Article: Linking learning to the core of business: Preparing for the Upcoming Skill Shift

Skilling

Linking learning to the core of business: Preparing for the Upcoming Skill Shift

Building a learning culture that’s crisis proof is a journey. It’s not only about organizations identifying the skills employees need but also about what employees want to learn and do with their careers.
Linking learning to the core of business: Preparing for the Upcoming Skill Shift

There’s a new normal, and it requires bringing about a skill shift in employees faster. Why? The shelf life of skills drops more and more every day. So how can your organization create a culture of continual learning that’s crisis- and disruption-proof? How can it create a culture that promotes internal mobility? And most importantly, what should you be looking out for in the future?

In an exclusive, sixth virtual roundtable organized by People Matters in association with Degreed, industry leaders considered these questions and discussed how to prepare. (The fifth discussion in the series focused on how to drive learning for workers by clearly communicating its goals.)

A Supply and Demand Mismatch 

Kickstarting the session, Anushree Tiwari, Enterprise Sales Director at Degreed, shared insights from the Degreed State of Skills 2021 report, stating that it’s important to understand the skills landscape of your organization and industry before you prepare for a larger skill shift. Indeed, it's imperative to understand the skills your people have and those they need in the future.

Most businesses do not have good visibility into workforce capabilities, with almost 6 in 10 talent leaders looking to technology to help them assess and monitor workforce skills, according to the report. When learners in India, for example, were asked what skills they need, they voted for a mix of technology, cognitive, and social skills. When it comes to identifying skills needed to create a smarter, digital-savvy workforce, one suggestion was for academia, regulators, and industry to be more aligned.  A huge mismatch exists between the supply and demand of skills, but digitization can bridge it faster, and many types of organizations can help make this possible.

When it comes to capturing the skills gap data,  IQVIA and other organizations are trying to make headway by maintaining a clear picture of where employee skills stand and what certifications workers have completed. These organizations then link Workday employment records to their learning platforms. When the pandemic hit, for example, these organizations were able to use this data to build on content and reskill workers as needed.

Linking Learning to the Core of Business

Building a learning culture that’s crisis-proof is a journey. It’s not only about organizations identifying the skills employees need but also about what employees want to learn and do with their careers. Some organizations approach this by making the development of employees a manager KPI and incorporating learning discussions into performance calibrations.

Another way organizations such as Emcure approach building a learning culture is by linking learning to the core of the business. Organizations that do this do not struggle as much to ensure the stickiness of learning programs and build a learning culture.

In addition, some organizations are making bigger efforts to build new skills rather than exploit existing skills. In doing so, they’re moving people from basic skills to advanced skills, by giving them an opportunity to apply the skills being learned. 

This is where internal mobility comes into the picture.

Organizations such as Johnson & Johnson believe that learning doesn’t come from programs; rather, learning comes from applying knowledge in real-world work opportunities.  And with the help of a tech platform, organizations can create an internal marketplace where people can match what they bring to the table with available opportunities. This internal mobility enables organizations to build more talent rather than buy or borrow it. 

Read full story

Topics: Skilling, Learning & Development, #PMRoundtables

Did you find this story helpful?

Author

QUICK POLL

How do you envision AI transforming your work?