The key to agility

and success:
Take a 360-degree
skills approach in
your organization

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 As HR leaders focus on setting is possible to do meaningful, skills-based

up successful workforces for work on their own schedules, at flexible

locations and in nimble, project-focused
the future, they are quickly realizing
teams, leading to what Forbes called
that the global economy has reached
“The Great Resignation.”2
a watershed moment: How, where and
why people work have all shifted, and
In response, companies are scrambling
success in the future means creating
to implement new norms that adapt the
an agile workforce with skills that are
nature of work to the times. But adjusting
fundamentally different from those
to a post-COVID work landscape won’t be
required in the past.
a simple matter of flexible schedules and
work-from-home options. The pandemic
The nature of work has been changing
further exposed an unaddressed
for decades, even before the pandemic.
weakness at the core of the economy:
Digitization has changed the way work is
modern business increasingly requires identify and
done in virtually every industry, leaving
a workforce with the skills, flexibility, uplift individual
employers of all kinds seeking tech-
and creativity to meet rapidly evolving and enterprise-wide
savvy workers. With automation, the jobs
objectives and customer expectations. skills that can be adapted to
available and the skills required—even
different situations while aligning with
in high-level roles in previously “secure”
To thrive in the future, many broader company strategies. This shift
sectors—shifted the focus from labor to
organizations are shedding conventional requires taking a complete view of skills
human skills like problem-solving and
playbooks on jobs, knowing that in the business, learning how to redefine
empathy.1 And after more than a year
leaving workers in siloed, inflexible and and assess skill opportunities, fostering
of the pandemic—when work became
increasingly irrelevant roles puts their and developing existing skills rather than
more flexible, less geographically
companies at risk. Instead, future-forward static job roles and parlaying this into a
contingent and more collaborative than
HR leaders must create workforces that strategy to tap into those skills.
ever before—employees know it

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 Here are 4 key steps to developing a future-ready skills strategy:

Understand the business case for skills:

1. The shifting skills landscape requires a
new approach
Take an inventory of existing skills:
2. Run a skills assessment to identify
strengths, gaps and opportunities

360°

Grow the skills needed at scale:

3. Develop a flexible, future-ready skills
strategy with a scalable infrastructure Put existing skills to work:
4. Fully use and cultivate essential skills
already present in the organization

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 1. Understand the business case for skills:
The shifting skills landscape requires a
new approach

Set-in-stone jobs/roles
nearly 30 percent over the next decade,
while the demand for complex cognitive
skills and high-level social and emotional
The most effective skills are not as critical as they skills—such as initiative and leadership—
strategies look different from once were. is expected to increase by more than 30%.7
approaches in the past. The
way people work—and the way they In this context, it’s important to consider
work together—is becoming less rigid Of the millions of jobs lost during the the people in your organization not as
and more fluid. Some experts predict pandemic, some estimate 42% may rote performers of a certain set of
the decline of traditional, hierarchical not come back at all. One factor in this
5
activities, but as essential problem solvers
jobs—that is, fixed, task-based work. 3
shift is automation, which could replace with flexible skills that can be applied
Research from Deloitte Insights shows as many as two million more workers in one role, across roles or even across
that networks of teams are increasingly in manufacturing alone by 2025. 6
teams. When you apply a 360-degree
replacing reporting lines; prescribed With this comes a change in the skills approach and continually scan for skill
roles and tasks suited to narrow required for jobs of the future—those gaps, you can fill them with individuals
skills are giving way to broader roles, that enable companies to successfully who have those skills. This not only helps
responsibilities—and a need for talent navigate continuous change. McKinsey organizations better weather change, but
with more capabilities and skills. 4
estimates that the demand for repeatable, attracts employees who, increasingly,
Here are the key drivers of this shift: predictable tasks is expected to decline by want to diversity their own skill sets.8

3
 In contrast, organizations that have full business continuity, companies are now
insights on the skills they have on hand urgently realizing the need to quickly
The business world
are positioned to address change quickly. shift their skills strategy to find and
changes quickly. In a competitive talent environment, leverage skills to address new customer
taking a more flexible, dynamic approach and business expectations. Organizations
to skill-based work instead of permanent must implement a 360-degree business
Businesses learned the hard way when
role-based assignments makes better use development strategy with both the
COVID-19 hit in 2020 that the world can
of people already in the organization. ability to assess, replace and grow skills at
change very quickly. And when change
its core to gain true organizational agility.
exposes skill gaps, many companies turn
Unlike the linear paths of the past—which
to hiring to address the problem. But
Skilling or re-skilling an saw workers as an assemblage of fixed
that is easier said than done. The Bureau
skills made to deliver inside static roles—
of Labor Statistics reported 8.1 million individual or team is vastly
the organization of the future must be
open jobs in the U.S. at the end of March different from re-skilling lean and agile—allowing workers to apply
2021.9 Just one month later, 9.3 million at scale. a diverse and growing skillset to an array
open jobs were available to workers—the
of projects that bring them purpose and
highest amount ever reported. But even
the company productivity. And to be
with all this need, many companies are In the aftermath of a year that required successful, it needs to integrate into the
struggling to those fill roles.10 businesses to scramble to maintain core cultural DNA of the company.

4
 2. Take inventory: Use a skills
assessment to identify strengths,
gaps, and opportunities

A key step in developing a 360-degree

skills strategy is to fully understand
the skills already present across the
[It] starts with a few simple
organization. Doing so will reveal questions: What’s critical
three critical truths that can be use to success? What tasks will
to drive strategy: strengths, gaps,
help us meet our goals?
and opportunities.
What skills do those tasks
This approach will enable businesses to require? What skills do
understand where they can lean in, where we have now?
they need to expand, and where they
need to invest. – McKinsey11

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 Guide to taking your skills inventory

Assessment Action

Strengths: Where are we especially competitive? What can we Invest: Promote workers who excel in their fields and can
easily lean into to advance against our competitors? Where do better contribute in higher positions, or better compensate
we shine? Understanding strengths reveals where the business valuable workers at risk of attrition.
can easily go next.

Gaps/Threats: What do we need that we lack? Where are Acquire: Bring in new skills to take advantage of market
we weak? Where are we lagging behind the competition? changes, weather disruptions, or pivot to new priorities.
Understanding gaps reveals what the company may need
to acquire to take advantage of market changes, weather
disruptions, or pivot to new priorities.

Opportunities: Where do we have underutilized skills? Where Train: Uplevel workers who have a skill that can be further
do we have highly skilled workers who are at risk of attrition? developed, or retrain workers whose skills are no long in
Are we using the best people in the most appropriate role high demand.
or position? Opportunities reveal a decision that needs to
be made.

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 ₃. Put existing skills to work: Use and cultivate
essential skills already present
Remember that skills don't need to
be limited to a job role or geography.
Flexible workforces make the best use
Don’t rest on your laurels. Like
businesses, people’s skills are constantly
evolving, which means there are also new
Once the strengths, gaps and of skills, allowing people to bring their opportunities to use those skills. Once
opportunities within the organization greatest value to the company when an employee gains new skills, don't let
are identified, the next step is to make and where they are most comfortable. those skills languish. Assign new projects
full use of all the skills that employees This isn’t just nice to have—it’s what that put into practice what the employee
already have. By setting up an internal employees are demanding. In fact, a has learned in theory. And be patient as
skills “marketplace,” organizations enable May 2021 survey showed that 39% would employees make mistakes, learn and grow.
internal mobility by quickly matching consider quitting if their employers didn’t
available skills with business requirements offer flexibility. Among Millennials and Redeploy skilled workers to more
as they shift. When companies eschew Gen Z, that figure was 49%. 12
valuable roles. High-performing talent
typical role and responsibility structures in a low-value role may not be as valuable
and empower employees to embrace their Cross-train. Cross-training allows more as the same employee in a different role
unique skills and experience, they open skilled workers to mentor more novice or team where they can make a greater
the door to new ways of thinking and talent; research shows this deepens impact. This doesn’t necessarily mean
solving problems. Here are a few ways the understanding and proficiency promoting them to leadership; it may
organizations can invest in a 360-degree of the taught skill. It also is engaging mean transferring them to a product
skills approach that maximizes the for employees, stabilizing the internal or service team in which the company
collective power of their talent pool: talent pool. One report found that 36% is more invested. By allocating the best
of workers expect continuous learning workers to high-value products or services,
opportunities, and 46% prioritize career organizations can reap much greater
advancement opportunities.13 dividends without acquiring outside talent.

7
 ₄. Grow the skills needed at scale: Develop a
flexible, future-ready skills strategy with a
scalable infrastructure

Before the pandemic, Gartner

reported that the top priority 92% 80% 77%
for HR leaders in 2020 would
be building critical skills and
competencies.14 That insight proved
prescient as new work trends, tasks of managers of the workforce of senior leaders
and responsibilities—such as remote
work, rapid digital transformation and already felt poorly prepared for the future.
gig work—emerged and accelerated
during COVID-19.

“The need for critical skills has never been

greater,” says Scott Engler, Vice President, 40% said they frequently completed
Advisory, at Gartner. “But labor market responsibilities outside of their role.
and talent data suggests that many
companies have unwittingly built the -Gartner16
wrong workforce to drive their future— of employees
and continue to do so.”15

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 To solve this preparation gap, Create an infrastructure that supports
organizations need to build a skills- organizational learning. Many
based plan that fosters a future- companies rely on individuals to carry
focused workforce: the lift of development, but it’s important
to think about consistency. In the future,
Incorporate skill-building into the regularly fostering required skills at
dominant company culture. To every level of the organization will be
[People] need to be viewed
effectively grow and scale required skills, critical. This is easier to do by investing in not as interchangeable cogs
employers must embed learning deep technology such as learning management in an organization, but rather
in the company’s culture. This enables systems or intelligent software that
as individuals with unique
employees to use, seek and grow their can recommend and track individual
and disparate experiences,
skills to support business success. And learning opportunities.
this effort must be intentional. For thoughts, attitudes, needs
example, consider devoting hours each Develop custom learning and and, ultimately, value.
month or week strictly to skill-building development paths to engage valuable
or training instead of asking employees workers, build on skills you already – Deloitte17

to squeeze in extra training when they have, and develop new skills. Doing so
have downtime. To make learning and will also improve retention—employees
development the heart of a company’s increasingly value the ability to hone
culture, it should be as much a part of skills that help them move forward in
the schedule as status reports and their careers.
regular meetings.

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 The last year dramatically
shifted how, where and what
work needs to be done, and HR
leaders are quickly adapting to ensure
their organizations can successfully
navigate the continuous change that
will mark the future.

At the heart of this effort should be

a 360-degree skills strategy that
continuously assesses talent to address
gaps and leverage opportunities. By
fully deploying, cultivating, and growing
the key skill sets required for the future,
organizations will be poised to achieve
business goals, ensure they have an
engaged workforce, and innovate.

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 Sources
7 https://www.mckinsey.com/business- 12 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/
functions/operations/our-insights/ articles/2021-06-01/return-to-office-
1 https://www.iftf.org/uploads/media/SR- building-the-vital-skills-for-the-future- employees-are-quitting-instead-of-
1382A_UPRI_future_work_skills_sm.pdf of-work-in-operations giving-up-work-from-home

2 https://www.forbes.com/sites/ 8 https://www.mckinsey.com/business- 13 https://www.ibm.com/thought-

adunolaadeshola/2021/06/17/ functions/operations/our-insights/ leadership/institute-business-value/
how-to-be-apart-of-the-great- building-the-vital-skills-for-the-future- report/employee-expectations-2021
resignation/?sh=2aac483471d7 of-work-in-operations
14 https://www.gartner.com/
3 https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/ 9 https://www.spglobal.com/ smarterwithgartner/gartner-top-3-
insights/focus/human-capital- marketintelligence/en/news-insights/ priorities-for-hr-leaders-in-2020/
trends/2020/changing-role-of-human- latest-news-headlines/unfilled-jobs-
resources-management.html soar-to-record-high-as-us-employers- 15 https://www.gartner.com/
struggle-to-hire-new-workers-64234343 smarterwithgartner/build-the-workforce-
4 https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/ you-need-post-covid-19/
insights/focus/human-capital- 10 https://www.usnews.com/news/
trends/2020/changing-role-of-human- economy/articles/2021-06-08/job- 16 https://www.gartner.com/
resources-management.html openings-reach-record-high-of-93- smarterwithgartner/build-the-workforce-
million-in-april you-need-post-covid-19/
5 https://time.com/5876604/machines-
jobs-coronavirus/ 11 https://www.mckinsey.com/business- 17 https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/
functions/organization/our-insights/ insights/focus/human-capital-
6 https://time.com/5876604/machines- todays-skills-tomorrows-jobs-how-will- trends/2020/changing-role-of-human-
jobs-coronavirus/ your-team-fare-in-the-future-of-work resources-management.html
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