MONEY BALL

WHY SKILLS ARE THE ‘NEW CURRENCY’ IN 2022

The pandemic has flipped the script on what skills are 'valuable' in the workforce - and encouraged individuals to rethink how to invest in their 'skills equity'.

Traditional notions of what someone needs to know or demonstrate in the workplace are usually rooted in their original job description. These duties are usually specific, siloed within a team or department, and relatively unchanging over time. Training for that role, naturally, follows suit.

But this way of thinking about learning and development is no longer sustainable in a digitally enabled and hybrid working environment. On top of this, a sweeping movement towards the automation of roles and functions, economic volatility, and a truly global marketplace has increased both the intensity of competition and the pace of change. Individuals are now facing a new seismic shift in understanding what it means to be a part of a rapidly evolving workforce - and wondering where their future lies.

Why weren’t skills considered ‘hot currency’ before the pandemic?

You may have heard people talk about a ‘VUCA’ business environment before; Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous. The pandemic has taken the idea of what we once thought was VUCA and knocked it into fifth gear. Businesses are pivoting left and right to adapt their models and catch up to whatever the world throws at them. Hotels as quarantine facilities, restaurants you can’t eat in, banks that don’t use traditional currencies.

Trying to match the skill requirements of whatever today’s ‘go to market’ strategy entails, with what incumbent talent can deliver, is an enormous challenge. It leaves massive gaps between what we need people to do and what people are currently capable of doing.

The pandemic has also compounded the urgency with which the workforce has adopted a ‘skills-first’ approach to professional development. Seemingly overnight, it was no longer enough to acknowledge the importance of prioritizing skills development without proactively doing something about it.

The rise of remote work, mass closures, organisational shifts, and phenomena like “the great resignation” or the “shecession,” have further demonstrated just how quickly the working world can change and force our collective hand to change.

But as overwhelming as the change can feel, it’s important to remember that in change lies opportunity. Developing skills that take change head-on will determine who thrives in a new landscape.

Keeping up with the rapid pace of change

There are many job markets that are impossibly hot right now. A combination of macro-economic pressure and very high demands for certain skills has created enormous inflationary pressure on the job market. We’re seeing certain roles demand in excess of 30% base salary more than that same role would have commanded 12 months ago. That’s almost impossible to keep up with for any length of time - especially when hiring new employees at a high cost brings the added pressure to raise pay to fair and equal levels for loyal staff.

Looking instead at building your organisational ability to retrain, upskill and re-position staff through the business, is the next logical step. If there’s an excess of people in one area, and a drought in another, then there’s a clear need to redress that balance. The great thing about reskilling is that you develop a workforce with a strong set of skills that can be deployed in a range of situations -for whenever the world turns again, and you pivot back to where you came from!

Unlocking the ‘value’ of skills/talent

Learning and development (L&D) can no longer focus on preparing its workforce purely to fulfil the duties in their job descriptions. The goal now is to unlock the full potential of their people. But in order to do so, we need to move beyond discussing L&D as a cost-centre to harness its unique ability to make the extraordinary happen: a highly skilled workforce with little turnover. New competitive advantages. Exceptional organisational goals achieved.

The best way for L&D to accomplish this new goal is to embrace agility and adaptability. A continued and evolving vision for learning, that’s consistent with the unique goals, objectives, and use ➡

“Data plays a crucial role in understanding where your organisational strengths lie. By understanding the skills of your people and mapping them back against the organisation’s strategy, you can create a powerful skills gap analysis that can guide the executive team in their decision-making processes.”