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If you’re a Chief Human Resources or Chief People Officer, then you can request to join a brand new community I put together called Future Of Work Leaders which focuses on the future of work and employee experience. Join leaders from Tractor Supply, Johnson & Johnson, Lego, Dow, Northrop Grumman and many others. We come together virtually each month and once a year in-person to tackle big themes that go beyond traditional HR.
There was a time not that long ago, when the career you picked and the job you were hired for determined your future professional path. In other words your job was your destiny.
In 2014, I wrote a best-selling book called The Future Of Work which predicted a lot of what we are seeing unfold in today’s corporate world. One of those predictions was around the idea that skills are greater than jobs. Meaning that one day, organizations around the world would pay much more attention to the skills that employees have and how those skills can be applied to different jobs inside of an organization.
This in turn would solve a huge talent problem for organizations, namely finding qualified candidates for roles, training them quickly, and making sure the employees are a good fit for the company.
Traditional hiring practices often involve seeking external candidates who meet specific job descriptions. This approach not only limits the pool of potential applicants but also overlooks the talent sitting within the organization. Organizations are now realizing that the key to talent and a big part of the future of work is internal talent mobility focused on skills.
For example, consider a scenario where a company needs to downsize its customer experience team due to automation but simultaneously seeks to expand its marketing department. The conventional strategy would involve laying off the customer experience team while at the same time hiring new employees for the marketing team. This not only increases recruitment costs but also loses the valuable organizational knowledge and experience these employees hold. This is an outdated way to think about talent.
Instead, organizations are starting to realize that customer experience professionals have a set of skills that are actually quite related to marketing. These include things like customer insights, communication, empathy, problem solving, handling with and responding to feedback, and the like. An organization can take these employees, provide them with some specific training for marketing roles such as search engine optimization, data analytics, and content planning, and transition these people over.
Research by Gartner shows that organizations that actively leverage internal talent mobility see a 30% higher employee performance boost and a significant reduction in turnover risk. Furthermore, a LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report revealed that 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development.
Depending on the study you look at, between 75%-90% of roles inside of organizations today are filled with EXTERNAL talent instead of internal talent (for example this research showing only 10% roles are filled with lateral hires). This shows there is a massive opportunity here.
What does all of this mean for you and your organization? There are a few things you should start doing and AI and technology is going to be a massive help here.
- Skill Auditing: Regularly assess the skills of all employees, not just those actively seeking new opportunities or those in transition.
- Skill Development Programs: Invest in continuous learning and development initiatives that not only enhance current capabilities but also equip employees with new skills aligned with future company goals.
- Internal Talent Marketplace: Create a platform where employees can apply for short-term projects or roles internally based on their skills, encouraging a culture of mobility and innovation.
- Mentorship and Coaching: Implement mentorship programs that pair employees with mentors in desired skill areas, facilitating skill transfer and personal development.
- Data-Driven Skill Matching: Utilize HR analytics to match employees’ skills with internal job openings, minimizing reliance on external hiring.
- Feedback and Adaptation: Continuously gather feedback from employees and managers about the effectiveness of the skills-focused approach and adapt strategies accordingly.
By focusing on skills rather than static job roles, organizations can become more agile, reducing costs associated with turnover and rehiring while maximizing employee engagement and satisfaction.
This approach not only prepares businesses to better handle industry shifts but also supports employees in their career development, aligning personal growth with organizational objectives.
The future of work is all about skills, not jobs!
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If you’re a Chief Human Resources or Chief People Officer, then you can request to join a brand new community I put together called Future Of Work Leaders which focuses on the future of work and employee experience. Join leaders from Tractor Supply, Johnson & Johnson, Lego, Dow, Northrop Grumman and many others. We come together virtually each month and once a year in-person to tackle big themes that go beyond traditional HR.
