How Skills Intelligence Powers Agile Workforce Planning
In today’s ever-changing business landscape, smarter, better, more strategic workforce planning has become increasingly important for organizations of all sizes. With the rise of digital technologies, a challenging economy and a tight labor market, businesses must be able to quickly adapt to new market demands and adjust their workforce accordingly.
This is where skills intelligence comes in.
Skills intelligence is the practice of collecting and analyzing data on employee skills and competencies to inform workforce planning and development strategies, with AI applied to turn data into insights. With the right skills intelligence, organizations can create agile workforce planning processes that help them quickly respond to changing market demands and business needs.
Identify Skill Gaps
Better skills intelligence means organizations can, first and foremost, identify skill gaps within their workforce. By analyzing employee skills and competencies, organizations can spot where they have gaps in their current talent pool, and develop strategies to address those gaps.
For example, if an organization is expanding into a new market or launching a new product line, they may identify skills gaps in their current workforce that could impact their ability to succeed in that market. By identifying those gaps early on, the organization can consider whether to “buy, build or borrow” the talent needed to fill those skills gaps.
With the addition of labor market data, organizations can also see where they may face skills gaps in the future – for example, with the rise of AI and digital technology.
Upskill & Reskill To Meet Goals
Once skill gaps have been identified, organizations can use skills intelligence to work out how to fill them.
As well as new hiring strategies, businesses can create targeted training and development programs for internal talent, in order to fill the gaps. By focusing on the specific skills and competencies that are needed, organizations can ensure that their employees have the knowledge and expertise to succeed in their roles.
For example, if an organization identifies a gap in digital marketing, they could create a training program that focuses on social media marketing, SEO, and other key digital marketing skills. By providing employees with targeted training, organizations can ensure that their workforce is equipped with the skills and competencies needed to succeed today – and tomorrow.
Enhance Employee Retention and Engagement
The right skills intelligence also helps you boost employee retention and engagement. By providing targeted learning and development opportunities, and offering new assignments and roles that may better match an employee’s skills and interests, organizations can show their employees that they are invested in their growth and development. This can lead to higher levels of employee engagement and satisfaction, which can in turn lead to lower turnover rates and a more stable workforce.
In addition, by providing employees with opportunities to learn and grow within their roles, organizations can create a more engaged and motivated workforce. This can lead to increased productivity and higher levels of innovation, as employees are more willing to take risks and try new things.
Support Succession Planning
Skills intelligence can also support succession planning, by identifying employees who have the skills and competencies needed to take on leadership roles in the future. By identifying these employees early on, organizations can create targeted development plans to help them acquire the skills and experience needed to succeed in those roles.
For example, if an organization identifies a high-potential employee who has the necessary technical skills but lacks leadership experience, they could create a development plan that includes leadership training and opportunities to lead small projects or teams. By investing in their development, organizations can ensure that they have a pipeline of talented leaders ready to take on new challenges as the business evolves.
Redeploy Talent To Stay Competitive
Skills intelligence gives organizations the data and insights needed to quickly adapt to changing market demands and business needs. By analyzing employee skills and competencies, organizations can quickly identify where they have the skills needed to address new opportunities or challenges – and build a more agile, resilient talent strategy.
For example, if an organization decides to launch a new product line, they can quickly identify employees who have the necessary skills to support that product line and redeploy them as needed. By having this data readily available, and using explainable AI to match people to tasks or projects based on the work involved, organizations can respond quickly to new opportunities or challenges, ensuring that they have the right people in the right roles.