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Skills-First
Aaditya Mandloi
Written by :
Aaditya Mandloi
November 5, 2024
16 min read

How to Create a Skills-Based Workforce in 5 Steps

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The global corporate environment is accelerating the pace of innovation, necessitating a high level of agility and flexibility. Businesses are reevaluating old working styles, eliminating strict job roles, and adopting a flexible approach to stay ahead of the competition.

However, according to a PwC survey, 35% of workers feel their skills are not apparent on their CVs, showing how they have skills that their employers are not aware of and do not use.

A shift is required towards a skills-based workforce driven by the recognition, that skills, rather than job titles, are the key to organizational success.

In this guide, we shall explore the steps of implementing a skills-based workforce, explain key decisions, and clarify any confusing concepts.

The Importance of a Skills-Based Organization

Skills-based organizations dismantle silos, encourage cross-functional cooperation, and guarantee that talent is used efficiently. This method not only increases output but also creates a creative and dynamic work atmosphere.

When hiring is done based on skill, an employee's abilities and responsibilities are more closely aligned. This heightened sense of purpose can significantly increase employee retention rates. Employees can then use their skills productively and work towards creating a more productive and efficient workspace. 

However, understanding employee skills is essential to using them for maximizing the benefits of a skill-based workforce. Many organizations face challenges in understanding their employees' skills, which can slow down these companies.

The AI Skills Match from iMocha can tackle this challenge. The platform's AI-powered technology converts candidate data into intelligent profiles, accurately reflecting their abilities and potential while providing a comprehensive overview of the workforce's capabilities.

Make informed talent decisions. Gain insights into your employees' skills and identify areas for strategic development. Try iMocha Skills Intelligence Platform.
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What are the Benefits of a Skills-Based Workforce?

Now that we have established the foundation, let us discuss the tangible advantages of skills-based recruiting.

1. Enhanced Resilience and Adaptability

A skills-based workforce is better equipped to navigate the rapidly changing business landscape. With their emphasis on skills, these organizations can quickly pivot and reallocate talent to meet evolving needs, ensuring agility and resilience.

2. Access to a Deeper Talent Pool

Employers can access a larger pool of competent applicants with a skills-based recruiting strategy, improving hiring decisions over the long run. Valuing people based on their skills allows companies to address a range of business needs by tapping into a dynamic and diversified talent pool.

3. Enhanced Employee Retention and Growth 

Employees experience accelerated personal growth when they can apply their skills across various roles and responsibilities. The exposure to diverse tasks and challenges facilitates ongoing learning, skill development, and a broader organizational understanding. This results in increased retention rates and a positive workplace environment.

4. Boosted Performance and Productivity

Engaged and empowered employees are more likely to perform better. Skills-based organizations use their workforce's full potential by facilitating a culture where individuals contribute meaningfully. Encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing across different teams gives birth to creative ideas and solutions.

Matching the appropriate individuals to the appropriate tasks may be a major pain. With iMocha's Skills Assessment, organizations can maximize their team's performance by assigning them to assignments according to their skill sets.

Having trouble matching project needs with available talent? iMocha Skills Intelligence Platform can help.
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How to Create a Skills-Based Workforce in 5 Steps

1. Conduct a Skills Audit

A skills audit is vital in constructing a workforce aligned with organizational objectives. Mapping, i.e., visually representing a team's skills and competencies, provides a clear overview of their strengths and weaknesses.

A skill audit helps identify and analyze a team's skills, identify skill gaps, pinpoint high-potential employees, and optimize the team's allocation. This knowledge allows the implementation of targeted development initiatives, yielding a workforce capable of meeting current and future challenges.

2. Create a Skills Inventory

A skills inventory incorporates an extensive list of employees' credentials, including their training, work history, skill sets, and seniority levels.

Analyzing the team's skills and comparing them to project requirements facilitates effective skill-based recruitment, streamlines skill gap analysis, identifies opportunities for upskilling and reskilling, and supports succession planning, ultimately leading to a productive and successful workforce.

iMocha's AI Inference analyzes various data points to extract relevant skills from job descriptions, ensuring accurate matching of candidates to roles. It identifies related skills that may not be explicitly mentioned on resumes while validating those skills through multiple channels.

3. Developing Effective Learning and Development Programs

To establish a skills-based workforce approach, a focus on learning and development is required. The skills inventory enables organizations to allocate budget wisely while creating specific reskilling and upskilling programs for their employees.

Skill-building opportunities must be continuous and flexible enough to accommodate changing corporate needs rather than being viewed as sporadic or haphazard activities. Career advancement and staff retention can be boosted by funding upskilling and offering internal mobility options based on skills.

Implementing specialized onboarding programs, employee training, and continuous learning initiatives helps promote employee growth and guarantee long-term business success.

4. Implementing a Skills-Based Talent Management

The 2023 workplace learning report from LinkedIn recognizes a 25% shift in the skills needed for jobs since 2015. 

This rapid evolution of skills highlights the urgency for organizations to adopt a skills-based talent management approach. Focusing on individual skills over their job title enables an agile and adaptable workforce.

5. Measure and Monitor Results

Regular reviews and appropriate revisions can ensure organizational tactics yield the intended results. Being flexible and receptive to new ideas is essential for staying ahead. Experimentation is key in finding the strategies that yield the most value for an organization. 

Misaligned talent can limit the ability to achieve strategic goals. With iMocha's Skills Management framework, organizations can effectively structure and enhance talent capabilities.

iMocha: Create Productive Teams with Effective Skill Assessment

iMocha is a great platform for understanding employee skills to fill skills gaps and make organizations more effective. Here is how:

1. Skill Assessment

iMocha's custom skills assessments offer a comprehensive solution for evaluating the skills and potential of prospective and internal employees. An assessment of technical, functional, soft, and cognitive skills reveals valuable insights into candidate capabilities and future performance. With our expertise in skill consulting, test creation, and talent mapping, organizations can evaluate individual capabilities against defined skill requirements.

Our robust fraud detection mechanism ensures fair and accurate evaluations, while our live coding interviews provide a hands-on assessment of coding skills. Organizations can significantly reduce time-to-screen and make informed hiring decisions based on a deep understanding of candidate skills and competencies.

2. Employee Skill Gap Analysis

With iMocha, organizations can perform in-depth skill gap analysis thanks to its rich skills data. Sound judgments about team training and development can be achieved by identifying important skills and evaluating their abilities. This data-driven approach enables targeted and impactful L&D efforts.

3. Measure Training Effectiveness

By using cutting-edge skills analytics, iMocha's Skills Intelligence Cloud allows organizations to maximize outcomes from training programs. Its data-driven strategies optimize ROI, which ensures that training programs are in line with organizational objectives.

4. Skills Inventory

iMocha's AI-powered Skills Intelligence Cloud is an effective tool for building and overseeing a detailed skills database. Its cutting-edge inventory helps organizations accurately document and arrange the skills, backgrounds, and credentials of their employees and identify potential competency gaps.

It allows them to implement knowledgeable talent acquisition plans and recognize chances for upskilling, reskilling, and internal mobility.

Wrapping Up

Adopting a skills-based approach can position the organization for sustained success. It is time to abandon outdated workspace traditions and empower employees by freeing them from traditional job roles and embracing the transformative power of skill-based talent management.

With iMocha's skills intelligence platform, organizations can maximize their workforce potential and elevate their performance. A robust skills architecture helps define and categorize skills, transform job profiles, and align employees with relevant roles.

Book a demo with us today to streamline and support your skills management efforts!

FAQs

What is a Skills-Based Workforce?

A skills-based workforce is one in which employee evaluation and management are primarily based on their skills and competencies rather than their job titles or hierarchical positions. Roles are often fluid in such organizations, and employees move across different projects or teams based on their skills.

How can employees transition to a skills-based workforce model?

A comprehensive skill gap analysis is the first step to moving to a skills-based workforce model. This entails evaluating employees' present skill sets and contrasting them with those needed for upcoming initiatives and positions.

How can companies identify the skills needed for a skills-based workforce?

Companies can identify necessary skills through job analysis, skills gap analysis, industry benchmarking, and getting consistent employee feedback.

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