a great way to try and offer a path of enrichment to your people
Of course, for the very, very crispy on your teams, you can also consider encouraging the utilization of allocated vacation time and promoting open discussions about work-life balance struggles between employees. By implementing these measures, employers can help mitigate the impact of unsustainable lifestyles on their employees&#8217; well-being and productivity instead of perpetuating stressful environments.
<h3>Factor #2: Stressors</h3>
Another key component of exhaustion cited by Ballesteros is stress, especially when it comes from sources out of our control. While manageable stress can <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/01/health/stress-good-for-you-wellness/index.html">empower us and build resilience</a>, uncontrollable stressors such as climate disasters, violence, and economic instability leave individuals feeling helpless and drained.
When it feels like the world is falling apart, how can we expect individuals to maintain their motivation? The disconnect between the effort put into work and the quality of life it affords leads to frustration and disappointment.
Constant exposure to such stressors can take a toll on everyone, making it crucial to find ways to mitigate their impact. Cultivating mindfulness practices, engaging in regular hobbies or physical activity, and fostering strong social connections can help individuals navigate through periods of upheaval.
Further, offering space for a support system within your company and encouraging career development can give employees some control in times of uncertainty. For example, start a book club or an affinity-related slack channel (e.g. pet channel, a kids channel, a hobbies channel, a music channel) for employees to share personal updates and connect with their peers outside work-related issues.
<h3>Factor #3: Financial Insecurity</h3>
The final factor in exhaustion, according to Ballesteros, is financial insecurity. Between the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/25/economy/us-workers-cost-of-living-inflation/index.html#:~:text=The%20average%20family%20is%20spending,for%20inflation%2C%20were%20essentially%20shrinking.">rising cost of living</a>,<a href="https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/outlook/economic-outlook/cpi-report-february-2024"> inflation</a>, and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20240306-slowing-us-wage-growth-lower-salaries">stagnant wages</a>, many folks today feel trapped in unsatisfying work.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to mitigate exhaustion for you and your team. First, it’s important that we all make conscious decisions about how we spend our time and energy, so we can reclaim a sense of balance and fulfillment in our lives. For work, this can look like scheduling in time throughout your day to exercise, pick up your kids from school, or even complete a 5-minute meditation.
It’s also important that when the workday is over, we’re getting enough sleep, spending time with loved ones, and engaging in activities that bring joy. These small changes add up to make a significant difference in combating exhaustion.
<h3>Fighting Exhaustion from the Inside Out</h3>
It&#8217;s also essential for organizations and policymakers to recognize the systemic issues that contribute to exhaustion and work towards creating environments that prioritize employee well-being. Flexible work arrangements, adequate compensation, and access to resources for mental health support are just a few examples of measures that can alleviate the burden of exhaustion in the workforce.
&#8220;The Great Exhaustion&#8221; is a multifaceted issue that’s going to require a holistic approach to promote any kind of meaningful change. By acknowledging the root causes of exhaustion and taking proactive steps to prioritize self-care and well-being, individuals can reclaim control over their lives and work towards a healthier, more fulfilling future. Creating a better work environment for all will ultimately create more productive and satisfied employees.

Understanding The Great Exhaustion

With millions of job openings and the national unemployment rate <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf">just under 4%</a>, many employers are scrambling to fill open roles.
They’re faced with two options: spend significant resources to source and interview the limited supply of qualified candidates, offer them an above-market rate salary, and then still spend months training them – or, adjust the required applicant qualifications to expand the pool of potential candidates.
Today’s blog will dive into why the latter, often referred to as skills-based hiring, is the best option for businesses and our economy.
Even the state of Massachusetts is jumping on board. Governor Healey recently announced<a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-healey-signs-executive-order-directing-state-agencies-to-institute-skills-based-hiring"> a new executive order</a> that aims to eliminate unnecessary education requirements from all state government job postings. The initiative, titled “Lead by Example” instructs all executive departments and agencies to utilize skills-based employment practices when hiring, training, and retaining employees.
“This Executive Order directs our administration to focus on applicants’ skills and experiences, rather than college credentials. It will expand our applicant pool and help us build a more inclusive and skilled workforce than ever before. Our administration is leading by example, and we encourage the business community to join us by adopting similar skills-based hiring practices.”
-Governor Laura Healey
<h3>A New Era of Upskilling Calls for Skills-Based Hiring</h3>
Facing limited applicant pools, more and more businesses are rethinking what actually makes a qualified candidate. With college more expensive than ever, fewer Americans are able to shell out the cash for a 4-year degree – but that doesn’t mean they aren’t ready to work.
In fact, upskilling is now more accessible than ever. Many online programs enable individuals to expand their skill sets from the comfort of their own home. Take Google for example. Their <a href="https://grow.google/">Grow with Google program</a>, offers training, tools, and resources to help you grow your skills, career, or business. From cybersecurity to data analytics, these types of programs offer faster tracks to acquiring technical skills than a traditional 4-year university degree.
<a href="https://rapidascent.com/">RapidAscent</a> is another example of a fast-track online training program. This accelerated job readiness training program partners with Boeing and prepares individuals who want to enter the cybersecurity field.
<h3>Why Skills-Based Hiring Benefits the Economy</h3>
Skills-based hiring not only benefits candidates by expanding their career prospects, it also has far-reaching positive effects on the overall economy. By prioritizing skills over traditional markers of qualifications, such as educational background or work history, skills-based hiring creates a more equitable landscape for job seekers. This shift in hiring practices fosters upward mobility and opens doors for individuals who have previously faced significant barriers to entry.
Consider the case of individuals with a criminal record. Despite the abundance of open positions <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm">(9 million</a> in December alone), the unemployment rate for those with a criminal record is about <a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/outofwork.html">30%</a>. Many people<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/finding-jobs-with-criminal-record-hard-despite-millions-of-openings-rcna120082"> struggle to secure employment</a> due to their past. However, skills-based hiring presents an opportunity to tap into this underutilized talent pool. While it&#8217;s not about placing individuals with a criminal past in highly-sensitive roles, there are ample training programs available to equip folks with the necessary skills for various modern jobs. This approach focuses on providing opportunities for growth rather than dwelling on past mistakes.
Legislation like the clean slate laws passed in states such as <a href="https://www.jacksonlewis.com/insights/new-york-clean-slate-act-will-seal-certain-old-criminal-records-affecting-employers-hiring-processes">New York</a>,  <a href="https://www.cleanslateco.org/#:~:text=Clean%20Slate%20Colorado%20%7C%20Rebuilding%20Families,is%20eligible%20for%20automatic%20sealing.">Colorado</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/28/us/california-criminal-record-law.html">California</a>, and <a href="https://wwmt.com/news/local/michigan-clean-slate-law-expunges-old-criminal-records-crime-free-state-police-courts-convictions">Michigan</a> further supports this inclusivity by sealing certain criminal records after a specified period, enabling individuals to move forward with a clean slate.
Skills-based hiring also boosts our economy by reducing income inequality. By assessing candidates solely based on their abilities to perform the job, rather than their educational or professional backgrounds, skills-based hiring levels the playing field for individuals from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Reducing these barriers not only narrows the income gap but also pumps more money back into the economy, fueling economic growth.
Lastly, diversity in the workforce, fostered by skills-based hiring, drives innovation. A wider pool of applicants brings a broader range of perspectives, experiences, and ideas to the table. This diversity of thought leads to increased innovation within companies, spurring economic development.
In summary, embracing skills-based hiring practices is a win-win for candidates and our economy. Now, you may be wondering what it means for businesses. More on that next.
<h3>Why Skills-Based Hiring Pays Dividends for Your Businesses </h3>
In light of Massachusetts&#8217; recent executive order, it&#8217;s clear that skills-based hiring is gaining momentum, and for good reason—it&#8217;s not only beneficial for the economy at large but also largely advantageous for businesses. Here&#8217;s how:
First and foremost, companies that prioritize skills-based hiring unlock deeper access to highly skilled and specialized talent. By focusing on the specific skills and competencies required for the job, businesses more easily bring in employees who can hit the ground running and contribute meaningfully from day one. This not only boosts productivity but also fosters a culture of excellence across their teams.
Additionally, skills-based hiring promotes employee retention and loyalty. When companies invest in hiring individuals based on their skills and abilities rather than just their previous job titles or backgrounds, they&#8217;re more likely to attract candidates who are genuinely interested in the work and committed to the company&#8217;s mission. This leads to less <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2023/09/03/why-job-hopping-is-going-to-continue-for-the-foreseeable-future/?sh=7f871fe231a7">job-hopping</a> and reduces the need for constant recruitment efforts, ultimately saving time and resources.
Lastly, embracing skills-based hiring leads to tangible improvements in business performance. By assembling teams composed of individuals with diverse skill sets and areas of expertise, firms can better tackle challenges and innovate more quickly. This not only enhances a company’s competitive edge but also positions it for long-term success in an ever-evolving business landscape.
<h3>Reskilling: the Most Important Skill for the 21st Century</h3>
As we’ve covered above, skills-based hiring represents a paradigm shift in the way we evaluate and harness talent, but it also offers a chance for individuals to reimagine their career trajectories.
In an era defined by rapid technological advancement and AI, traditional job roles are changing quickly. As such, it’s high time that we all reassess our skills and adapt them as needed to stay relevant and meet the demands of emerging roles.
With automation and AI reshaping industries across the board, skills-based hiring offers individuals the opportunity to break free from traditional career paths and explore options they never thought possible. Exciting, right? We certainly think so.
For example, a customer service representative armed with strong communication skills and a knack for problem-solving may find new and more promising opportunities in roles that require training AI-driven chatbots or virtual assistants. By honing their ability to effectively communicate with both human and AI counterparts, they can carve out a niche in emerging fields and forge a new career path.
So there you have it. Skills-based hiring is good for you, good for businesses, and good for the economy. Want to learn more about this triple threat? Schedule time with one of our Skillcentrix experts to learn more about building a comprehensive skills strategy in your business.

Why Skills-Based Hiring is Good for the Economy and Your Team

In the dynamic landscape of modern organizations, the pursuit of understanding talent is akin to navigating a labyrinth of data points, aspirations, and capabilities. Amidst this complexity, rumors circulate about forward-thinking organizations harnessing skills as the quintessential data attribute to decipher their talent population&#8217;s intricacies, embolden their workforce to cultivate themselves and pinpoint opportunities for optimal matching of individuals to roles.  
Yet, even as organizations increasingly embrace the concept of skills, a pervasive lack of clarity and confidence persists regarding the optimal approach. 
Building a skills organization that is scalable requires stability. Enter the metaphor of the three-legged stool to help provide context on how to get your organization foundationally set up to start the skills journey. It not only offers security but also furnishes a framework for comprehending how to construct a robust skills ecosystem.  
However, in our exploration of this metaphor, we extend beyond the conventional imagery, introducing a crucial component often overlooked: the seat – culture. This additional piece of the puzzle serves as a cornerstone, elucidating how the three legs collectively uphold the foundational structure. 
We’re sharing a sneak peek from our newest eBook, where we explore this Three-Legged stool structure for a successful skills journey.  
<h3>Take A Seat: Culture is the All- Important Foundation to Success </h3>
Knowing Your Employee  
Building employees’ skill-based profiles is a piece of the skills ecosystem. Skills are about your employees not about the technology.  
Creating a skills-based job structure allows an employee to see the skills and gaps that they have in relationship to their current job. We see this as a common use case (that we’ve created a Workday solution for) from employees and organizations we work with on building a skill infrastructure.  
By exposing the gap to the employee, they have a natural catalyst to learn and earn a new skill. From an organizational perspective, knowing the talent pools capabilities informs how to develop, move, or acquire talent. It is also a great baseline measurement to understand the drive in the organization’s skill movement – how do you see engagement and changes within the baseline gaps?  
Now that you’ve gotten a taste, you may be asking:  
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="-" data-font="Times New Roman" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335551671&quot;:0,&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;-&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="0" data-aria-level="1">What do you need to account for and think about as you approach the workbench to build your skills stool? </li>
<li data-leveltext="-" data-font="Times New Roman" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335551671&quot;:0,&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;-&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="0" data-aria-level="1">What does each leg need to be to successfully create that secure foundation? </li>
<li data-leveltext="-" data-font="Times New Roman" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335551671&quot;:0,&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;-&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="0" data-aria-level="1">We talk about the legs but what needs to be the piece that pulls it together?  </li>
</ul>
If these questions continue to linger in your mind as you navigate the complexities of building a robust skills ecosystem, don&#8217;t fret. Our <a href="https://exclusive.skillcentrix.com/three_legged_ebook">comprehensive eBook</a> is your roadmap to clarity and success. 
Come into the Skills Workshop and learn how to build a secure and stable framework for your skills ecosystem. Together, let&#8217;s harness the power of skills to shape the future of work and unlock limitless potential.

Unveiling the Foundation of a Skills Ecosystem: The Three-Legged Stool Metaphor

In a world where touchdowns and tackles typically dominate the Super Bowl headlines, 2024 saw a different kind of touchdown – one involving pop sensation Taylor Swift. Because what better way to celebrate Valentine&#8217;s Day, than to talk about all of our lifelong loves – sports, pop sensations, and skills!  
This year, love took center stage. Even last weekend’s Super Bowl buzz took an unexpected turn, as rumors swirled about Travis Kelce and Swift’s budding romance – leading to the most-watched Superbowl. Ever.  
You might be asking; how can pop songs teach me anything about HR? Well, embodying courage and confidence are essential qualities for HR professionals tasked with developing and implementing skills strategies.  
Beyond the gossip columns and social media chatter lies valuable lessons in the realm of HR skills strategy – a playbook worthy of a championship ring. Just as Swift encourages listeners to be fearless in love, HR professionals must be bold and proactive in encouraging their team, leading change management, and establishing culture.

<h3>Gearing Your Team to “Shake It Off”  </h3>
“But I keep cruising  
Can&#8217;t stop, won&#8217;t stop grooving  
It&#8217;s like I got this music  
In my mind  
Saying, &#8220;It&#8217;s gonna be alright.” 
&#8211; Shake It Off, Taylor Swift  
In any organization, the success of a skills strategy hinges on the engagement of the whole team. After a tumultuous couple of years, with endless moving pieces and new efforts, leaders should prioritize focusing energy to mobilize employees.  
In Taylor Swift&#8217;s iconic song &#8220;Shake It Off,&#8221; she encourages listeners to shake off negativity and embrace positivity, the same way HR professionals must inspire their teams to shake off complacency and embrace the skill strategy journey ahead.  
Implementing a skills strategy requires more than just a plan; it requires active participation and buy-in from every member of the organization.  
By building and utilizing effective communication, HR professionals can communicate the vision, objectives, and benefits of the skills strategy to the team. Creating a “one for all and all for one” team mindset allows a better integration as a whole.   
From there, highlighting the relevance of skill development to individual career progression and organizational success together, HR professionals can foster a sense of ownership and excitement among employees. 
Ultimately, by infusing the implementation of the skills strategy with energy, enthusiasm, and a dash of Taylor Swift&#8217;s signature flair, HR professionals can cultivate a culture of continuous learning and growth that propels the organization toward success.

<h3>Navigating “Change” Management  </h3>
“Repeating history and you&#8217;re getting sick of it  
But I believe in whatever you do  
And I&#8217;ll do anything to see it through” 
&#8211; Change, Taylor Swift  
In addition to manifesting her own future, Swift embraces dreams and showcases her willingness to adapt to change.  
Reputation, an album released as a response to potentially career-ending media scrutiny, marked a changing point in fans&#8217; admiration that we know today. Taking the negativity and shifting the narrative to make something even more powerful.  
HR professionals must adopt a similar attitude, embracing agility and flexibility in the face of evolving skill requirements and market dynamics. By continuously assessing and recalibrating their skills strategies, organizations can stay ahead of the curve and position themselves for long-term success, just as Swift navigates the ever-changing landscape of the music industry.  
Harnessing the lessons of &#8220;Reputation&#8221; and the power of storytelling, change management can turn challenges into opportunities, fostering growth and innovation while maintaining organizational integrity. Ultimately changing your company’s reputation and shaping the narrative for the team.

<h3>Building a “Fearless” Culture   </h3>
“Cause I don&#8217;t know how it gets better than this  
You take my hand and drag me head-first  
Fearless” 
&#8211; Fearless, Taylor Swift  
In Taylor Swift&#8217;s album &#8220;Fearless,&#8221; the title track embodies a spirit of courage and optimism in the face of uncertainty. This song resonates with the notion of cultivating a resilient and growth-oriented culture within organizations.  
Just as Swift&#8217;s lyrics inspire listeners to embrace new opportunities with courage and conviction, HR professionals can draw upon the message of &#8220;Fearless&#8221; to foster a culture where employees are empowered to take risks, learn from failure, and pursue their aspirations without fear of judgment or reprisal.  
By celebrating the exhilaration of taking risks and embracing new opportunities, HR professionals can inspire employees to approach new skills with confidence and resilience, knowing that failure is not a setback but an opportunity for growth. 
The foundation of a resilient culture lies in strong leadership and effective communication. HR professionals can use the message of &#8220;Fearless&#8221; to empower leaders to lead by example, demonstrating vulnerability, adaptability, and a willingness to learn from mistakes.

<h3>Letting Skills Create a Fairytale for 2024</h3>
In celebration of the Chiefs&#8217; (or “Taylor’s Team” as some know it) back-to-back Super Bowl win this Sunday, HR leaders should take a few lessons from their playbook.  I mean&#8230; the Chiefs are a clear story of resilience, scoring the winning touchdown in overtime after coming back from a double-digit deficit.  
As Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce continue to take the world by storm, succeeding individually and as a team, they serve as shining examples of how individual success can contribute to collective triumph. You can too.  
If you have a Skills plan for 2024, you just have to ask your teams, &#8220;Are you ready for it?&#8221;

Love and Talent, The Skillcentrix Version (HR Lessons from a Pop Playbook)

A Gig. It is defined as a job, especially one that is temporary or freelance and performed on an informal or on-demand basis.  
Today’s workforce has created both an economy and mindset that enables the flexibility and variety that they want in their lives. Even better, this Gig economy mentality is great for businesses allowing them to scale up or down based on economic and seasonal demands. It sounds like a perfect marriage between the company and the employee.  
 With the gig market economy sitting at just over $36 Billion 2021 and forecasted to be almost $90B by 2027. It is growing fast – according to LinkedIn – it’s probably well past time for your firm to develop a gig approach. Whether you have a plan or not, gig workers have moved beyond the “should we embrace” stage.  
The evolution of the gig economy and technologies begs the question: What’s next for gigs? And what’s going to look different as we approach the second half of the decade? 
This article will walk through the critical operational processes, technological support, and a strategy you need to implement a cohesive approach to embracing the gig movement in your organization and use a common vertical – the retail industry – as a means of highlighting gig dynamics.  
<h2>Industry Spotlight: Retail   </h2>
The retail industry has been embracing the gig approach to long-term staffing for years. Adopting gig-based practices helps to meet variable staffing requirements aligned with annual experiences – such as the holiday shopping surge – as well as attract employees looking for more schedule flexibility.  
In fact, flexibility is the number one reason retail employees are leaving their jobs(1). And if companies can’t meet this, the employees leave for more malleable pastures. 
Of course, the pandemic further accelerated the gig mentality into the realm of business reality. In the Spring of 2020, the type of roles required to conduct everyday business changed for a lot of the big box retailers, many within 30 days. Rather than the in-person experience being paramount, retailers were suddenly asked to support their customers with minimal, to no, contact.
Retailers and employees pivoted to create robust last-mile product delivery experiences with curbside, locker, and eventually back to in-store pick-up. Inevitably, this adjustment changed the role within the store for the retail associate, demanding different skills and training. 
Post-Covid, retail has adopted some residual practices and continues to embrace the gig mindset.  
<h2>Gigging Yourself Up </h2>
Now approaching four years post-pandemic, we are still seeing market, technology, and customer expectations continuing to change. How do we utilize the gig population to benefit everyone? 
Creating a successful gig model requires operational processes, technological support, and a strategy with a supporting plan.  
<h3>1. Develop a talent strategy built around the gig mindset.</h3>
Building the “what and why” around gigs helps gain alignment and a plan as you go across the business. You will want to outline what are you trying to accomplish as a business, so you make sure you’re solving your organization’s specific problems while supporting the gig workers. Determine what you see as a success and key outcomes to measure it. 
  
Defining the type of audiences and their specific needs or nuances will make sure you’re building a strategy with a plan that supports them.
<h3>2. To operationalize that program, you need to have the technology solutions that support the scheduling, capabilities, and preferences of the populations.</h3>
Gig work creates niche needs. The more you understand your talent pool’s desires the more you can create the match of the specific need with the right talent or vice versa so when there is a business need you can identify the right people to fill it quickly.
This is dependent on developing a skills ecosystem of your talent supply allowing for visibility and a detailed understanding of available talent. With a gig business, defining the skills DNA of your talent pool allows for a strategic approach to acquiring your talent.
There are several areas within the gig arena from a technology standpoint that retailers will need to start taking into account.  
<ul>
<li> Skill Passports are creating an external, credentialed talent pool of skill-identified individuals. It is like a resume but with more detail, verifications, and insight to quickly find the right person for you. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Pay-and-Go is the Uber or DoorDash gig approach but with a gig employee completing their shift and being paid immediately for it. Gone will be the two-week pay period where your employee has done ten other jobs in that timeframe. They want to be paid now for the work that they completed. 
 </li>
<li> Shared Gig Platforms creating an employee resource portal for gig employees. These are a shared gig platform warehousing training resources, healthcare options, and retirement planning tools. This is a gap that this gig group is not always accounting for and now tools can help build that support model for them. </li>
</ul>
 The gig talent pool is tech-savvy so determining how they can fit into your business will help you attract and retain gig employees with technology that supports them.  
<h3>3. Develop an onboarding and training program that supports engagement of the talent pool.</h3>
<a href="https://redthreadresearch.com/">RedThread Research</a> surveyed and reported(2) organizations in mid-2023 and what they’re focusing on to help support the frontline worker (which includes the gig employees). The three key things revolved around performance, development, and inclusion.   
Creating a gig model that brings an employee into your organization making them feel like they might be part of it, helping set clear expectations preparing them for their work, and providing resources to gain additional skills creates a supply that returns and performs well. 
We know an inclusive culture where an employee (part-time, seasonal, project-based, or full-time) feels part of an organization increases their overall job satisfaction. Additionally, we know that employees who have clear job expectations from the start and growth opportunities also are more satisfied. In the same McKinsey study, frontline retail employees who are motivated and satisfied in their role have comparative store sales three percentage points higher than their peers who are less satisfied and lower performing(3). Satisfaction and sales go hand-in-hand.  
As gigs arise, building a readied skilled talent pool feeds into the desire of the gig worker interested in learning new skills ahead of the demand or their next role. Using skills as the currency that they can learn and earn to better themselves, be assigned to new opportunities, and feel like the company is helping them grow is tapping into that desire and creating higher-performing gig employees.  
<h3>4. Recognizing, socializing, and rewarding work as it is completed to create engagement and loyalty in an area where it might be absent. </h3>
The gig worker provides retailers and businesses the ability to respond to customer needs by providing flexibility when something is triggered in the market. They bring to the table a specific set of knowledge based on their background (and skills). This knowledge caters to the demands and provides higher customer satisfaction.  
Additionally, this allows a business to develop or offer specialized areas of expertise around a product or service that they would not normally be able to offer.   
To build and retain this model, companies need to recognize and reward the skills these gig employees are bringing into their business. Recognizing people by endorsing them for their work provides credibility to what they do and reinforces their loyalty to you as a client. Socializing this is rewarding and helps market them for what they are skilled in.  
<h2>Short-Term Engagements Create Long-Term Gains </h2>
Creating a gig strategy that supports the employees has many benefits. If done with the employee in mind the returns are higher satisfaction equating to more revenue and happier customers. The strategy helps remove the traditional disposable or second-class citizen mindsets and put them into a specialized, valued role, even if it is short-term.  
With the gig economy expected to expand at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of over 16% during the forecast period, one thing is certain: This market is going to continue to grow. So&#8230; how are you going to embrace and support gig strategy for 2024 and beyond?  
 
Citations:  
1 David Fuller, Bryan Logan, Polio Suarez, and Aneliya Valkova, “How retailers can attract and retain frontline talent amid the Great Attrition.” McKinsey, August 17, 2022. 
2 Heather Gilmartin Adams, “Final Report: Getting Real About the Frontline Workforce.” RedThread Research, May 16, 2023. 
3 “Gig Economy Market Size, Growth &amp; Statistics to 2031.” linkedin.com, November 29, 2023.  
&nbsp;

To Gig or Not to Gig – Is No Longer the Question

22 of Our Favorite Stats on HR Strategy for 2024

Rolling out a successful skills strategy involves careful planning, a clear roadmap, and a commitment to continuous evolution. If you feel overwhelmed by the prospect of mapping out your skills strategy, you aren’t alone.
That is why we hosted a live panel of HR strategy experts for our last webinar of 2023: to provide their insights for building a successful skills strategy in 2024 that aligns with your organizational goals.
Today’s blog provides a quick recap of the discussion, summarizing the key steps to ensure your organization&#8217;s skills success in 2024 and beyond. Looking for more details? Don’t forget to tune into the <a href="https://skillcentrix.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IAgbwzSlS-OENuKmF3KD_w?utm_campaign=Nov%202023%20Webinar%20-%20Annual%20Plan%20and%20Skills&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8FJowcX1aVfCWhQCK-LlJCBshiravJgi6ftrOim2ruK8FeRNRAQ1sVwrOO-uc_8Y-lTKjq#/registration">full one-hour recording</a>.
<h3>Step 1: Plot Your Skills Journey</h3>
As you begin your skills journey, it’s important to visualize your company’s guiding vision – it’s North Star. Work with your team to identify which skills your company will need in its team over the next year, 3 years, and 5 years.
You can begin your skills journey by defining your goal end state, but it’s important to then break down the long-term vision into smaller, manageable projects. This segmentation not only allows for adjustments based on lessons learned but also builds expertise within your team.
Incremental progress also organically builds stakeholder trust and buy-in over time, so you can eventually work your way up to securing funding to support larger, more impactful engagements.
When prioritizing projects along your skills journey, make sure to consider broader organizational initiatives. Assess the current state of your organization and identify areas where skill development can contribute most effectively to your overarching business goals. By integrating skills strategy into your strategic objectives, you ensure that every move you take is helping the entire organization.
<h3>Step 2: Clean and Update Your Data</h3>
Now that you have a vision, it’s time to lay the groundwork for your skills strategy: data. Establishing a robust technical architecture and integration that supports your plan is absolutely crucial, laying the foundation for long-term success.
First, identify where your skills data resides, whether in Excel, recruiting platforms, or learning platforms. Next, you’ll need to centralize this siloed data into a single, reliable source of truth.
Once you’ve collected the data in a single place, it’s time to validate and assess its accuracy. Conduct employee self-assessments and get manager feedback to ensure the data is both updated and reliable. Having accurate and updated data is crucial to your overarching skills strategy, otherwise, your work is all for naught.
<h3>Step 3: Understand Your Governance</h3>
Navigating the complex waters of governance is vital to sustaining the success of your skills strategy. Consider creating a Governance board or assigning specific functions to individuals responsible for reviewing and managing skills associated with the data.
Governance isn&#8217;t just about enforcing rules; it&#8217;s about ensuring that your data remains of the highest quality, reflecting the rapidly changing world around us. Identify key stakeholders early on and establish a collaborative decision-making process. Keeping stakeholders engaged throughout the skills strategy journey is essential for fostering a sense of ownership and commitment.
Moreover, consider integrating a feedback loop within your governance structure. Regularly gather insights and perspectives from stakeholders, allowing your organization to stay agile and responsive to changing needs. This iterative approach to governance ensures that your skills strategy remains aligned with evolving organizational dynamics.
<h3>Step 4: Continue to Plan and Understand Your North Star</h3>
While the North Star represents your ultimate destination, the journey is equally important. Regularly revisit your roadmap, making adjustments based on evolving business needs and a deeper understanding of skills data.
However, the journey isn&#8217;t just about planning; it&#8217;s about taking that crucial first step. Get started, iterate, learn, and evolve. Capitalize on your successes, but equally, treat failures as invaluable learning opportunities. Each phase of your skills strategy journey is an opportunity for growth and refinement.
Consider establishing a dedicated team responsible for monitoring the progress of your skills strategy. This team not only ensures that the strategy stays on course but also actively seeks out opportunities for improvement. Leverage feedback mechanisms and performance metrics to measure the effectiveness of your strategy. This proactive approach positions your organization to be not just a participant in the skills landscape but a trailblazer, setting new standards for excellence.
<h3>A Skillcentrix Client Demonstrates the Importance of a Clear Skills Vision</h3>
A pivotal element of any skills roadmap is communication. Aligning your organization&#8217;s mindset with the influence of skills involves a comprehensive communication strategy. For example, we’ve worked with an organization whose approach to skills was initially project-driven and reactive to immediate business needs. The absence of a shared skills vision across leadership and misaligned priorities hindered their progress, with different business units competing for attention and resources.
To remedy this, the organization took a step back, aligning everyone to a common baseline knowledge of skills strategy. They underwent an assessment of the HR functions&#8217; maturity, bridging the gap between their current state and the desired future. This introspection prompted a reevaluation of their vision, gaining buy-in from the business and aligning ongoing projects with the overarching goals. The organization is now in the process of building a multi-year roadmap, reallocating funds, and reassessing projects to ensure alignment with its vision.
This transformative journey serves as a testament to the importance of incremental progress and a mindset shift. Rather than viewing it as a one-time transformation, the recommendation is to approach it as a continuous journey. This mindset shift allows organizations to make steady progress toward their end state while maintaining flexibility and adaptability in response to evolving needs.
<h3>Are You Ready To Skill Up in 2024?</h3>
By following this comprehensive blueprint, your organization can maximize its skills strategy in 2024 and beyond. It&#8217;s not just a roadmap; it&#8217;s a dynamic and adaptive framework for continuous improvement, ensuring your organization remains at the forefront of the evolving skills landscape.
And remember, a strong skills strategy doesn’t just involve HR; it permeates every aspect of business. From IT to customer service, a well-crafted skills strategy ensures that every facet of a business operates at its peak by fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptability. Thus, a strong skills strategy doesn&#8217;t merely impact departments individually; it transforms the entire organizational ecosystem, fostering resilience, innovation, and sustained success.

Maximizing Your Skills Journey in 2024: A Comprehensive Blueprint for Organizational Success

Editor’s Note: Today at Skillcentrix, we’re diving into key skills trends for 2024. In this article, Director of Advisory Services, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffmartinjohnson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeff Johnson</a>, dives into his predictions for the coming year.
Each year we want to be aware of trends or themes that are anticipated to surface in the upcoming year. Like our resolutions, we want to prepare ourselves to be better at what we do and not be surprised by something.
For skills, there are some common themes that I’m either seeing, hearing, or predicting that we need to be aware of and prepare for as we look at 2024.
<h3>The Not-So-New Workplace Model </h3>
The hybrid work model is here to stay. As we leave the pandemic in our rear-view mirror, the trend of a hybrid and remote workforce will continue to be omnipresent.
A recent <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/remote-work-statistics/">Forbes</a> survey of CHROs found that eight in ten Fortune 500 leaders have no plans to change their remote work plan in 2024. The question for leaders to truly address is: How can you work better with this varied workforce?
This post-pandemic workforce has created several problems that organizations will need to keep top-of-mind in 2024 and try to address as they progress through it.
<ul>
<li>The hybrid model breaks down some natural vehicles (e.g., water cooler conversations) that create the company culture and community. This issue creates a lackluster employee population and impacts retention.</li>
<li>Compounded with the scattered workforce comes increased stress on all employees with additional work added to their plates. 
Employee and leader stress levels increased during the pandemic and the trend is holding steady going into 2024. This is partially driven by additional work above and beyond their current responsibilities, restructuring, and as we enter the new year budget cuts.</li>
<li>With employees feeling a disconnect from their organization, added or changing workloads, and external geopolitical pressures fueling stress levels, organizations need to try to create connections with their hybrid employee population. Organizations have tools in place that help create those connections whether the employee is in the office, remote, or working between the two environments.</li>
</ul>
With Workday they can create a skill-based profile and assess their skills. They can engage with their manager or peers to ask for endorsements or an assessment of a skill(s).
This helps create the connections reinforcing a collaborative culture, provides visibility into what they’re capable of doing with their manager, and demonstrates what they’re good at, creating alignment and employee satisfaction ultimately impacting retention and reducing stress.
<h3>AI and Talent Landscape</h3>
“I know I&#8217;ve made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal. I&#8217;ve still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission. And I want to help you.” (Hal 9000, Kubrick, 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968, 1:51:21)
How do you embrace and create your mission using AI in 2024?
With AI no longer a buzzword that the media is spinning up, it’s time to start incorporating it as a key part of the solutions we’re using to build better customer experiences, understand our user base, or help expedite products or services to market.
Today, fast-food drive-ups are utilizing it for license plate recognition with their customers helping initially with order alignment and eventually looking at creating loyalty programs and food preferences. Based on the knowledge that the AI has specifically about the customer, you can leverage better user data to empower customers to get their order done exactly their way, every time.
Like the late 90’s and the Internet, we need to step back and realize this is another tool that is helping with some heavy lifting. We’re a data-driven society. We have a mass amount of information that is being collected with every input and click that we do in our day-to-day activities.
We all know that the volume of employee and organizational data that you collect and warehouse in Workday can support an AI framework that aids in creating the skills DNA within your business.
With the volume of your foundational data warehoused in jobs, worker history, and learning content AI can parse this large volume of data and help tag or recommend skills based on what it is interpreting.
Data analysis that would have taken years can now be accomplished within a fraction of the time. AI does the heavy lifting automating and providing the intelligence needed to make informed decisions.
Of course, with any technology transformation, there is a caveat: Your AI data analysis will only be as good as your underlying data. I use the analogy of a baby. If you provide your baby with good, clean food you get a happy, developing baby; doing the opposite will get you a fussy and messy baby.
<h3>Proactive Nimbleness – Jack was good at it. Can you be too? </h3>
Being nimble is essential in today’s business environment. The word pivot is part of our nomenclature in corporate America today for a reason: That capability has the power to create successful organizations. But how do we prepare our teams to get more nimble?
There are two fundamental factors that help enable a nimble organization.
<ol>
<li>Data drives flexibility: As I just shared above, creating a data and system infrastructure that allows for connectivity and visibility into your business allows you to pivot more quickly when things change. Being able to quickly see and respond to changing customer needs (or even predict them!) creates opportunities for personalization and engagement.</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;
<ol start="2">
<li>Create a workforce adaptive to change: Adaptive might be a keyword for 2024. By identifying key adaptive skills (e.g., problem-solving, agility, systems thinking) that are essential to your workforce, establishing them as part of your culture creates employees capable of flexing as the business changes.Proactively reskilling or upskilling your employees with the adaptive skills prepares you for the first point of changing market needs impacting the transformation for the organization and the employees.</li>
</ol>
This approach to building a fundamental set of skills shared across your business but owned by the business creates a competitive approach for your business and accelerates a transformation when the business needs to evolve.
Including your employees in this with transparency on why they need the skills outlines the win-win scenario when change comes to the business. Companies that put their employees at the center of a transformation are two-and-a-half times more likely to successfully deliver on their transformation objectives.
Skills remain that thread that enables so much within our talent pools. Being proactive, utilizing solutions like Workday and AI to enable skills across your organization, and equipping your employees with the skills they need to be engaged and proactive are going to help set you and your organization up for success in 2024.

The New Skills Paradigm: Workforce [and Workday] Trends in 2024

skillcentrix-wrapped-2023-4

Skillcentrix Wrapped 2023 (4)

It’s that time of year – when we look back with fondness and nostalgia over the past year and share our annual summary of the songs and albums, we loved on social media for all our friends and distant acquaintances. (If anyone’s wondering, my background PowerPointing music netted me in the 1% of all Spotify users in total listening time this year – though I’m not sure how I feel about that.) 
For the Skillcentrix team, this year has represented a giant journey of transformation. And so, as we come to the end of 2023, we thought we’d take a page from our playlist friends – to take a look back on the incredible journey we’ve had as a part of the Workday community with so much joy and gratitude.  
As the beginning of 2024, we embarked on a mission to revolutionize skills and talent strategies within the Workday ecosystem. Our commitment was clear: to empower our clients as they navigated to next-gen talent strategies, using skills and new technology to drive business outcomes.  
Well&#8230; This year has been nothing short of remarkable: celebrated our first anniversary, hosted entertaining events and webinars, and published almost 40 incredible blogs.  
<h3>New Faces, New Workday Platform Offerings, and New Partnerships! </h3>
We launched with a small yet passionate team that shared a common determination to make a mark in the industry. Today we find ourselves at triple the team strength! Joining us are so many amazing humans, cool individuals, and leaders in the Workday, Talent and Skills ecosystem, who share our vision and passion and bring fresh perspectives to our customers.  
This expansion has not only strengthened our capabilities but has added great talents to our vibrant Skillsquad. Working closely with the Workday teams, we also joined some of the critical programs driving growth, scale, and new capabilities into the Skills and Talent Marketplace. In the past few months, we’ve joined the Adaptive Strategic Workforce Planning and Extend Platform programs, bringing even more skill sets (see what I did there?) to our end-to-end Talent offerings.  
We also focused on giving back to the community, running our Inaugural Skills Cup charity, and partnering with Workday’s Giving and Doing team to support important charitable causes in the community, including the ASPCA and Habitat for Humanity. (In fact, I’m attending a Toy Drive event in Denver with nearly 70 of my closest Workday friends tonight!) 
 Last, but definitely not least, we began partnerships with true platform standouts, including Fast Company’s <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fprotect-us.mimecast.com%2Fs%2FGD4PCER25RtgQz3xFpGhuv%3Fdomain%3Dfastcompany.com&amp;esheet=53863870&amp;newsitemid=20231129193621&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=%26%238220%3BNext+Big+Things+in+Tech%26%238221%3B&amp;index=2&amp;md5=cc96336fd83617241a69e3a30ed7ea14" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“Next Big Things in Tech”</a> award winner, SkyHive (with even more partnerships to announce in the new year.)  
All in all, as we look back on the year, we celebrate not only the numerical growth, but the invaluable relationships formed and are excited for the prospects that await in the coming year. 
<h3>This Year in Skillcentrix Thought Leadership </h3>
Our commitment to thought leadership is exemplified in the 37 insightful blogs we&#8217;ve published this year.  
From industry trends to expert tips, these articles cover a spectrum of topics designed to provide valuable insights and information. Reaching almost 10,000 website visitors this year, we work hard to make sure our blogs help HR and Technology leaders and practitioners keep abreast of the latest skills, talent strategy, and Workday trends to keep ahead of the curve.   
Here are just a few of our favorites:   
<a href="https://www.skillcentrix.com/news/workdays-new-ai-and-ml-innovations-from-rising-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New AI and ML Innovations at Workday Rising</a> 
Josh Lumbreras, Skillcentrix&#8217;s Chief Technology Officer, shares the features he&#8217;s most excited about in Workday&#8217;s new AI and ML innovations coming out of Rising. &#8220;These new capabilities have the potential to transform the way HR organizations use emerging technologies, and I’m eager to see how we can use them to benefit our customers.&#8221;  
<a href="https://www.skillcentrix.com/news/the-importance-of-successful-succession-planning" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Importance of Successful Succession Planning</a> 
Raise your hand if you feel like your company is totally ready with a great succession plan for your leadership team. If you raised your hand, you are part of only 14% of leaders who feel the same, according to a Gallup poll. In this blog, we dive into how to develop a successful succession strategy.  
<a href="https://www.skillcentrix.com/news/back-to-skills-school-glossary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Modern Workday Skills and Talent Glossary </a> 
If you&#8217;re looking to expand your HR lexicon, this eBook is for you! We compiled a list of the top HR terms and trends to know for this year across core focus areas like technology, learning &amp; development, and staffing &amp; recruiting.  
<a href="https://www.skillcentrix.com/news/navigating-the-3rd-wave-of-hr-digital-transformation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Navigating the 3rd Wave of HR Digital Transformation</a> 
The concept of digital transformation has undergone significant shifts over the years. In this blog, we dive into the key aspects of its newest wave and explain why it’s different from previous iterations of HR digital transformation. We also explore how this new era impacts HR professionals, business partners, and the organizations they serve. 
<a href="https://www.skillcentrix.com/news/executives-weigh-in-what-defines-skills-strategy-success" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Executives Weigh In: What Defines Skills Strategy Success? </a> 
While 95% of companies prioritize skills over job titles in promotions, only 44% of firms have fully embraced a disruptive skills approach. We pulled together a panel of experts including Matt Gregory, Laura Hume, and Petra Kuret who explored the top challenges of driving a skills transformation, diving into common pitfalls that can hold teams back from successful implementation.
<h3>Onward into 2024!</h3>
To all of our friends, customers, partners, and Workday family, we can&#8217;t thank you enough for joining us on this journey over the past twelve months of 2023. 
We hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year, and can&#8217;t wait for all the exciting possibilities that the coming 2024 holds!

Skillcentrix Wrapped: Our Year In Workday Talent and Skills Strategy

Keeping the critical talent – which you have already recruited, trained, and coached on your culture is one of the most essential elements of long-term business success. Yet, in the post-pandemic years, employee retention and engagement have both more essential, and more complicated.
Thankfully, <a href="https://www.betterworks.com/state-of-enablement-report-2023/">Betterworks&#8217; State of Performance Enablement Report</a> has unveiled several eye-opening statistics that highlight the current state of employee perceptions and needs, so you can provide the career development support your team needs to do their best work this year and beyond.
Let&#8217;s delve into these key findings and explore how a strategic skills development approach can transform your performance management in 2024.
<h3>Key Stats &amp; Takeaways from Betterworks’ Report</h3>
With over 40 pages of insights, the report is organized into six main takeaways:
<ol>
<li>Employees who have confidence in their performance management review process have much higher trust in their organizations. </li>
<li>Many employees see performance reviews as biased, with downstream effects that show up in higher levels of quiet quitting. </li>
<li>Employees feel generally positive about work, ranking fairness as their top concern for a good employee experience. </li>
<li>Employees don’t feel supported in their careers. </li>
<li>Managers – especially newer managers – want and need help having conversations with employees on career, advancement, and professional growth.</li>
<li>Half of employees are not getting adequate performance enablement – such as goal setting and tracking, feedback, and meaningful, ongoing conversations. </li>
</ol>
For the sake of this article, we’ll focus primarily on findings four, five, and six, diving into why today’s employees don’t feel like they’re getting adequate support to perform their best at work. We’ll also explore how a strong skills strategy can provide teams with the framework they need to set performance goals and, most importantly, help their staff achieve them.
<h3>Better Supporting Employees with an Eye to Retention </h3>
To start with the good news, a striking 75% of employees in the Betterworks survey expressed a desire to stay and grow within their organizations. Unfortunately, less than half of them see a clear path to career advancement within their current company.
This gap highlights a huge need for businesses today to connect with their employees.
It also leads up right into our next focus statistic: Only 46% of surveyed employees reported feeling supported in their career aspirations. Interestingly, those who engage in regular career check-ins with their managers tend to feel significantly better supported (more on this later).
What does that mean for the state of performance management? The report revealed that only about half (52%) of employees receive what they consider to be adequate performance enablement.
This, unsurprisingly, comes down to the underlying systems and technology at play. Just around half of the workforce has access to dedicated tools for feedback, performance, and career or skills development. And only one in four employees have performance management integrated into the tools they use daily.
The report&#8217;s data reveals that employees who have access to and like their dedicated tools for performance and career development feel adequately enabled at an impressive rate of 92%. In contrast, only 26% of those without these tools feel adequately enabled.
<h3>A Powerful Duo: Skills Strategy and Performance Management</h3>
Now that we&#8217;ve absorbed the report’s insights surrounding employee experience and performance management, let&#8217;s consider how organizations can address these issues in 2024.
A strategic skills development approach is key to bridging the gap between employee experience and performance management. Here&#8217;s how it can make a difference:
<ol>
<li> Clear Development Paths: Implementing a skills strategy provides employees with a visual roadmap for their skill development and career progression. This not only boosts their motivation and gives them purpose, but also helps them see the tangible steps required to advance their careers.</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;
<ol start="2">
<li> Regular Check-Ins: Encouraging regular career check-ins between employees and managers is a vital component of a skills strategy. These check-ins foster a sense of support and help align employee aspirations with your business’s strategic goals.</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;
<ol start="3">
<li> Enhanced Enablement: Skills-focused tools provide a framework to empower employees with resources and opportunities for learning and growth. This leads to better outcomes for your organization like increased productivity and engagement.</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;
<ol start="4">
<li> Integration of Tools: Integrating your performance management and skills development tools into a single platform like Workday helps keep these resources readily available and easy to use for employees.</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;
<ol start="5">
<li> Personalized Development: A comprehensive skills strategy empowers leaders to build out personalized development plans for their team, catering to individual employee strengths, weaknesses, and career aspirations.</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;
By adopting a skills strategy that encompasses all these aspects, organizations can significantly improve their performance management and deliver a stellar employee experience. This, in turn, boosts retention rates, productivity, and overall job satisfaction.
Making the Most of 2024: The Importance of a Skills Strategy for Your Performance Management
In conclusion, Betterworks&#8217; State of Performance Enablement Report underscores the urgent need for organizations to address the gaps in career support and performance enablement.
A skills strategy that incorporates clear pathways, regular check-ins, and integrated tools will help businesses empower their employees, enhance their sense of support, and ultimately lead to a more productive and engaged workforce.
As we step into 2024, let&#8217;s seize this opportunity to create a workplace that fosters growth and development, benefiting both employees and organizations alike.

Views On the News: New Report Highlights the Impressive Impact of a Skills Strategy for Performance Management in 2024

In the HR world, we’ve been talking about the “evolution of skills” and how it can benefit your talent landscape. As we’ve often seen in movies, evolution is exciting! It causes disruption that creates edge-of-your-seat-suspense. 
Take Jurassic Park – that piece of amber with an insect preserved inside seemed so promising&#8230; at first. As we all know, it eventually led to a franchise based on an evolution that went wrong. John Hammond’s scientists thought that they could predict what was going to happen, but instead, they completely changed the formula&#8230; and chaos ensued. 
This is a “summer blockbuster” take on evolution. However, building an ecosystem based on skills (not on dinosaurs) is a much safer bet. No CGI or special effects required!  
But to have success, you&#8217;ll need to take a longer-term, strategic approach that mirrors the natural course of evolution, rather than one huge disruption.  
There is so much preparation and work that needs to be put into place to make a skills ecosystem come to life. Good data, a solid foundation, change management plans, and HRIS systems to support each of them are required for a skills-based organization with high employee engagement.  
<h3>Creating Your Jurassic Park: Building the Ultimate Skills Environment &amp; Ecosystem </h3>
In the films, the island was the natural environment for the dinosaurs, and park rides were the vehicles that brought visitors on the adventure. The fall of the island’s ecosystem into destruction was due to external factors they were unprepared for, which HR teams would do well to learn from.  
Like Jurassic Park, you need to build an entire ecosystem for skills. There&#8217;s so much data to grapple with, from job structures, worker and learning histories, to employee data. These are the foundational pieces you’ll build on for your skills framework.  
The park ride, in our case, Workday, will be the vehicle in which employees experience the skills ecosystem, so it needs to be configured properly.  
Let&#8217;s first talk about creating the right environment – what does that look like? An intelligent architecture will include large amounts of internal data that’s cataloged, refined, and then run through an AI or ML application. A reporting layer goes on top of it, so that you can analyze the talent within your organization.  
Skills are data attributes within this larger dataset: the common thread tying together different pieces of data, building the skills DNA of your organization and employees. Skills are applied to an employee’s work, job, and learning histories, giving insight into what capabilities they have from past experiences. Add in their assigned job, stretch work assignment, or mentorships, and that DNA becomes more robust and complex.  
Next, consider skills data coming from outside sources. If you&#8217;re equipped to handle these external factors, you can prevent your ecosystem from breaking and descending into Jurassic chaos. What skills are trending or what are relevant skills for your industry? HRIS systems can consume and use data from an almost infinite set of resources and share trending skills based on your organization’s skills DNA. 
With a thriving skills ecosystem, you can have visibility into your talent pools. Using the Workday Skills Cloud with Workday Extend (including our Skills Definition app) and Workday Prism Analytics (including our Skills Gap Dashboards), you can suddenly see the skills gaps in departments, divisions, or across the organization. This allows you to build upskilling, reskilling, or focused-skills programs to fill in the missing pieces.  
Next, your skills data will drive your succession or workforce planning, with inputs and reports that can be pulled from Workday Adaptive Planning. It will provide you with deeper insight into how you strategically move or prepare to move while building a pipeline within your talent pools.  
What about the folks who aren’t yet employees but are interested in working for your organization? Once candidates upload their resume into your ATS system, their skills can be tagged to their profiles. You’ll have a pool of candidates that can be matched to your job structure, so sourcing for candidates becomes more informed because of the skills data: the first step in linking together the strands of their skills DNA.   
Boom – you’ve built your island and your park rides. But are you ready for your park visitors to arrive?  
<h3>HR&#8217;s Evolution: Preparing the HR Organization<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </h3>
This is all well and good, but is your Human Resource organization equipped to interpret the data? Are they skilled in analyzing, understanding and recommending based on this information? Or are they more comfortable falling back into using their intuition, relationships, and soft skills? 
Part of the preparation needed around the skills evolution is getting the right skills into your HR organization’s DNA. Traditional HR specialists need to have different skills now to be successful at their jobs. 
Do they need to be upskilled or reskilled to read, interpret, and utilize the information that is now available at their fingertips?  
With the volume of information being processed and available in reporting and the heavy lifting being done by your organization’s solutions, the checklist of items that need to be accomplished in a day will change. HR teams will be more informed with factual and strategic data that allows them to have more meaningful conversations with the C-suite, departments, and individual leaders no matter what part of the talent lifecycle they touch.  
Every role must be filled by the right person with the right skills, just as every enclosure is home to the right dinosaur!  
<h3>Making Your Organization Skills Evolution Darwinian&#8230; Not Chaotic </h3>
To avoid creating a trilogy of evolutionary disasters, as you’re building the infrastructure, embrace the long-term, strategic process of evolution (rather than sudden disruption) to create a team that is fit to survive.  
As the systems are being built, prepare your HR Team to “walk the talk” of skills well before employees are brought into the ecosystem. This will set everyone up for success and create a very different kind of blockbuster!

The Skills Evolution – More than a Summer Blockbuster

Editors note: This week’s blog comes to us from our brand new Director of Advisory Services, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffmartinjohnson/">Jeff Johnson</a>. Today, Jeff shares his experience rolling out skills strategies for the past (cough) thirty years and shares his critical lessons learned&#8230; 
It always amazes me to see how the world has evolved as I step back and look at where I’ve been and where we’re going. Who would have thought almost thirty years later, that the concept of skills has come around full circle to being at the forefront of today’s talent strategy?  
 “What can skills do?,” or, “Has anyone done a successful skills program?” and “What does success with skills even mean?” are often the questions that come up when I talk to people who are looking at implementing or building a skills strategy and ecosystem.  
The answer is the power of skills is truly amazing and I have seen it done successfully – and we are in the midst of an amazing evolution.  
<h2>Skill Strategies Really Have Evolved </h2>
Many of us haven’t had exposure to a full-fledged skills strategic program yet. I had my introduction thirty years ago.  
But this, of course, was when systems, taxonomies, and artificial intelligence were not available to support the use of skills like they are today. Heck, we didn’t even have an ATS to manage our applicants – that data was put and managed within a home-built Lotus 1-2-3 database!   
Remember, this was over a quarter of a century ago. A different time. What about today?  
As Greg Pryor, the former Workday VP of Leadership &amp; Organizational Effectiveness, stated “…around 2010 we entered this ‘third age’ of human capital management, which I very much believe will be much more around people and performance enablement. And that there was a very specific pivot in what was happening around the democratization of work, the availability of prediction machines, and the expectations of workers. And I do believe those three things have really driven us into this ‘third age.” 
I agree one hundred percent with Greg. The human capital management arena has evolved and we’re in the golden age of it. Skills are at the forefront. 
<h2>Skills and Strategy Back in the Day </h2>
I think back to my early experiences with skills programs. In the example mentioned above, I was on a team where we connected skills across the talent strategy with processes and governance ultimately leading to an implementation at scale across the business.  
We had a problem to solve which is often the case when we look at transformational programs.  
It began with a core business challenge: How do we identify, interview, and onboard over 500 employees within a large acquisition within five months? This is simple today with applications and data that uncovers, identifies, and onboards employees but we had neither the data nor applications to support this effort.  
We manually created and used skills with supporting definitions as our framework. It was used to: 
<ul>
<li> Align on the skills needed for the specific job, so sourcing used this for identifying and pre-screening candidates.</li>
<li> What specific skills each candidate was assessed on during the interview process, so each interviewer evaluated against the same skills criteria using skills-based interview guides. </li>
<li> What new hires used to understand the ‘skills’ they needed for their job once onboarded and where they could develop any of their skill gaps.</li>
</ul>
Once we pressed play on the model, we not only met our program’s expectations we exceeded them. We hit our recruiting and onboarding goals, identified top talent that aligned with the business culture, and brought in additional recruits as part of another acquisition. We then scaled the model to the entire organization.  
This demonstrates the power of what skills can do before the tools we have today. It also clearly addresses one of the common questions I mentioned above – yes, organizations, and specifically teams I have been a part of, have found great success and employee experience gains by successfully leveraging skills – even thirty years ago. 
<h2>Skills Today: Three Keys to Ensure Initial Success </h2>
The above story was then. With the user experience, applications, data, and AI at the start line, I believe the Third Age of skills transformation is here. We are in the now.  
This begs the next question, “How can the tools that you have in your bailiwick allow you to bring skills to life for your organization?”  
Based on past successful programs I’ve seen; successful skills implementations often break down into core parts:   
<h3>Step 1: Defining Your Roadmap </h3>
First, you need to build a skills strategy with an output that is a skills roadmap. Skills are a big concept, so prepare for a journey, not a transformation.  
Don’t think of a skills roadmap like your Google Maps directions with point-by-point instructions. It is something you have alignment and clarity on for the near future and it gets less defined the further into the future you go out.  
You will start your skills journey with clarity, and learn as you go to help advise the next turn to make more informed decisions on the best path.  
<h3>Step 2: Launching with an Initial Pilot  </h3>
Next, you need to focus on what you can accomplish in small chunks that support your key business problems. I always recommend starting small with a pilot.  
Skills programs are wide-reaching, and it’s almost impossible to accomplish every single goal all at once. To build momentum and ensure success, keep the scope attainable and achievable. 
<h3>Step 3: Getting the Right Foundation  </h3>
Underlying all of it are the foundations that support the skills strategy. Foundations typically include: 
<ul>
<li> Job and Job Architecture – What is the framework that includes your job structure?</li>
<li> Source Systems – Where does the data for your employees and learning reside? What is the condition (e.g., relevancy, current) of the data? </li>
<li> Skill Taxonomy – What is the source for your skill dictionary that empowers the experience? </li>
</ul>
All of these are vital to the success of skills and your strategy. If you look at what we used skills for in my past life, we used them for mapping to our jobs. It was our foundation for finding, recruiting, onboarding, and growing our talent.  
In today’s skills world, jobs are still one of the key foundations that organizations are trying to understand how to tackle. This is a long pole on your skills strategy that needs to start and evolve as your roadmap grows. Today’s tools and applications can help to accelerate this long pole. 
<h2>Your Ticket to the Skills Revolution </h2>
I’ve seen both in the past and in current times what skills can do for an organization. My introduction to skills was thirty years ago. I was passionate about it then and as the industry has evolved my passion has also grown. I have seen the power of skills, how technology has helped enable it, and where it can take an organization.  
The evolution has made it powerful and like your roadmaps, it is going to iterate and grow. How are you going to make the power of skills work for you?