A talented workforce has been a source of innovation and advancement, and their skillset an impetus to business growth. It’s true when they say that employees are the backbone of an organization. However, several factors like rapid technological advancements and innovation of business models led to market shifts.
Market and economic shifts have affected the need and availability of workforce skill set. This has resulted in an emerging global talent shortage which can impact individuals and economies tremendously. Executing a smart workforce strategy to bridge these gaps is essential to future proof your business,
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Here are some tips to allay your fears of the gap impacting Business-As-Usual;
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Skills analysis
A popular adage says “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”. Likewise, if an IT consultant is assigned a task of a tester, things will not go in anyone’s favor. Every project requires specific skills to meet the client needs.
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It’s important for a manager to stay aware of his employee’s skills to ensure that the right person is deployed for the right job. Hence, analyzing and interpreting these competencies is crucial while hiring resources or allocating tasks to existing ones. This not only enhances your business growth but also helps employees excel professionally.
To tap into the potential of competent employees, one must do an inventory check of their profile and assign accordingly. Besides optimal allocation, it also lets you take corrective measures ahead of time. screening every employee’s profile is not feasible when your enterprise’s headcount exceeds a hundred. To simplify this job, Saviom’s resource planning tool will be beneficial. It gives you complete visibility of employee’s availability and their skills. Not only that, it lets you filter your requirements and shows available resources to take up the job.
Training existing employees
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Skills gap persists for various reasons, from the lack of soft skills to employees being over or under-qualified. This broadens the gap even more. Moreover, insufficient lead time to find and train replacements for the skills going out the door adds to the gap; i.e. when people leave, time taken for new hires to gain mastery over the role.
Organizations are taking employee training seriously and are investing a hefty amount for the same. This ensures ROI and also establishes a learning culture across the enterprise. Not only that, it promotes employee engagement and boosts their morale.
AI has innovated the learning process. It has enabled organizations to upskill and reskill at a larger scale. Besides emphasizing learner-based outcomes, it also encourages skill development at any point of time. Anywhere access to learning mutually benefits the business and the employees. This fills the vacant blocks of required utility and prevents further hindrances in the project.
Evaluate progress and improve
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You can’t manage what you don’t measure. This holds true when it’s about the evaluation of skills. Only when you know an employee’s level of expertise can you manage the talent efficiently. It helps you make an informed decision if a resource is suitable for the skill that is critical to the project.
Recognition of skill matrix also drives employee engagement. You can collaborate with them, convey their strengths and weaknesses and provide them an opportunity to improve further.
Best-in-class organizations are thoroughly investing in performance improvement measures of their current workforce- be it contractors or permanent employees or freelancers. They are providing a learning platform which enhances their skill set and also boosts productivity. By doing this, you can bridge the existing talent gap and increase profitability of your business and enhance business growth.
Effective pipelining
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To be prepared is half the victory! Staying forewarned of your project requirements well in advance helps you stay proactive and empowers decision making. It draws a clear picture about what skills will be needed down the line. Effective and efficient pipelining of projects enables you to allocate a competent talent pool ahead of time. Not only that, you can resort to freelancers or contractors or hire new employees based on the data.
With smart tools at your disposal, you can get real time insights about the capacity and demand of your workforce. This helps you strategize to shorten the gap between them. Capacity v/s demand reports give you a gist of excess or shortfall of resources and lets you take measures to cope up with the gaps. Forecasting using business intelligence reduces project bottlenecks by enabling you to optimally utilize your workforce and their skills.
Leverage HR analytics
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Digital intelligence has transformed every sector in the industry. The same goes with HR analytics. HR analytics is the basis of effective employee management and predictive analytics. It has reinvented how HR operates by providing them strong team insights and enabling it to contribute to an enterprise’s bottom line. By interpreting data, it enhances efficiency in process while hiring candidates for a certain role. Furthermore, it gives data-driven information on potential talent gaps, employee turnover and predict areas of incompetence.
You can use this intelligent HR analytics to correspond talent gaps. From understanding lack of competencies to visualizing clearly defined skill metrics, HR analytics strengthens decision making. It aligns your requirements with the candidate’s skills and you choose the right candidate for the right job. Amongst other things, it enhances talent management, makes the recruitment process more efficient and precise, aids in employee retention and matches capacity and demand.
The broadening skills gap is a threat to the economic success of enterprises. With a plethora of advancements and innovations, it has continued to increase. It’s about time to overcome this before it has a negative impact on your organization. After all, an efficient and competent workforce is the key to your organization’s success. Leverage these tips mentioned above and build a talent pool with the right set of skills and increase profitability of your business.
