Skills intelligence: Why it's moving from the HR dashboard to the boardroom

For years, workforce planning centred on a familiar metric: headcount. Organisations focused on how many people they needed, where gaps existed and how quickly roles could be filled. Today, that equation is changing.

According to Vinu Varghese, Senior Director, People & Culture at Bread Financial, the rise of AI, continuous technological change and increasing business complexity are pushing organisations to look beyond job titles and organisational charts. The focus is shifting towards capabilities.

"In an AI-driven workplace, workforce planning is rapidly moving beyond headcount management towards a capabilities-based approach. The central question is shifting from 'How many people do we need?' to 'What skills do we need?'"

The shift is particularly relevant in financial services, where organisations operate within highly regulated environments while navigating rapid technological transformation. In this context, skills are becoming a critical input into business strategy.

At Bread Financial, Varghese says workforce planning and skills intelligence are increasingly interconnected.

"At Bread Financial, associate skill development is central to our talent strategy. We no longer view skills intelligence and workforce planning as separate efforts; instead, skills proactively inform workforce planning rather than being treated as an afterthought."

Understanding skills in real time

For many organisations, the challenge is no longer collecting workforce data. It is understanding whether that data can support better business decisions.

Varghese describes skills intelligence as an organisation's ability to understand, in near real time:

• The skills it has today
• The capabilities it will need in the future
• The gaps it must address

This visibility has become increasingly important as technology, regulation and customer expectations evolve faster than traditional workforce planning cycles.

"Even associates who share a job title may bring very different skills, and those differences matter when organisations make talent deployment decisions."

While maintaining a skills inventory is becoming common practice, Varghese believes organisations need to move beyond static records and embed skills information into everyday talent decisions.

"Like many organisations, Bread Financial maintains a comprehensive associate skills inventory. Our focus, however, is to move beyond maintaining an inventory and integrate skills data and development into day-to-day workforce decisions, including hiring, internal mobility, learning, succession planning and strategic workforce planning."

From reactive planning to future readiness

One of the most significant advantages of skills intelligence is its ability to help organisations look ahead.

Rather than focusing solely on existing capability gaps, leaders can use skills data to assess future workforce needs and potential vulnerabilities.

"The greatest value of skills intelligence is that it moves organisations from reactive to proactive."

Varghese says the conversation should evolve from identifying current shortages to assessing future capability requirements.

"Instead of asking, 'Where do we have skill gaps today?' Leaders can ask, 'What capabilities will we need over the next 12 to 24 months, and are we on track to build them?'"

Although organisations cannot predict every regulatory shift or technological disruption, they can gain greater visibility into the capabilities that are becoming increasingly important.

"Intelligence gives leaders a clearer view of which capabilities are becoming more critical and where the organisation may be most vulnerable."

Why implementation remains difficult

The growing interest in skills-based workforce models does not mean implementation is straightforward.

According to Varghese, the biggest challenge is not creating frameworks or mapping capabilities.

"The hardest part is not mapping skills; it is changing behaviours."

A skills-based approach requires leaders to think differently about talent, workforce deployment and career progression.

"A skills-based approach asks leaders to think in terms of capabilities, not only jobs or roles."

Successful organisations, he says, are those that identify their most important capabilities, integrate skills into business decisions and continuously refine their approach over time.

Importantly, this responsibility extends beyond HR.

"A skills-based model is not solely an HR imperative; it is an organisation-wide effort that requires shared ownership between the business and HR."

Hiring new capabilities versus building them internally

As demand rises for capabilities such as AI, cybersecurity and advanced data science, organisations face difficult decisions about where to invest.

Varghese believes the answer depends on several factors, including urgency, complexity and the organisation's existing talent base.

"The right balance depends on how specialised the capability is, how urgently it is needed, and how closely it aligns with skills already available in the organisation."

For highly specialised capabilities that are new to the organisation or needed immediately, external hiring may offer the fastest route while organisations simultaneously invest in upskilling.

For capabilities that build on existing expertise, reskilling often delivers stronger outcomes.

"Existing associates already understand the organisation, its customers, risk environment and culture - strengths that are difficult to hire for."

The leadership factor

Skills data alone cannot drive workforce mobility or development.

Varghese points to managers and business leaders as critical enablers because they create opportunities for employees to apply and develop new capabilities.

"This requires consciously looking beyond job titles and experience when making hiring, promotion, and internal mobility decisions."

The distinction is important because workforce data can identify possibilities, but leaders ultimately determine whether those opportunities become reality.

"Skills data may show who could move into a new role, but leaders decide whether to open the door."

Beyond HR

Looking ahead, Varghese expects skills intelligence to become increasingly embedded in business strategy.

"Over the next five years, I believe skills intelligence will move from being an HR capability to becoming a core business capability."

He notes that competitiveness in financial services has traditionally depended on managing capital, risk and technology effectively. Future success, however, will also depend on how organisations understand and deploy workforce capabilities.

"As work becomes more AI-driven and regulatory expectations continue to evolve, organisations with the clearest view of the skills they have, the skills they need and how quickly they can close the gap will be best positioned to compete."

For Varghese, the broader significance of skills intelligence lies in the quality of decisions it enables.

"Ultimately, skills intelligence is not an end in itself; it is a way to make better business decisions."

As workforce strategies evolve, the conversation around skills is increasingly moving beyond HR functions and talent programmes. It is becoming part of how organisations assess risk, plan for growth and build long-term resilience. That is why skills intelligence is steadily finding its place in the boardroom.