Data-savvy, skills-based organizations FTW
Tools, tools, gimme more tools...!
Intro - let’s dream a little bit
Imagine if organizations not only focused on bullets on a resume but also had the ability to reskill their workforce and adapt to change. Imagine if they could uncover and unblock the talent that ALREADY EXISTS within the organization, instead of having to poach it from each other.
In a skills-based organization, individuals would have the opportunity to showcase their capabilities and potential for future roles, regardless of their past experience. Selection criteria would be less based on “pedigree“ (ex-MAANG, graduate from [XYZ] university, etc) and more on actual, proven skills. This could also have a potential byproduct of reducing hiring bias because -let’s be real- you’re never going to catch diverse fish when you’re fishing from a biased pond.
Moreover, these organizations would actively invest in reskilling and upskilling their employees, empowering them to embrace new technologies, methodologies, and emerging industry trends. This forward-thinking approach would enable organizations to stay agile in the face of evolving market demands and seize new opportunities.
Such organizations would not only attract top talent but also cultivate an environment where employees thrive and contribute their best, propelling the company toward sustained success.
Skills-based organizations
I have been following the discussion about skills-based organizations with a lot of interest because I have always been a believer in talent development as the main driver of talent engagement. Notice that I am trying not to use the word “retention“ because I feel it’s terribly one-sided, almost even violent. Why are we relying so much on extrinsic motivation, “carrots and sticks”? Have learned nothing from the Self-Determination Theory?
(no, it’s not the show with Sheldon, Leonard, Penny, Raj, and Howard; if you haven’t heard about it, do yourself a favor and follow the link above)
The concept of aligning the growth path of the organization and the individual growth paths of its employees is the essence of my “Fire Your Stars” presentation at DisruptHR a couple of weeks ago.
This topic has been trending, and one of its most vocal proponents has been Josh Bersin, possibly the top name at the intersection of Talent & Technology.
A revolution of this size requires a change of mindset in the organizations, starting to consider AND the right tools to make the best of the new paradigm
The newer breed of tools
These newer tools:
Are heavily focused on the incredible amount of data HR and adjacent fields generate, like Visier or Eightfold.
Are deeply embedded in the ecosystem of tools so that applications can talk to each other, like Microsoft Viva Insights.
Utilize AI to discover, predict, and suggest patterns, rather than “allowing you to generate reports“, like Gloat or Glint (I always confuse them, and it’s not casual that the names are so similar)
There are new ones coming out each day, but when I saw the announcement about the integration between MS Viva and Glint, I couldn’t help getting excited.
Imagine what can be accomplished when you have:
MS Viva pulling info from the whole Office365 ecosystem of apps
Glint analyzing skills, trends, and patterns
and the Copilot AI helping navigate all that information
Mind. Blown.
And it’s not really a surprise that in the middle of it is Eric Knudsen, who had one of my favorite presentations ever on People Analytics at HR Redefined in 2019.
(I couldn't find any recordings of that presentation, but here is a similar one he made for Namely, and is essentially the same topic).
HR People, buckle up! 💺What a time to be alive.🔥🔥🔥