The case for a strategic focus on skilling has been made. In short, as things go faster, the ability to anticipate and deliver on skill needs will be a necessary differentiator for organizations. Whether organizations reorganize to better align with this perspective, or implement through existing structures, there needs to be a concerted effort to address these needs.
Two things are clear. One is that the focus has to turn to being able to do. It’s no longer sufficient to talk about knowledge. It’s also not sufficient to respond to requests. Increasingly organizations need to be proactive.
That also implies that this isn’t a singular effort. Skilling has to become a process, not a product. Ongoing efforts to look ahead for upcoming needs as well as organizational shifts need to complement a continuing focus on what’s needed for the organization’s current directions and ensure that capability is being adequately addressed.
Performance Focus
As we’ve said elsewhere the focus can no longer be on ‘knowing’. That we don’t learn from new information is increasingly recognized. In general, new information is considered a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for change.
A focus on doing needs to become primary. This includes being specific about what’s needed, and evaluating whether it’s being met. Once skills are identified, the assessment needs to be specific, and fit to need. The strategic shift here includes recognizing the need for impact and the associated need for performance. Then, the shift is to align to it; defining skills in measurable terms and assessing against them.
Recruitment techniques are increasingly focused on actual abilities to do the necessary tasks. This needs to be complemented in the development phase. Training should leverage the implications of research on learning and achieve actual new capabilities. A dependence on whether people attended, and liked, a training event is not an indication that abilities have been acquired. There needs to be a demonstration that they’ve been acquired, are being applied in the workplace, and are yielding the necessary outcomes.
This includes seemingly ephemeral competencies like innovation. Such areas need to be broken down into concrete components, and these need to be developed.
Continual Process
The second element of skilling as a strategy is to recognize that it’s not a project. The reality of increasing change means an escalating need to continually adapt. New directions and new external developments will continue to emerge, and an idiosyncratic approach will no longer be adequate. At some point, a series of projects becomes a process, and being proactive is the call.
Organizations need to establish a process to do two things on an ongoing basis. One is to track the strategic directions chosen by the organization. Simultaneously, a survey of changes anticipated, and recognition of unanticipated but extant or developing ones, also needs to happen.
The output of this process of developing a slate of necessary skills needs to be complemented by an ongoing assessment of capabilities aligned with these skills. Here, putting in place practices that address them on an ongoing basis makes sense.
Having ongoing identification and assessments of skills, to complement the development capability, will be the strategic need going forward.
The Way Forward
Skilling isn’t just about addressing today’s needs—it’s about building a foundation for future success. By aligning skill development with organizational goals, adopting a performance-first approach, and embedding skilling into an ongoing process, organizations can gain a decisive edge in a rapidly evolving landscape.
To explore this in greater depth, download Skilling for Performance: A Strategic Imperative for Organizations and discover actionable strategies to bridge skill gaps and ensure your workforce is ready for the challenges ahead.
