There are a few steps leaders can take to bridge existing skill gaps and help make knowledge shortages a thing of the past. Best practices include:
#1. Create an updated system of record for skills
Traditionally, it’s been challenging for leaders to gain a bird’s eye view of workforce capabilities because skills information is typically siloed into a few different HR systems. Most taxonomies are also out of date, leading to talent strategies that may not address the actual needs of the organization.
Rather than settling for this subpar understanding of workforce skills, companies are harnessing AI-powered tools like Gloat’s Skills Foundation to gain visibility into all of their people’s capabilities. These systems are updated in real-time and pull from an employee’s LinkedIn profile or CV, in turn capturing the full range of knowledge and experience they’re bringing to the table.
#2. Assess how skills stack up
Instead of guessing how your organization’s skills compare to your competitors or attempting to predict what expertise will become more in demand, businesses can use skills intelligence tools like Skills Foundation to put these insights at leaders’ fingertips. Most tools include skill and job benchmarking, which helps leaders understand the market value of a job and identify which skills are on the rise and on the decline.
#3. Identify segments of the workforce to upskill
As innovations emerge and priorities change, there will inevitably be times when employees need to learn new knowledge that no one in the organization possesses. In the past, when these skill needs emerged, leaders often turned to external hiring to bridge the gaps.
However, as talent shortages become more severe and economic turbulence continues, executives are starting to take an internal-first approach to acquire in-demand skills. Tools like Gloat’s Skills Foundation enable leaders to identify employees with adjacent skills who will make good candidates for strategic upskilling and reskilling initiatives.
#4. Give employees access to hands-on learning experiences
While content-based learning is a step in the right direction, employees need a chance to put these lessons into practice—which is exactly what experiential learning opportunities provide. Leading companies are harnessing talent marketplaces to generate recommendations for projects, gigs, and mentorships that employees can participate in, based on the skills they have and the capabilities they wish to hone.
#5. Create a single destination for employee development
Even when leaders invest in pathways for learning and career development, many employees struggle to take advantage of them because these resources are dispersed among a wide array of tools and systems. Since companies have an average of 70 different applications for employee development, there’s often uncertainty about where to go to find various skill-building resources.
Instead of letting siloes and bottlenecks hold people back, leading companies are utilizing an opportunity hub to centralize all volunteering, learning, and training resources—in turn, encouraging all employees to take advantage of them.