What is the skills gap?
It’s apparent that technology-enabled applications and devices have made a huge positive impact in HR, but tech is also responsible for widening the skills gap. According to a 2020 McKinsey report, 44% of the respondents globally surveyed reported their organisations will face skills gaps in the next five years. HR can use technology to automate tedious tasks, more effectively manage workflow, improve communications with employees, oversee learning and development, streamline recruitment, and more. However, technology is advancing faster than ever, meaning that there are more software, apps, and other tech-based skills that employees in HR and other departments might need to use in their daily tasks. Of course, the skills gap is affected by many other factors: unemployment due to difficult world events, and a lack of soft-skills development are just two examples.
Fortunately, there are many skills-focused tech solutions that can be easily integrated into HR’s already established functions, processes, and tech stack. These technologies make it easier for HR to bridge the skills gap at every step of an employee’s life cycle, from the first interview to advanced corporate training courses. One crucial factor in bridging the skills gap is using a skills taxonomy in the technology stack HR leaders are developing.
Using a skills taxonomy to pinpoint areas for improvement
A skills taxonomy describes a system that classifies skills relevant to that business’s functions, and their level of importance. The skills taxonomy classification can be integrated into a company’s information systems, recruitment platforms, learning and development programmes, and even its performance management platforms. This might be done through an interactive coded chart that HR can reference, which can be updated to reflect the current conditions of the company’s employed talent. This allows HR to easily identify if there is a skills gap within their organisation that needs to be addressed, and how to do so most effectively.
Using HR technology to effectively bridge the gap
Addressing a skills gap can be done in multiple ways. iAssess is a talent assessment platform that HR can use to review whether candidates can fulfil the gaps in an organisation, using advanced methods to assess not just a candidate’s past experience, but also their personality, behaviour, and even mental abilities.
Once a candidate has become an employee, their skills can be further strategically developed through a learning platform such as Produgie, which enables HR leaders to more accurately plan and carry out ‘sprints’ to improve workplace dynamics.
Technologies like these are essential in narrowing the distance between HR’s needs and expectations, and the actual abilities that employees can offer. Using a mix of a customised skills taxonomy and tech integration is a more effective strategy.
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