According to PwC, three-quarters of CEOs are concerned about the availability of key skills and how this could constrain them from acquiring, developing, and retaining the talent they need to drive growth. This is prompting an increasing number of companies to transition towards a ‘skills-based organisation’. The effort to do so should not be underestimated especially as the consequence of this shift is that the dominant structure of work for the past century – the job – is increasingly being disrupted.

 We are still in the early stages of the transition with research by Deloitte finding that fewer than one in five organisations are currently adopting skills-based approaches to a significant extent. However, the same study found that 90% are moving towards a skills-based approach. This tallies with our research at Insight222, which found that nearly all companies (90%) expressed a desire to build a skills-based approach to workforce planning but that only a quarter are currently doing so. 

As such, I was pleased to recently meet up with co-founder and CEO of Techwolf, and recently named by Forbes in their Top 30 Under 30, Andreas de Neve. We took this time to discuss how HR leaders can make an impact on their business this year by addressing skill shortages and creating the foundation of a skill-based organisation.

Skill shortages are one of the biggest concerns for business leaders, and HR leaders potentially hold the solution to this problem. Andreas will share his insights on how to consolidate skills data, build a skills framework, and leverage AI to transform unstructured skills data into an actionable, structured skills framework. So, let's dive in and discover how HR leaders can build the foundations of a lasting skill-based organisation.

It’s an interesting, yet challenging time to be a HR leader. What advice can you give someone looking to make an impact on their business this year?

The single biggest workforce concern for business leaders’ centres around skills, or a lack of. Over half (52%) of CEOs feel that skill shortages will impact the profitability of their business in the next decade. HR leaders hold the solution. If they have a clear overview of current skills, future skill needs, and skill gaps, they can be the strategic leader the organisation needs to survive and thrive.

What can businesses do to address skill shortages?

Always start with your skill data. You cannot have any meaningful change without knowing where you’re starting from. You might have an idea of your skill gaps but consolidating your skill data will show you clearly where those gaps are and, better still, where gaps are emerging so you can take proactive action. 

Skill data comes from many corners of your organisation including your HR and learning systems, ATS, and systems of work like Asana and Google Drive. The key is gathering it and keeping it updated so that you always have a clear and up-to-date view of your workforce's skills. 

With more organisations going skill-based, what’s your advice for getting started?

Once you have your skill data you can build a skill framework that will be the foundation of all your skill-based approaches. 

A good skill framework has three traits, it is:

1. Tailored to the specific needs of your organisation.

2. Comprehensive, connecting to the skill data you have in-house as well as the external market.

3. Dynamic and built to evolve continuously as jobs and the workforce change.

Comparing your framework to these areas and ticking off each one will ensure that you have a skill framework that will work for your business for years to come.

How do you foresee AI working in the skill-based organisation?

AI is what will make the skill-based organisation a reality. You cannot do it without it. 

Traditional approaches to building a skill framework are highly manual and tend to be top-down, either driven by experts or using off-the-shelf frameworks. The former puts a heavy burden of maintenance on your organisation, while the latter results in a poorly fitting framework for your specific business as needs and the market evolve. 

Skills simply change too often for us to manually keep up — they are constantly changing based on new hires, market and business changes and emerging roles. AI consolidates all available skill data, plugging missing information in, and changing dynamically as your organisation and workforce evolve. Without it, your skill framework will be quickly outdated, and that means any decisions made as a skill-based organisation won’t be as timely or as effective as if you had up-to-date data. 

How would you advise HR to get started with a skill-based organisation? 

To build a skill framework, starting with the skill data itself is crucial — creating a structure becomes much easier when you can simply observe the structure already there in the data.

For some organisations, the prospect of creating a skill framework from scratch is daunting. There can be thousands of skills within one workforce. But you are not beginning from zero. 

Most organisations have skill data already existing within their HR, learning, project management, and work systems. Every time a worker completes a task, sends a public message, finishes a course, or offers feedback on a peer, they generate skill data. Then use AI to transform your unstructured and disparate skill data into an actionable, structured skill framework.

Download TechWolf’s new guide “Building the foundations of a lasting skill-based organisation” to discover more.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andreas De Neve

Andreas De Neve is the CEO of TechWolf, an AI-based HR Technology solution that puts organisations on the fast track to becoming skill-based. Andreas founded TechWolf alongside Jeroen Van Hautte and Mikaël Wornoo 2018 whilst studying computer science engineering. He is responsible for hiring, fundraising and sales. Andreas champions TechWolf’s core values by negotiating and closing multiple 6-figure deals, raising €2M in seed funding pre-revenue, and overseeing team growth. He believes that everything in business has two sides: people and process, which is why he focuses on attracting high performers to the TechWolf team. While methods do matter, in the startup ecosystem, the people that build the rocketship are more important than the processes you have in place. In his spare time, he nurtures another passion: basketball. He is a team captain for Gent East Eagles.

David Green

David is a globally respected author, speaker, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work. With lead responsibility for Insight222’s brand and market development, David helps chief people officers and people analytics leaders create value with people analytics. David is the co-author of Excellence in People Analytics, host of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, and regularly speaks at industry events such as UNLEASH and People Analytics World. Prior to co-founding Insight222, David worked in the human resources field in multiple major global companies including most recently with IBM.

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