Business is in the midst of a skills-based revolution that is changing the way organizations operate and compete. Instead of focusing on job titles and educational qualifications, organizations are looking for specific skills and competencies. To succeed in this new environment, organizations need to be proactive. They need to create a culture of continuous learning and adaptability. This will help employees stay ahead in a rapidly changing world.
Learning platform providers like Smartchoice® Preferred Provider Absorb LMS are at the forefront of bringing the power and opportunity of a Skills-based approach to corporate learning.
Understanding the skills-based approach to learning
Skills that were once the cornerstones of success are rapidly becoming obsolete, replaced by a new paradigm that demands a different set of competencies. This presents organizations with formidable challenges as they strive to maintain their competitive edge. Brandon Hall Group™ studies show that most companies (87%) are hiring for roles that require new skills never needed before. (Source: Hiring for New Skills and New Job Roles Study). Organizations that fully embrace this skills-based revolution and cultivate a culture of continuous learning and adaptability will be best positioned to attract and retain top talent and drive growth to consistently stay ahead of the competition.
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Building a culture of learning and development – Why’s it important?
It is essential to create an environment where employees feel empowered to tackle new challenges and explore innovative ideas. Recognizing and rewarding those who proactively seek to learn and grow is a powerful way to achieve this. Moreover, organizations should make L&D resources, such as books, articles, and digital platforms, readily available to support employees in their professional development. In doing so, organizations enable their employees to continually enhance their skills and remain competitive in a rapidly changing job landscape.
Identifying and filling skills gaps in your learner base: Which are the best tools and strategies?
Organizations must make it a priority to identify and bridge skills gaps within their workforce. This involves conducting regular assessments to gauge employees' current competencies and comparing them to the skills necessary for their roles and the organization's strategic objectives. By pinpointing these gaps, organizations can develop tailored training and development programs to upskill their employees, ensuring they possess the requisite knowledge and expertise.
A variety of tools and strategies can help organizations in this effort:
- Skills matrices, for example, provide a visual representation of employees' skills and proficiency levels, which can help organizations identify gaps at both the individual and team levels.
- Skills gap analysis, on the other hand, helps organizations identify the specific skills they need to achieve their goals and compare those to the skills their employees currently have.
Technology-based solutions can further enhance your efforts to identify and manage gaps.
- An LMS can provide valuable data on employee training progress, which can help you monitor skill development and identify areas where additional support is needed.
- Talent management software can help you recognize high-potential employees and align their skills with appropriate development opportunities.
- Tools like Absorb Skills help organizations bring the power of a skills-based approach to personalized learning at scale.
Cultivating a workplace where learning is continuous is essential for organizations to thrive in this skills-based revolution. This can be achieved by offering employees a variety of training resources, including online courses, workshops and coaching and mentorship programs. Organizations should also recognize and reward employees who take the initiative to acquire new skills and knowledge. By creating a supportive environment, organizations empower employees to take charge of their professional development, ultimately contributing more effectively to the organization's success.
Encourage continuous learning and adaptability within your workforce
Employers need to empower their employees to take control of their professional development. It is a critical foundation for a culture of continuous learning. This means providing access to a variety of learning opportunities. It also means encouraging employees to seek out new challenges and opportunities for growth and development, such as job rotation programs, cross-functional projects, and stretch assignments.
To create an environment where learning is continuous and adaptability is the norm, organizations must first create a psychologically safe workplace. This means creating an environment where employees feel safe to take risks, experiment with new ideas and ask for help or clarification without fear of negative consequences. Encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing is also key, as it allows for the spread of new ideas and best practices. Additionally, providing regular feedback and recognizing efforts toward learning and development can help to motivate employees and reinforce the importance of continuous learning.
Most organizations understand that learning is not confined to formal training programs. Employees should be encouraged to glean insights from their daily experiences, both the setbacks and the triumphs. By creating opportunities for introspection and self-assessment, organizations can guide their employees to pinpoint areas for growth and set targets for their continual development.
Cultivating a culture of perpetual learning and adaptability is not just advantageous for the individual but for the organization as a whole. It supports improved employee engagement, superior problem-solving skills and a workforce that is both innovative and quick to respond. By embracing this culture, organizations position themselves for long-term success and resilience in the face of unrelenting change.
Enable a skills-based approach to learning with Absorb LMS
Follow these suggestions to begin moving to a skills-based development approach.
Create and manage a skills taxonomy
A robust framework is the cornerstone for building skills intelligence capabilities. With a structure in place, an employer can accurately map proficiency levels across the workforce. Gaps become more easily visible. A dynamic skills library can even empower employees to drive their own development and career mobility by seeing which skills are valued and sought-after. Absorb Skills brings this to you. No need to start from a blank page. Working with their taxonomy and assigning those skills to your existing jobs will save you a lot of time.
Leverage data and analytics for skills and competencies
Employers must bring together diverse talent data sources like learning management systems, HR information systems, and performance management platforms into a central skills database. This provides a single source of truth.
Improve your approach to skills assessment
Organizations can only manage what they measure, so it is important to effectively assess and measure skills. AI-powered tools can automate the assessment process by analyzing data from various sources, including resumes, job applications, performance evaluations and online profiles. Immersive learning methods can assess employees’ ability to apply power skills, the technology simulates workplace scenarios and assesses how proficient the learner is in each area.
Absorb LMS is an AI-powered, cloud-based platform engineered to inspire learning and fuel business productivity. Our online learning platform combines our AI-first technology approach, built to scale as your organization grows, with superb customer service rarely seen in the LMS space and overall SaaS industry.
By empowering personalized learning experiences, Absorb LMS engages learners, fuels content retention, and elevates training programs. The learner experience is designed to meet the flexibility needs of your learners and efficient administration capabilities make it simple for admins to manage and report on all learning programs.
Learn more about what makes Absorb an AI-powered LMS here.
