People Development

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In the new hybrid work reality, it can be hard for employees to develop themselves and understand which direction to take to get to the next level of their careers. Their progression can be hindered by unclear progression plans or expectations, a lack of visibility of new openings and a lack of communication with their manager.  

This reality can be a real plague for businesses and HR. A job-hopping survey shows that poor career development opportunities (which includes when companies aren't offering clear career paths) is one of the top reasons for employees to look for another job. However, the appetite is there — 78% of employees (4 out of 5) would be happy to learn new skills with their current employers. 

Enter Workleap Skills.  

At Workleap, we are on a mission to level the playing field and give small-and-medium-sized businesses full visibility into their team’s skills to supercharge progression plans and make sure everyone on the team gets an equal opportunity to grow. 

That’s why we are proud to launch our cutting-edge AI-powered progression plans and employee development features. 

Before diving deeper into the specifics, we prepared a quick video featuring our visionary Head of Product and co-founder of Skills, Guillaume Roy, who will walk you through the essential functionalities included in this new release: 

So, what’s new under the hood? Well, a lot... 

Build tailored progression plans in minute with AI 

In just one click, Workleap Skills' AI will help you generate a personalized progression plan based on your employees’ skills and future ambitions. That way, they can get a clear path forward to reach the next milestone: whether it’s a promotion or a lateral move to step into a new role. Skills gives managers and their teams the clarity they need to grow and thrive.

Recommend the next best opportunity for an employee 

Our role recommendation tab will suggest new roles based on employees’ skillset and expected trajectory. Employees can also “watch roles” to keep a finger on the pulse of what’s happening inside the organization and seize new opportunities that match their skills and interests. 

Fill your team’s skills gaps

Say goodbye to “blank page syndrome.” Workleap Skills leverages ChatGPT and AI to recommend the best way to fill the skills gaps in a role and help employees accelerate their growth with an intentional, tangible and actionable progression plan. That way, you can eliminate the guesswork in employee development with a data-driven approach that removes the blindfold on your gaps and needs. 

Match employees with the right mentors at the right time  

Skills makes finding the right mentor in a distributed organization easy. It leverages your skills map to automatically connect employees to the best people in the organization to develop their skills and prepare them for their next role. That way, you can ensure continuous learning at scale throughout your organization by pairing your top talent with your rising stars. 

Coaching, succession planning, internal mobility and more

Workleap Skills is a 360-degree skills development platform that helps you guide employees at every step of their career... just like a professional coach. Using our new progression plans as the cornerstone, our platform also enhances your succession planning and internal mobility efforts by giving you full visibility into your team’s skills and growth. 

Want to learn more and dive deeper into your specific business case? You can either create your free account or book a demo with us, and a product expert will assist you every step of the way.  

Here’s to giving every employee an equal opportunity to grow and thrive! 

The only constant is change in today's modern employment market. From mass layoffs in 2020 to hiring sprees in 2021 and now quiet quitting, it can sometimes feel impossible to keep up.

That's why it's more important than ever to stand out from the crowd and attract top talent who'll stay engaged and stick around for the long haul.

Whether a small business or a Fortune 500 company, you need the right employees to help grow your brand and achieve your goals.

So if you're looking for the best-kept secrets and tips on attracting the best talent and boosting your competitiveness in a modern employment market, this article is for you.

Are you ready to learn more?

Let's dive in.

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What's in this article

• Invest in professional development opportunities
• Double down on your company culture
• Prioritize diversity and inclusion initiatives
• Create a strong online presence
• Time to stand out in a modern employment market...

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Invest in professional development opportunities

Nearly 6 out of 10 millennials say that development opportunities are critical when deciding whether to apply for a job.

Think about it this way: Why would a candidate willingly apply to a role at your company if there isn't room for growth or opportunities to learn new skills? It's like venturing down a dead-end road.

Plus, it can set a presence that your organization treats employees like cogs in a machine instead of valued contributors to long-term business growth.

That said, there's no better way of attracting new talent than by showing off how much you value the current people who work with you — and what better way to do that than by investing in their personal and professional growth?

Show potential and current employees that you care about their career paths by offering training and development programs and mentorship opportunities.

Step it up by investing in a learning management system to streamline your training programs while providing additional opportunities for employees to learn new skills.

Through a structured online course, employees can learn how to improve the necessary skills for their jobs, such as time management, teamwork, communication, conflict resolution, and decision-making.

You can also offer courses on learning new skills like graphic design, financial literacy, or other industry-specific topics. But don't stop there — the more opportunities for growth, the better.

You don't have to implement everything at once! Start with a good onboarding program, and keep improving the experience to keep your employees hooked from day one and beyond. That way, you’re sure to retain your recruits for the long term.

Double down on your company culture

Don't underestimate your company culture as a driving force to stand out in a crowded employment market.

Employees want to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves, and a strong company culture provides that for them. Take Google as the perfect example. Its unique company culture is a top-selling point for working there, which ultimately attracts 3 million applicants annually.

A good company culture should also reflect the values and beliefs of your organization, which means it's not just nice to have — it's essential for success.

Why? Because values are important to employees. For instance in the USA, according to the America@Work Report, 36% of employees agree that good company values are the best way for employers to stand apart from competitors when attracting talent.

So if your company's values don't align with those of your prospective employees, it'll be challenging to attract your ideal candidates.

Be proud of your corporate values and make sure they're communicated clearly and consistently throughout your company. This simple gesture solidifies your commitment and showcases to potential candidates that your organization is aligned with their exact goals and ambitions.

So where should you start and how could you show that your company is the place to work? Applying the principles of business marketing to human resources management to develop your employer brand through HR marketing is the way to go!

Prioritize diversity and inclusion initiatives

Diversity and inclusion are no longer buzzwords leading into 2023, but rather important concepts in our society.

A diverse workforce leads to better decision-making and problem-solving, employee satisfaction and retention, and financial performance — and it's an effective way to attract the future of your workforce.

Gen Z is the most diverse generation ever: almost half (48%) of Gen Zers self-identify as "racial or ethnic minorities" compared to 39% of Millennials.

Suppose you want your company culture or team strategy to evolve in ways that reflect what matters most in today's modern world. In that case, you need people with different experiences than you do working together toward common goals.

Because of this diversity, Gen Z employees are bringing fresh perspectives on everything from workplace dynamics to leadership styles.

And diversity and inclusion have made a prominent appearance on the checklist of requirements for employees deciding whether to take a job with a new organization.

A 2022 Gallup study shows that 42% of US employees agree that it is important for an organization to be diverse and inclusive of all types of people.

As many employers have found out, job candidates today want concrete, substantial change when it comes to these issues, not just promises. Be prepared to discuss those changes and commitments.

Create a strong online presence

LinkedIn is one of the largest professional networks in the world and offers a unique opportunity to attract top talent.

Fifty-two million people use LinkedIn each week to search for jobs, so it's essential to focus on a strategy that builds a strong online employer brand that you can use to find candidates and engage with them during their online job search.

For instance, when you want to fill specific roles for your organization, don't be afraid to put yourself out there and advertise that you are actively hiring. You can start by conducting cold outreach via LinkedIn messaging or posting on job boards like Salarship or Indeed.

And remember to tell your current employees to add that your organization is hiring into their own LinkedIn bios. You can even spruce up your own organization's LinkedIn cover page by using a collage maker to gather different images, effective business videos, or text that might attract new candidates.

Building a robust online presence is imperative in today's digital age. Having an attractive website, making sure all social media outlets are active and being consistent with any other marketing efforts you have in place are the name of the game.

Time to stand out in a modern employment market...

Employees are looking for more than just a job.

With the rise of the gig economy, new generations entering the workforce, and the blurring lines between personal and professional lives, it’s time to adapt your approach to recruitment.

Rather than focusing on traditional job descriptions and salary packages, you must create an environment that attracts people who want more than a job that pays the bills.

The key is to recognize that people want these different things from their jobs and be sure that your company culture reflects what employees are looking for regarding work-life balance, personal growth opportunities, and diversity and inclusion.

With these things in place, you can shine above your competition. And soon, the floodgates will open, with highly qualified candidates coming pouring in. 

But hiring doesn't end when you sign a work agreement with a recruit. A good onboarding strategy will ensure that new hires not only perform well but also feel motivated from the start.

So you get it, the onboarding experience you can provide will have a huge impact on staff retention and recruitment ROI (if you’ve read this far, just for you: here are 7 strategies to calculate and optimize the ROI of new recruits).

Happy hiring!

Corporate training resources are way too often short compared to actual business needs. Even though most SMBs would love to spend more money and time on developing their employees' skills, operations and daily routines often take over those resources. This is why efficient learning management processes are core to the success of a company’s corporate training program.

Let’s dig a bit more into the benefits of a strong corporate learning strategy and how Workleap LMS’ integration with ADP Workforce Now® will help make this process much easier for small and medium businesses.

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What's in this article

• What is a corporate learning strategy, and why is it important?
• What are the benefits of integrating an LMS with an HRIS?
• How can I use the Workleap LMS integration for ADP Workforce Now?

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What is a corporate learning strategy, and why is it important?

A corporate learning strategy is a plan that outlines an organization's approach to employee training and development. It details the goals and objectives of the corporate learning program, the methods and tools used to deliver training, and the measures used to assess the effectiveness of the training.

Here are a few reasons why such a corporate learning strategy is important for a growing SMB.

Improved Employee Development

A well-designed corporate learning strategy can help employees acquire new skills and knowledge that will support their professional growth and development. This, in turn, can contribute to improved job performance and increased productivity. A cohesive corporate learning strategy will also consider the company’s current skill gaps to enhance the global level of knowledge within the organization and ensure no opportunities are lost because of a lack of training.

Competitive Advantage

In today's rapidly changing business environment, organizations need employees who are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed. A corporate learning strategy can help organizations stay ahead of the competition by ensuring that their employees have the right skills and knowledge to meet current and future business needs.

Increased Employee Engagement and Retention

Employee training and development opportunities can increase employee engagement and motivation. When employees see that their employer is investing in their development, they are more likely to feel valued and motivated to stay with the organization.

Improved Organizational Performance

A corporate learning strategy can support overall organizational performance by helping the business to align training programs with its goals and objectives. This can lead to improved efficiency, increased productivity, and better decision-making. This will also contribute to creating content that supports those goals and add more value to the corporate knowledge base.

What are the benefits of integrating an LMS with an HRIS?

Workleap LMS, a Learning Management System, is a platform where companies can create and distribute training content to their staff. Managers and HR teams can also monitor progress and generate completion reports.

ADP Workforce Now is an intuitive HR suite with extensive reporting, data-driven insights, and more. It can be used to store training-related information and individual career development strategies, for example.

Integrating an LMS with an HRIS brings many great benefits for SMBs with growing needs for corporate training but limited human and financial resources. When time is so precious, automating the connection between these two essential HR tools can make everyone’s life so much easier!

Through this new integration, ADP Workforce Now customers can now sync their staff’s data into Workleap LMS to accelerate account creation and enrollments to their corporate training courses and programs. This is a real-time integration that pulls your staff information from ADP® and loads the data into LMS.

With this integration, businesses will be able to manage all aspects of their corporate learning strategy within the ADP Workforce Now platform and bring that strategy to life into Workleap LMS, without having to multiply accounts and data management.

Here are a few benefits of integrating our LMS with ADP.

Improved Efficiency

Automating the account creation by syncing Workleap LMS to ADP will make employee training management seamless and effortless. Imagine onboarding a new hire - Once their account is created on the HRIS, they can be added to LMS and enrolled into a custom learning path with very little manual intervention.

This will improve the efficiency of the training process and save time for HR teams, as they will only need to access one system to track employee progress, monitor the effectiveness of their training programs, and manage their learning content.

Enhanced Employee Tracking

Using Workleap LMS as a corporate learning management tool allows administrators to monitor employee progress and training effectiveness in one central platform. Since your LMS will be connected to the customer’s ADP Workforce Now database, data will always be accurate and consistent.

Limiting the manual transfer of information between multiple systems is also a great way to reduce the risk of potential mistakes or lost information. Employees' training data and certificates will all be centralized and available on your LMS account.

Increased Convenience

Managing subscriptions to many products and services can be quite time-consuming. ADP Marketplace, ADP’s storefront of HR solutions that integrate with ADP, makes it easy for customers to subscribe to Workleap LMS. Clients will be billed for LMS through their ADP Invoice and can access the LMS through ADP Marketplace. Simplifying the purchase process will make the customer experience for SMBs more enjoyable and accelerate the implementation of an LMS into their business.

How can I use the Workleap LMS integration for ADP Workforce Now?

Depending on your current customer status, there are different ways to activate and start benefiting from the LMS integration for ADP Workforce Now. Here are the possible scenarios:

I’m a client of ADP Workforce Now.

Purchase Workleap LMS to enroll your employees in courses or learning paths. Implementation is free, quick and as easy as it can be! You can purchase LMS through ADP Marketplace or your local ADP account representative.

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Click here to access Workleap LMS (Didacte)’s application page on ADP Marketplace

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I’m already a client of both Workleap LMS and ADP Workforce Now.

Enhance your corporate learning strategy and management by connecting your two accounts.

You can purchase our connector through ADP Marketplace or your local account representative.

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Click here to access Workleap LMS (Didacte)’s data connector page on ADP Marketplace

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I’m a client of Workleap LMS but don’t yet use ADP Workforce Now.

Start using ADP Workforce Now for your payroll and HR and help simplify your employee data management — then integrate with Workleap LMS to build your corporate learning strategy. Contact our team at info@didacte.com and we’ll get you in touch with a local ADP representative.

ADP, the ADP logo, and ADP Workforce Now are trademarks of ADP, Inc. or its affiliates or licensors. The information in this article was prepared by Workleap LMS and Workleap LMS is solely responsible for its accuracy and completeness. ADP makes no representation as to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained herein.

As the manager of a growing company, you are faced with the challenge of delegating tasks.

And yes, it is quite a challenge!

Let’s face it: you simply can’t do everything on your own. But at the same time, delegating relatively simple tasks that must be flawlessly executed can also be a difficult thing. 

There is always a risk that something will go wrong if you are not involved in the process. And when something does go wrong, it reflects poorly on you as a manager.

So what’s the solution ?

Developing a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) is a great starting point. 

Creating standard operating procedures may seem like a daunting task, but it is actually relatively simple. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating SOPs for your business and making your delegating process easier.

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What is an SOP

Standard operating procedures are detailed, step-by-step instructions that describe exactly how a task needs to be accomplished. SOPs leave no room for error and guarantee that the tasks are executed in a coherent and efficient manner each time.

A good example would be the addition of a new collection on the website of an online sales company. The SOP would detail how to: 

• Create new items
• Insert photos
• Add descriptions
• List the selling price

Any other relevant information

The benefits of creating SOPs for your business

Why should you create standard operating procedures?

It may be a lot of work in the short-term, but pretty soon you will be benefiting exponentially from it.

Creating standard operating procedures for your business has many benefits.

1. Increased efficacy and productivity

When SOPs are implemented, tasks are completed quickly and without errors (or with a lot fewer errors). The result is an increased overall efficacy and productivity.

And productivity leads to less spending and more results!

2. Lower error risk and less wasted time

By eliminating approximations around how a task should be executed, you reduce the error risk considerably. Ultimately, this reduces the amount of time wasted and the resources needed for error correction.

3. Improved quality control

Standard operating procedures help ensure that tasks are executed in a consistent and accurate manner. This yields better quality control and a higher customer satisfaction.

4. Increased security

When SOPs are followed, the risk of injury or accident is reduced. By creating a safer work environment for your employees, you also help protect your company’s good reputation. 

5. Greater result consistency

Standard operating procedures help to ensure that tasks are performed in the same way every time, thus standardizing internal practices. 

Greater result consistency is essential for companies that depend on quality control! 

6. Easier onboarding of new employees

SOPs facilitate onboarding new employees on company procedures and expectations. This reduces the onboarding time and ensures that new employees are productive and aligned with the company needs, from the very beginning!

7. Reduced employee stress and frustration

When standard operating procedures are implemented, employees know exactly what is expected of them. There is no confusion about what needs to be done, by whom and how.

And who doesn’t want a more positive work environment where stress and frustration levels are minimized?

8. Increased customer satisfaction

By ensuring that tasks are executed with precision and consistency, standard operating procedures help increase customer satisfaction. 

This is an essential aspect for your business, since it relies on your clients’ loyalty to grow and succeed sustainably. 

Types of SOPs

Standard operating procedure formats can vary. However, regardless of the type of SOP you choose, they should always include the following 5 elements:

• Goals: A standard operating procedure should describe in detail the purpose and objectives of one’s tasks. We must be able to identify the needs that each SOP addresses (internal or external). 
• Procedures : An SOP not only describes activities but also sets standards for executing them. Procedures are a step-by-step description of the actions that need to be performed by an employee, in a format that is easy to understand. 
• Scope : The scope of an SOP is its use and mode of application (who, where, when, how).
• Responsibilities : SOPs must describe who is responsible for carrying out the activities and who should be contacted in case of difficulties. SOPs should also indicate who is responsible for implementing, monitoring and updating them. 
• Accountability measures : SOPs aim to strengthen self-reliance. The accountability of assigned projects is reinforced by the definition of each employee’s responsibilities. 

The checklist

A checklist is a simple list of tasks that must be completed to execute a specific process. It is accessible at a glance and can be used as a quick reference guide. 

Pros

• Does not require a long reading time or comprehension
• Can be quickly consulted

Cons

• Important steps can easily be forgotten
• May not be suitable for complex processes

The step-by-step list

A step-by-step list is a more complete version of the regular checklist. As the name suggests, it describes each task in detail and lists the steps needed to accomplish it, just like a recipe.

Pros

• Ensures that no important steps are forgotten
• Is suitable for complex processes

Cons

• Creating it can be a lengthy process
• May be difficult for some employees to track

Hierarchical steps

Hierarchy is a more organized way of representing the steps of a process. It can be useful for more visual employees. 

Pros

• More visually appealing than regular checklists
• Easier to follow for some employees

Cons

• May take longer to create
• Could not be suitable for very complex processes

Organizational chart

An organizational chart is a diagram that lists the steps of a process, in different situations. Again, this is a way to help more visual employees grasp information and adapt to possible situations.

Pros

• Can be used to solve problems
• Offers alternative options for specific situations

Cons

• Is more complex to create
• May not be suitable for all types of processes

Technical SOPs vs Management SOPs

There are two types of standard operating procedures: technical procedures and management procedures. 

Technical SOPs

These standard operating procedures focus on the specifics of performing a task, such as the steps that must be followed, their order, the tools and material needed. 

Technical SOPs are usually developed by experts and are used by the following departments: quality control, research and development (R&D) and manufacturing.

Management SOPs

Management SOPs focus on the overall management of a process. They include procedures for planning, monitoring and controlling. 

Management SOPs are typically created by senior managers and are used by all the departments of an organization. 

8-step guide to easily create SOPs

Creating standard operating procedures doesn’t have to be complicated. The goal is, among other things, to improve efficiency and not create more work. 

Here are 8 easy steps for creating and optimizing SOPs.

1. Collect information on the steps of the task

Data gathering is the first step and it cannot be overlooked if you want to create efficient SOPs. To do this, you can observe employees while they perform a task or ask them to describe the steps they are performing. 

2. Choose a format

There are several formats you can use for your SOP, including checklists, step-by-step lists, hierarchical steps and organizational charts.

You can choose the format that suits your needs, but keep in mind that the simpler it is, the better. You want your employees to be able to understand and follow operational procedures, not get caught in a maze of steps. 

3. Consult with relevant employees

Once you have gathered the steps for the task and chosen a format, it is important that you consult with the employees who will be using the SOP to make sure it is clear and easy to follow. And in order to be even more efficient, you can support them through the process so they become internal procedure pros!

4. Identify the essential elements

Some elements are essential for an SOP to be efficient, while others may be useful but not necessary.

Make a list of both so you can prioritize what needs to be included. 

5. Write the SOP

Once you have all the information you need, you can start writing the standard operating procedure. The point is to include all the essential elements and keep it as simple and concise as possible.  

In order for all concerned employees to have access to it, add the SOP to an online knowledge management system!

6. Implement the procedure

It’s time to implement your new SOP!

The first step is obviously to train your employees on how to use it and provide them all the resources they may need for doing so. For each new procedure, you could create a short example video or simply schedule the time to do it for the first time with the employees involved in the process.

7. Test the SOP

After implementing your SOP, it is important to test it to make sure it is easy to follow. You can ask your employees to use the SOP to perform a task and give you their feedback. 

This is the equivalent of a compliance check step. If they can do it without a problem, your SOP is effective, If not, you may need to revise it. 

8. Make necessary revisions

Depending on the feedback you get, you can improve your SOP. Remember to consult with your employees again before making any changes. Once the final version is satisfactory, you can distribute it to the pertinent departments. 

« Must have » vs « nice to have »

When creating SOPs, it is important to prioritize steps. Certain steps, such as those pertaining to safety or regulatory compliance, are essential and should be considered crucial (must have).

For example, in a restaurant, the step of disinfecting dishes would be considered essential.

Other steps, although not essential, can prove to be important and should be included, if possible (nice to have).

For example, an additional module on the dishwashing system would be a step to be added without being required for compliance with sanitary standards. 

Common errors in SOP management

There are a few common mistakes that organizations make when creating standard operating procedures. 

1. Not consulting employees sufficiently

When creating an SOP, it is important to consult with the employees who will use it. This will ensure that the SOP is well written and easy to understand. 

2. Creating SOPs that are not accessible

A standard operating procedure must be easy to navigate and use. If this is not the case, employees will be less inclined to use it and all your work will yield very few results. 

3. Lacking updated procedures

Standard operating procedures must evolve with your business. They need to be updated to stay relevant and efficient. Otherwise, they will become obsolete and may no longer meet your business needs.

4. Not monitoring compliance

Once an SOP is set up, your job is just beginning!

Monitor its compliance to ensure that employees follow it with the same rigor over time. This can be done through audits or checks. 

5. Making changes without getting employees involved

As your business evolves, you may have to revise your standard operational procedures. As for the creation step, consult with your employees and get their feedback before making any changes. If they are not involved, they may be more reluctant to use the SOPs and it will be difficult to introduce new ones.

Create and implement your first SOP with Workleap LMS

A Learning Management System (LMS) can be a great tool for creating and managing your SOP.

Beyond being able to structure your procedures into steps, you can easily create the content in your online platform. Above all, you decide who accesses what!

Let’s evaluate together how Workleap LMS can facilitate the development, implementation and monitoring of standard operating procedures in you business.

Contact us today to request a free demo.

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Introducing Workleap Skills and the skills-based economy

Remember what running a business looked like just a few years ago? Pre-pandemic days feel like another world, almost like a figment of our imagination. 

These days, small business owners and HR leaders are witnessing a massive transformation of the workplace and the workforce, setting the stage for the greatest shift in the organization of work since Henry Ford’s design of the assembly line. And the next decade will continue to shift the way we work and where work happens. 

As organizations become more dispersed and diverse, it is imperative for all of us to rethink our ways of working and, most importantly, how we evaluate our talent and push our teams forward. 

The rise of the skills-based economy 

The evolution of the workforce and the jobs of the future all point in the same direction: toward skills. In the coming years, skills will become the lifeblood of high-performing teams and the currency of a new economy. 

This next economy will be powered by talent mobility and the ability for companies to organize work in real-time to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow – a shift that I believe will advantage small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that display greater agility and adaptability.  

In this new era of work, talent mobility will be a function of organizations’ ability to assess their employees’ skills and match them with current work assignments, while developing and accelerating new skills for future needs. 

As Alex Kaplan, global leader of Blockchain and AI for Industry Credentials at IBM said: “If skills are going to be equivalent to currency, it’s necessary to create an infrastructure with “trust, provenance and transparency”.  

He’s right. Organizations need one source of truth where all their employees’ skills can be assessed and developed transparently, without bias.  

That’s why my team and I have created Skills: to build the foundational software that will power the generational shift toward a skills-based economy (more details below). 

Our end goal: give companies the necessary information about their people’s skills so that they can instantly assess the changing need for jobs, make consequential strategic decisions (from hiring, upskilling/reskilling to workforce planning and beyond), and thrive in an increasingly volatile market. 

A solid HR strategy can be one of the most defensible competitive advantages. 

And a skills-based approach will be your secret weapon at the decision table. 

4 driving forces that will accelerate the shift to a skills-based approach 

New ways of working and expectations 

The pandemic-fueled adoption of remote work went from short-term experiment to new normal in a matter of months.  

As evidenced by a 2022 Pew Research study, after two years into the pandemic, roughly 6 in 10 U.S. workers who say their jobs can mainly be done from home (59%) are working from home all or most of the time.  

The perception about remote and hybrid work has completely shifted, and it’s now the golden standard for most knowledge-based companies in the post-pandemic era.  

As a result, it’s reshaping the entire employee experience and poses a huge challenge for HR leaders. And we’ve yet to measure the full magnitude of second-order consequences that will come in the aftermath of such drastic change. But all the data points in the same direction: people are actively seeking more engaging and fulfilling workplaces. 61% of US employees are considering handing in their resignations in 2023, according to a LinkedIn survey. What analysts call the “great resignation” or “great reshuffle” is still in full effect in 2023.  

What’s more? Some employees feel lonelier than before. In his thought-provoking piece titled “Work from Office”, NYU Professor Scott Galloway highlighted this new challenge: “Without a workplace, your employees have fewer points of contact. Sixty percent of remote workers say WFH makes them feel less connected to their colleagues.”  

Remote and hybrid work is here to stay. And the benefits are undeniable (greater productivity, flexibility and work-life balance to name a few). But we need to find new ways to foster collaboration and growth to avoid the common pitfalls of not working from the office. A lack of career progression, a drop in employee engagement and motivation, siloed work, a lack of connection, and reduced visibility on skills and accomplishments are together the new villains that HR superheroes must fight on a day-to-day basis. So, we need to develop software that gives superpowers to our HR leaders (guess what, we are working on that!).  

Greater talent mobility and skills-based career pathing and mentorship are two ways to create stronger bonds in the workplace to make remote work feel more connected and fulfilling. 

Rapid technological change 

Tech disruption and AI are on everyone’s lips these days, and rightfully so. We are just starting to see the tip of the AI iceberg but the disruption will be real (ChatGPT is not just an overnight sensation; it’s a reminder of the exponential nature of progress in the age of AI).

From writing emails to blog posts to coding in python, AI will change the face of many jobs or acting as a copilot for many others. The need to reskill and upskill will become table stakes in the next decades, as career trajectories will adapt to the acceleration of AI adoption and disruption across various industries and jobs. 

Beyond that, having a solid AI strategy that focuses on augmenting employees and accelerating their unique skills will be a key competitive advantage as we enter the next iteration of the hybrid workplace (i.e., AI-augmented humans). 

Technology is both an opportunity and a threat. The rapid pace of change forces small businesses to constantly adapt to keep up the pace. Embracing change is no longer an option, it’s a business imperative. And we are on a mission to give Fortune 500 capabilities to the Fortune 500,000, so that you can use technology as your trump card, and thrive in the face of change, not just react to it. 

A heightened focus on profitability 

After a historic bull run, the tailwinds have shifted. The economy is now facing major headwinds, and businesses must be more frugal. Overhiring, especially in tech, will soon be a thing of the past. So, the pressure on organizations to do more with less will be a key strategic driver.  

Mapping skills to fully grasp an organization’s capabilities and double down on internal resources (vs. outsourcing or hiring new ones) will be critical to running a tight ship and maximize team performance in the coming years. 

An economic slowdown could actually turn out to be good for the progression of certain employees who will be called to take on more responsibilities in order to meet the challenges of the times. Upskilling is a win-win for both business and personal growth, as more companies try to get the most out of their workforce to show profitability. 

But profitability shouldn’t come at the expense of progress. True leaders emerge in uncertain times, and having a clear view of your talents to understand who can step up their game and play a bigger role will be paramount to your success as an organization. 

Talent wars 

Top talent is rare. And labor shortages will be an enduring challenge for HR leaders in the next decade. 

As you know, business success today revolves largely around people, not just capital. More than ever, the employee experience is a driver of business performance. In fact, according to Harvard Business Review, “a decade of research proves that happiness raises nearly every business and educational outcome: raising sales by 37%, productivity by 31%, and accuracy on tasks by 19%, as well as a myriad of health and quality of life improvements.”.  

Taking care of business starts with taking care of your people. It’s simply non-negotiable in this day and age. Even more so if you are a small business. Talent is the number one competitive advantage that can turn small seeds into mighty trees. With the right team, you can achieve even your wildest dreams. I have experienced this firsthand as the cofounder of Workleap (home of Officevibe, ShareGate, Onboarding, LMS, and now Skills). We built it into a $100M annual revenue business with only 250 employees. Our talents made it possible.

Hiring, onboarding, and offboarding (whether because the employee was laid off or poached by another company) are huge costs that businesses can’t afford in a tougher economy. So attracting the right people and helping them develop mission-critical skills while ensuring their happiness at work is the perfect trifecta for business success today.

The 4 pain points that HR leaders can solve with SkillsTech:

• Tedious and inaccurate skill mapping: Skill mapping at the organizational level can typically take months of manual work. It also tends to be outdated the minute it is completed due to constant changes in the makeup of your workforce. With the rise of AI and skill mapping tools like Workleap Skills, HR leaders and managers can now map their entire organization’s skills in a matter of minutes. And update them on the fly as the business evolves in real time. Not only skillstech can save you a ton of time but it also reduces biases while ensuring great accuracy across the board and over time.
• Reactive workforce planning: Traditional workforce planning is typically a yearly process that involves forecasting based on unknowns. Skill mapping eliminates guesswork by giving you a data-driven view of your workforce in real time so that you can get a 360-degree understanding of your needs and gaps. That way, you can take a more proactive and evolutive approach to workforce planning vs. being reactive or, worse, sticking to an outdated plan that doesn’t meet your workforce needs. 
• Lack of employee engagement and retention: We talked about it abundantly in this article but this should be every organization’s north star. An engaged workforce is a productive workforce. Taking care of your people is taking care of your bottom line. At the end of the day, every investment in your talents is an investment in your business and future. Skill mapping can help you create tailored progression plans for your employees by identifying their strengths and weaknesses and have a data-driven conversation with them around career growth and their next milestones. It creates tangible steppingstones and objectives to help them get to the next level and keep them engaged at all times. In the end, it’s all about making the most of your workforce and empowering them to do their best work. 
• Lack of internal mobility and visibility: As your organization scales, it’s increasingly hard for your talents to identify and seize new opportunities – especially in a remote-first setting. It’s the employer’s responsibility to put in place tools and strategies to unlock greater mobility and visibility so that your team and business can reach their full potential. Whether it’s using skills to recommend roles, match employees with relevant mentors or encourage employees to work on applied learning projects, skill mapping is the cornerstone to developing an active internal talent marketplace that keeps your team engaged and fulfilled.  

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86% retention increase 

Companies that excel at skill-based internal mobility retain employees for an average of 5.4 years, nearly twice as long as companies that struggle with it, where the average retention span is 2.9 years. — Source: LinkedIn 2022 

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We all have a “star employee who got away” story. It happened to me more than once, and it hurts every time. Lack of visibility into a team’s projects and skills can lead to highly capable employees leaving for the wrong reasons.​​ That’s why we created Skills: to enable employees to be their best selves and create more fulfilling careers and workplaces. 

The shift to a skills-based internal talent marketplace (ITM) 

Skills are the new atoms and economic units of organizations. As work increasingly becomes organized around skills not jobs, we can start shifting our mindset to achieving outcomes, not just filling positions. We believe this is the first step to making work more meaningful.

Skills are also the great equalizer that will enable organizations to diminish their overreliance on hierarchy and, instead, to build networks of trust that unlock greater mobility and collaboration across departments. Silos are the enemy of skills-based organizations, and they must be broken down.  

In other words, organizations will become more of a *network of skills* and less of a hierarchy. The future will be made up of people who move around more fluidly within the business so that their skills can be put to use in real-time on the best projects, products and strategies that will deliver the highest impact for the company.

In this new way of working and managing the workforce, skills become the heartbeats of the modern-day employee experience – putting greater emphasis on competencies, knowledge, certifications, interests, ambition, feedback, attitude and aptitude, and most importantly on relationships.

It’s also a shift in organizational mindset, eliminating cultures that:

- Focus on permission over forgiveness.
- Value expertise and perfection over personal growth and learning.  
- Are overly oriented toward micromanagement and strict top-down control of employee behaviors vs. employee empowerment and ownership

The trend toward an employee-tailored workplace is just getting started. And skills will level the playing field, while helping to create a culture that treats employees like the unique individuals they are, not like numbers in a spreadsheet or HRIS.

In the end, it’s all about building an actionable and seamless talent marketplace platform that favours talent mobility, “just-in-time” workforce planning, and unbiased career progression – no matter your gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation. And Workleap Skills is designed to do just that by removing the guesswork and giving equal opportunities to all.

Introducing Workleap Skills: Skill mapping and talent development made easy

In the previous paragraphs, I focused on the “why” behind our product but not on the “what” and “how”. What is Skills after all? Let’s take a look… 

Workleap Skills was built to empower people-first teams to map their skills, develop their talents, and accelerate their growth to create more fulfilling and productive workplaces. 

Our platform is built around 4 core pillars: 

1. AI-enhanced skill mapping:  Workleap Skills is like a magic wand for skill mapping.  With a simple interface and a dash of AI, you will get a clear and instant view of your team’s capabilities and blind spots. More concretely, we crunch more than 55 million job postings and data points to identify the skills that make up the crucial roles in your organization. Our easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface enables your employees and colleagues to make their own self-assessment to create a 360 view of their current skills and gaps.  
2. Talent development & retention: Skills helps you identify the next stepping stones in your employees’ careers and formulate clear career progression paths so that every employee can reach their full potential. ​For example, if a leadership role requires expert-level communication skills and a senior developer is only at the intermediate level in this area, this can be an area of focus to work on in the next few quarters to be able to get to the next level of their career. 
3. Internal mobility (ITM) & mentorship: Workleap gives you a crystal-clear view of your team’s skills and capabilities. It also doubles as an internal talent marketplace that pairs your talents with the right mentors and projects so that they can propel their career and your organization forward.  
4. Workforce planning:​ Workleap Skills gives you real-time data on your workforce’s current skills and gaps so that you can plan your next hires accordingly. It makes workforce planning more data-driven and proactive as opposed to set in stone based on an imperfect yearly assessment. 

Plus, our easy-to-use platform seamlessly integrates with your existing workflows so that you can focus on what really matters: your people. With more than 35 HRIS and ATS integrations, we make skill mapping, workforce planning & career development as hurdle-free and effortless as can be. 

The HR tech landscape is filled with vapourware and expensive black box enterprise solutions that, in the end, fail to deliver tangible business value and takes months to deploy.  

With Workleap Skills, we wanted to flip the script by creating a free-to-start, plug-and-play, and instantly available skill mapping solution for SMBs. With a freemium model and democratized price point, Skills enables you to map your skills in a matter of minutes, not months. It is an order of magnitude faster, easier to use and cheaper than manual labor or expensive enterprise solutions.​ 

With Workleap Skills, you can make skills the currency of your workplace and unlock your team’s full potential as soon as today.

To learn more, get a test drive with one of our product specialists, who will be happy to help and answer your questions.  

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What's in this article

• The importance of skills-based workforce planning
• Strategies to master skills-based workforce planning
• Challenges and considerations in skills-based workforce planning
• Leveraging technology and data analytics
• The road ahead: Your journey begins with Workleap Skills

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In the fast-paced whirlwind of the business landscape, where markets shift and customer demands evolve in the blink of an eye, organizations must be nimble and adaptable to keep their edge.

Enter organizational agility, the ability to respond swiftly and effectively, and a critical factor for success. To achieve agility and unlock their team's full potential, HR managers in modern companies need a strategic approach – skills-based workforce planning.

The importance of skills-based workforce planning

Say goodbye to rigid role-based approaches that leave you stuck in the slow lane. Embracing skills-based planning opens up a world of possibilities and offers a transformative approach to HR management — fostering adaptability and growth within the organization.

The roadblock of traditional workforce planning

While this method may have been good in stable environments, traditional role-based approaches hinder agility in a fast-changing environment. Although this can still work for some industries, it might be time to consider a more agile system.

If you use a role-based approach, you’ve likely experienced:

• Rigidity: Job roles are often static and do not account for the dynamic needs of the business. When unexpected shifts occur, you may find it challenging to reassign employees effectively, resulting in resource constraints and missed opportunities.
• Limited adaptability: As market conditions change, new skill requirements emerge, and some become obsolete. With role-based planning, it’s difficult to predict which skills will be most valuable in the future, making it harder to build a resilient and adaptable workforce.

• Talent misalignment: Employees may possess valuable skills that remain underutilized within their designated roles. Misalignment can lead to reduced productivity, employee disengagement, and missed opportunities for organizational growth.

Paving the path to agility with skills

Agility is no longer just a buzzword—it’s a prerequisite for survival and success. A more agile approach is the name of the game, and it all starts with skills.

Skills-based planning unlocks many benefits, including:

• Adaptability: By focusing on skills, you can seamlessly adapt your workforce to changing business needs, enabling teams to tackle new challenges outside of what’s been pre-set.

• Future-proofing: Skills are transferable assets across various roles. By building a talent pool based on skills, organizations future-proof themselves against industry disruptions and tech advancements.

• Enhanced collaboration: Employees with diverse skill sets can seamlessly work together, fostering connecting, creativity, and innovation within the organization for a positive impact on projects.

• Talent development: Identifying and nurturing employees' core competencies empowers them to grow professionally and take on new responsibilities. Skills-based planning aligns personal development with organizational goals, and everyone wins!

Strategies to master skills-based workforce planning

Effective skills-based workforce planning involves comprehensive skill assessments and strategic talent mapping. But where to start?

Conducting skill assessments

The first step to building an agile workforce is to assess and map employee skills accurately. Best way to go about this through:

• Self-assessment: Evaluation of one's own skills and performance. These can be done regularly as part of general pulse checks or ahead of performance evaluations.
• Peer feedback: Feedback provided by colleagues or coworkers. A great way to collect this data is through anonymous online surveys.
• Performance evaluations: Formal assessments of an individual's job performance by supervisors or managers. While a more traditional approach is the yearly evaluation cycle, managers are now opting for more frequent (and less formal) moments to do so.

Skill inventories and competency frameworks also play a vital role in accurately capturing employees' capabilities, ensuring the creation of a comprehensive skill profile.

Aligning skills to business objectives

Mapping skills to business objectives is a critical aspect of driving organizational agility and performance. When your employees' skills align seamlessly with your organization's goals and strategies, it's like magic—efficiency and innovation flow effortlessly.

By strategically placing your talented team members in roles that leverage their strengths and expertise, you empower your teams to navigate the ever-changing market conditions, conquer challenges, and seize every golden opportunity.

Take, for instance, a company who needs to change its marketing strategy so it focuses more on sales-led objectives. This will probably reshape sales skill needs and require training for existing team members to adapt to a new sales flow. 

Ultimately, skills-based planning enables you to develop a highly adaptive talent pool, enabling companies to stay ahead in a competitive landscape!

Identifying and addressing skill gaps with precision

Skill gaps can impede agility. Thankfully, there are proactive strategies for identifying, addressing, and closing skill gaps to ensure employees are equipped to meet future challenges. 

• Reskilling: Training (or retraining) employees in new skills. This aims to equip employees to take on different roles or adapt to changes in job requirements.

• Upskilling: Providing additional training to enhance existing skills. This strategy looks to improve employees' proficiency and performance in their current roles.

• Talent mobility initiatives: Programs for employees to move within the company based on skills and interests. matching employees with appropriate roles that allow them to explore different career paths helps enhance employee engagement, loyalty, and adaptability.

Proactively identifying skill gaps allows you to take preemptive action and nurture a skilled and future-ready workforce!

Challenges and considerations in skills-based workforce planning

Overcoming challenges in skills-based workforce planning is crucial to its successful implementation. By prioritizing accurate skill data and cultivating a learning-centric culture, you’ll be setting the stage for future success.

Obtaining accurate skill data

Accurate skill data is the foundation of effective workforce planning and development. However, gathering and maintaining reliable skill data can be a challenging endeavor, especially when it comes from diverse sources.

Two steps to address data gathering challenges:

1. Implement a comprehensive skill assessment tool like Workleap Skills that includes self-assessment and peer feedback abilities to capture a holistic view of employees' abilities.
2. Integrate skill inventories and competency frameworks to create a standardized skill mapping process, ensuring consistency and accuracy.

The best way to ensure data integrity is to regularly update employee skill profiles and encourage employees to provide timely updates to reflect their evolving competencies. Establishing data validation mechanisms and verification processes to cross-check information also helps maintain data accuracy.

Creating a culture of skill development

A vibrant learning culture lies at the core of progressive organizations, driving continuous skill development and nurturing a growth mindset among employees.

To promote a culture of learning, emphasize learning and development as integral to the company's vision and values. Encouraging leadership to lead by example will also inspire others to participate in learning initiatives. 

Offering diverse training opportunities, from workshops to online courses, shows that your company values continuous development. By providing personalized development plans and mentorship opportunities, you’ll also enable employees to own their growth journey.

Celebrating learning milestones and embracing mistakes as valuable experiences cultivate a growth mindset. Foster open feedback and encourage employees to seek challenges, and promote improvement and innovation.

By prioritizing skill data accuracy and fostering a learning-centric culture, organizations empower their workforce to adapt, innovate, and excel, paving the way for a successful future.

Integrating skills-based approaches into talent processes

Skills-based workforce planning seamlessly aligns talent acquisition and development strategies with performance management. 

By assessing candidates based on their specific skills and competencies, organizations ensure they hire individuals who can contribute to their objectives effectively. This approach also fosters personalized training plans, enabling employees to enhance their core competencies and thrive in their roles. 

Integrating skills-based planning into performance management provides a more accurate evaluation of employee contributions and encourages continuous skill development, leading to individual and organizational success.

Leveraging technology and data analytics

In the realm of skills-based planning, digital tools and data-driven insights are indispensable in maximizing its benefits and optimizing workforce management. And technology and data analytics play a pivotal role in revolutionizing HR practices.

The role of technology in skills-based workforce planning

Digital tools and platforms offer a seamless experience for HR managers, simplifying skills mapping and analysis in workforce planning. Workleap Skills' user-friendly platform, for example, allows you to focus on strategic decision-making by automating various tasks.

Through digital platforms, skills mapping and analysis become more efficient, saving valuable time and effort in the workforce planning process. Automation and AI streamline workflow, freeing you from routine tasks and allowing them to concentrate on more strategic initiatives.

Data analytics for predictive workforce planning

Data analytics and predictive modeling are the superheroes of skills-based planning! Armed with valuable insights, HR managers make informed decisions and drive organizational agility.

Workforce analytics and predictive modeling provide a crystal ball for future talent needs, enabling proactive planning and readiness. Data-driven decision-making empowers you to respond swiftly to market changes, securing a competitive edge in a dynamic business environment. For example, a financial services company used predictive modeling to forecast skill demands, leading to targeted upskilling programs that supercharged employees' capabilities and performance.

By embracing the tech side of skills-based planning, you can harness powerful insights to optimize talent management and drive success. 

The road ahead: Your journey begins with Workleap Skills

Embrace skills-based workforce planning and fuel your organization's agility. Your future-ready workforce awaits! Ready to embark on this thrilling adventure?

Book a demo or start your free Skills trial and buckle up for the ride of a lifetime. Together, we'll steer your organization toward success, armed with skills and ready to conquer the ever-changing horizon!

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Today's organizations face the growing challenge of effectively managing and developing their workforce's skills. To meet this demand, a skills-based approach has emerged as a powerful strategy to align employee capabilities with organizational goals. At the heart of this approach lies the skills-based canvas, a structured framework designed to support skill management and drive talent development.

In this article, we will explore the various facets of the skills-based canvas, its key components, and the remarkable benefits it offers to organizations seeking to enhance their workforce's skills.

Understanding the skills-based canvas

To build a strong foundation, let's delve into the concept of a skills-based approach and its crucial role in talent development. The skills-based canvas serves as a structured and comprehensive framework, enabling organizations to identify, assess, and develop their employees' skills effectively. By adopting this approach, organizations gain a deeper understanding of their workforce's capabilities, allowing them to align talent with strategic objectives and adapt to changing market demands. 

Benefits of the skills-based canvas

Comprehensive skill management: Gain a holistic view of employees' skills and competencies, aligning them with strategic goals to drive organizational success.

Targeted skill development: Identify skill gaps within the workforce and implement targeted training initiatives to bridge these gaps effectively.

Cultivate a learning culture: Empower employees to take ownership of their skill development, fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth.

Enhanced workforce efficiency: Streamline talent management processes, from recruitment to performance evaluation, for increased efficiency and productivity.

Improved employee engagement: Engage and motivate employees by providing opportunities for skill development and growth, leading to improved retention rates.

Adaptability and agility: Equip the workforce with the necessary skills to adapt to changing market demands and maintain a competitive edge.

Strategic talent development: Utilize the skills-based canvas as a strategic tool to unlock the full potential of the workforce and achieve long-term organizational success.

How to use the Skills-Based Canvas 

The skills-based canvas consists of key components that work in harmony to support skill management. From defining skill categories to conducting skill assessments and creating personalized development plans, each element contributes to a holistic approach to talent development.  

Here are the 7 key components of the Skills-Based Canvas Framework. 

1. Identify the key organizational objectives:

• What are your business and organizational objectives? What are the next organizational priorities? 

Examples: increase talent retention, increase internal mobility, improve organization agility

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Protip: Linking your HR initiatives to the business strategy is crucial for stakeholder buy-in and creating the wanted value for the organization. Understanding the organization's vision and objectives is crucial for HR to become a strategic partner.

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2. Identify key stakeholders:

• Who are the key stakeholders or managers within your organization in each critical function who hold valuable insights to guide you towards success? How can their domain expertise be leveraged to identify skill gaps?  

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Protip: Foster collaboration with these stakeholders, tapping into their knowledge and expertise to enhance the identification of the required skills in the organization to achieve business objectives and the skills present in the organization, to identify the gaps.

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3. Identify top skills

• What are the critical skills required to achieve your business objectives? Can you identify these top skills with the help of each function stakeholder? How can you strategically align your talent development efforts with these critical areas for success?  

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Protip: As an HR professional, you can conduct research and stay in tune with your industry through trend monitoring, professional networks, and engaging discussions. This will help you identify some of the most sought-after skills in the market, both now and in the future. Discuss with your stakeholders to see if these skills could be added to the necessary skills to achieve business objectives.

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4. Assess skill gaps:

• What skills currently exist within your organization? Can you identify these with the help of each function stakeholder? How do these skills compare to what is required, highlighting any gaps? What insights can this evaluation offer to deepen your understanding of your workforce's capabilities and pinpoint areas for development?  

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Protip: AI tools are now available that make skills mapping and generating comprehensive skills gap reports quick and effortless, requiring just a few minutes of your time. The best part is that some of these tools are completely free. By utilizing these tools, you can gain valuable insights into your workforce's capabilities and identify specific areas for development.

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5. Develop an HR strategic plan:

How can you bridge the identified skill gaps within your organization? Here are the various strategies to consider:  

• Update your Talent Acquisition Plan: Evaluate the need to hire external talent or engage outside contractors, considering time, budget, and candidate availability.  
• Rethink upskilling & reskilling: Explore opportunities to train and develop existing employees, equipping them with the necessary skills. Consider feasibility within your desired timeframe and budgetary constraints.  
• Address organization-wide learning needs with learning programs: Develop targeted learning programs to enhance essential skills for the modern work environment. Prioritize skills like resilience and innovation that are relevant across teams and throughout the organization. Equipping employees with comprehensive training in these areas empowers them to excel in a fast-paced and ever-changing workplace.  

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Protip: Customize your approach for each situation, be it talent acquisition, upskilling, or reskilling, to address skill gaps in your organization. Choose suitable strategies and utilize tools to create targeted employee development plans that address identified gaps. This ensures effective and focused efforts in closing skill gaps and fostering continuous growth in your workforce.

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6. Find your collaborators:

• Who are the mentors and subject matter experts who can contribute valuable guidance and support in executing your strategic plan? Who are the individuals within your organization with the expertise and willingness to facilitate skill development and foster a culture of continuous learning?  

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Protip: Perfect your talent development efforts by defining SMART KPIs that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Regularly track and analyze these metrics to gain valuable insights and drive long-term organizational growth. By continuously watching and evaluating the effectiveness of your talent development initiatives, you can make data-driven decisions and enhance your organization's overall performance.

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7. Measure and track success:

• How can you effectively measure and track the success of your talent development initiatives? What key performance indicators (KPIs) should be defined and aligned with your objectives? 

Examples: NPS score, retention rate, etc.

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Protip: Perfect your talent development efforts by defining SMART KPIs that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Regularly track and analyze these metrics to gain valuable insights and drive long-term organizational growth. By continuously watching and evaluating the effectiveness of your talent development initiatives, you can make data-driven decisions and enhance your organization's overall performance.

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Moving forward 

The skills-based canvas serves as a potent tool for organizations seeking to optimize talent development and drive workforce success. By adopting this structured approach, you can unlock the full potential of your workforce, aligning skills with strategic goals and embracing adaptability. We encourage organizations to embrace the skills-based canvas as a pivotal element in their talent development journey. 

Starting with guidance and real-life examples can make the process easier, and we have great news! We are organizing a workshop on September 8 to help you unleash the full potential of the skills-based canvas. Reserve your seat now - it's free! 

Reserve your seat for the workshop today. 

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What's in this article

• Anatomy of a great job posting (to help you stand out from the crowd)
• Taking your job postings to the next level with ChatGPT
• Putting your best foot forward in recruitment with ChatGPT

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You were hired as an HR manager but it turns out you spend your days as a job posting copywriter. Sound familiar? Well, we’ve got good news for you. You can now focus on the important stuff and delegate the rest… to an AI sidekick.

Indeed, ChatGPT has been making waves in the tech world, with its ability to write and complete tasks with the help of AI. And we’re here to tell you it’ll rock your recruiter socks off too.

ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool (or artificial-intelligence chatbot) developed by OpenAI. With the help of prompts, it can help users by answering questions and assisting with writing tasks like composing emails, essays, and code, or editing.

With over 13 million users per day in just a few months—and a massive deal with Microsoft as it will soon be deployed across the entire Office 365 suite—ChatGPT is changing the game from search to email marketing to programming (and even writing your master's thesis).

But, more importantly, the AI-powered conversational agent on everyone's lips can help accelerate and enhance your recruitment content activities. 

This article will be your playbook to crafting job postings that catch the attention of the MVPs in your industry. We'll cover everything from the fundamentals of job postings to getting the most out of ChatGPT's unique skill set. Whether you're a seasoned recruiter or a rookie HR manager, we're here to help you knock it out of the park. In fact, we actually created a tool that writes your job postings automagically (you should try it!).

Get ready to hit a homerun in the job market with the help of ChatGPT!

Anatomy of a great job posting (to help you stand out from the crowd)

Before we dive into the power of ChatGPT, let's talk about the anatomy of a great job posting. 

A great job posting is clear, engaging, and informative. It should tell potential candidates exactly what they can expect from the role and what the company is looking for in a candidate. It should also be written in a way that is easy to read and understand.

To create a great job posting, you should include the following key sections:

Job Title: Make sure the job title is clear and concise to target more qualified leads. Use industry-standard terms to make it easy for prospects to find your posting—but avoid empty jargon!

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If you're posting for a software developer, make sure to use terms like "full-stack developer" or "backend developer" in the job title. Avoid using vague or generic titles like "tech guru" or "coding wizard".

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Company Description: Give a brief overview of your company and its culture. This will help your potential candidates determine if they would be a good fit for your company.

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If you're a tech startup with a laid-back, creative culture, highlight that in your company description. For example, you could say: 

We're a fast-paced startup that values creativity and innovation. Our team is made up of passionate individuals who love to push the boundaries of what's possible.

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Job Description: Clearly outline the responsibilities and duties of the position. Nobody likes bulky paragraphs, so use bullet points to make it easy to read.

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If you're looking for a front-end developer, clearly outline the responsibilities and duties of the position. For example:

Responsibilities include:

• Designing and implementing user interfaces
• Testing and debugging code
• Collaborating with other developers and designers

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Qualifications: List the required (musts) and preferred (nice to have) qualifications for the position. Be specific and include both hard and soft skills.

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For example (for a data analyst position), this could be: 

Required qualifications: 

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field
• Experience with SQL and data analysis tools

Preferred qualifications: 

• Experience with machine learning and data visualization
• Strong problem-solving skills

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Benefits and Perks: Highlight any benefits or perks that come with the job. This can include things like health insurance, paid time off, or flexible work arrangements—things that might be attractive to your ideal candidates complementary to a competitive salary). 

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For example:

We offer a flexible work schedule that allows employees to work from home or choose their own hours. We also offer competitive salaries, health insurance, and a 401k matching program.

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Taking your job postings to the next level with ChatGPT

Now that we’ve covered the key components of a great job posting, let's talk about how to leverage ChatGPT’s genius. The key to getting the most out of ChatGPT is to master the art of the prompt. This means understanding how to ask ChatGPT the right questions and how to guide it in the right direction.

The art of prompt

You might be asking yourself: What’s a ChatGPT prompt? A prompt is like a genie in a bottle for ChatGPT. It's the magic words you use to get it to do what you want. 

A good prompt is clear, concise, and directs ChatGPT towards the information you need. It guides the AI language model to produce text that matches a particular purpose or tone. The quality of your prompt impacts the output generated by ChatGP —if your prompt is unclear, it might take a few tries before ChatGPT gets it right. 

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☝️Check out research tutorials, articles, and LinkedIn posts on how to prompt it properly and get better results. A cool kid to follow for that is Sam Szuchan.

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Also called prompt engineering—learning how to ask chatbots the right questions, and guide them the right way, is going to be one of the most important skills we all need in the future. We'll need to learn what they're good at, what they're bad at, and how we can ask them questions that bring out the information that helps us the most.

When it comes to job postings, this means honing your prompts to make sure ChatGPT understands what you're looking for. It's important to keep in mind that ChatGPT isn't a mind-reader (yet), so you'll need to be clear and concise in your prompts. 

A few pro tips to help you get started:

• Use simple, straightforward language. ChatGPT isn't a human, so it won't understand complex jargon or buzzwords. Stick to plain English and avoid unnecessary fluff.

• Be specific about what you're looking for. If you want a software developer who knows Python, for example, be sure to include those keywords in your prompt.

• Provide context for ChatGPT. If you're writing a job posting for a specific company, give ChatGPT some background information about the company and its culture, including website links. This will help it generate a posting that feels authentic to your brand tone.

With these tips in mind, you'll be well on your way to creating job postings that stand out from the crowd.

ChatGPT learns as you go

Machines—they’re just like us! Well, sorta.

ChatGPT uses machine learning algorithms that allow it to learn and improve as it interacts with you. This means the more you provide feedback on its responses, the better it will become at understanding and responding to your prompts in the future. Over time, ChatGPT will become more accurate and efficient, making it an increasingly powerful tool for generating bang-on content!

One strategy for getting the most out of ChatGPT is to role-play (the SFW kind). For example, you could pretend that ChatGPT is an HR manager and ask it questions as if you were in an interview. This will help you get better responses and more accurate job descriptions—and the conversational back-and-forth allows the AI model to pick up on what you like and don’t like out of its answers at the same time.

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TL:DR ChatGPT Do’s & Don’ts

Do's:

• Use simple and easy to understand language
• Be specific about what you're looking for
• Provide context about the company and its culture (links are great!)
• Research tutorials, articles, and LinkedIn posts on how to prompt ChatGPT properly
• Role-play with ChatGPT and pretend that it is an HR manager to get better responses
• Keep your prompts clear and concise

Don'ts:

• Use complex jargon or buzzwords that ChatGPT may not understand
• Rely too heavily on ChatGPT without adding your own expertise and perspective to the job posting
• Be too vague about what you're looking for in a candidate
• Assume that ChatGPT knows everything about your company and culture without providing any background information
• Overlook the importance of A/B testing and forgetting to measure the success of your job postings

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From bland to bold: injecting life into your job postings

ChatGPT is a mighty tool in your hiring arsenal, but just like a cookbook can't make a memorable dish on its own, it can't replace human creativity either. If you want to create something that stands out in a crowded marketplace, you need to put your own unique spin on it.

Injecting your company's culture and values into your job postings is one way to make them truly stand out. Just like a master chef adds secret ingredients to make their signature dish, you should add your unique blend of spices to your job posting recipe. Are you a fun-loving startup with a relaxed atmosphere? Make sure your job posting reflects that! Are you a more formal, buttoned-up company? Use language that reflects that culture.

Another way to add a secret ingredient is by using specific keywords or mantras that describe your company's unique approach to work. If your company values collaboration and teamwork, use language that emphasizes those qualities. If you're a tech company, don't forget to add some coding puns to make the posting fun and entertaining.

At the end of the day, you want your job posting to be like a handshake, a reflection of your company's personality and values — memorable, unique and confident! By infusing your job postings with your company's personality and values, you'll attract the right candidates who are a good fit for your culture. So grab your keyboard and start creating your masterpiece!

Metrics that matter: evaluating the effectiveness of your job postings

As with any marketing or advertising effort, it's important to track your results and measure your success. Here are a few metrics to keep an eye on when it comes to job postings:

• Number of applicants: This is the most obvious metric to track. Are your job postings attracting a lot of applicants, or are you struggling to find the right candidates?

• Quality of applicants: It's not just about quantity—you also want to attract high-quality candidates who are a good fit for your company. Look at factors like education, experience, and skills to evaluate the quality of your applicants.

• Time to hire: How long does it take for you to fill a position after posting it? A longer time to hire could indicate that your job postings are not effective (or that your hiring process needs improvement—but that’s for another article.) 

• Cost per hire: Calculate the cost of each hire, including job board fees, recruiter fees, and other expenses. This can help you evaluate the cost-effectiveness of your job postings and identify areas where you can cut costs.

• Retention rate: Once you hire someone, how long do they stay with your company? A high retention rate indicates that you are hiring the right people and creating a positive work environment. And the cost of replacing an employee is around 9 months worth of their salary—so you want to avoid that happening as much as possible! 

By tracking these metrics, you can gain insight into the effectiveness of your job postings and make adjustments as needed. Use this data to refine your job posting strategy, improve your prompts and maximize your recruitment efforts over time!

Putting your best foot forward in recruitment with ChatGPT

In today's cutthroat job market, you can't just throw a job listing into the void and hope for the best. Well—you can if you want to, but it won’t yield much results.

To stand out, you need a message that speaks directly to your dream candidate and shows off your company's unique style and values. By following the tips in this article and keeping an eagle eye on your results, you'll craft job postings with the help of ChatGPT that snap up the best and brightest talent and build a powerhouse team for your organization.

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What's in this article

• What is workforce planning and why it matters
• Key benefits of a skills-based workforce planning approach
• Workforce planning: Key metrics of success
• The future of workforce planning: skill management for data-driven decisions

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Workforce planning is a critical component of modern business strategies and an essential aspect of company success, yet often overlooked or performed haphazardly. Understaffing or overhiring are common (and costly) pitfalls that can undermine a team’s velocity, affect morale, and, ultimately, impact your bottom line.

Digital transformation and a changing economic landscape are forcing companies to become more cautious and frugal when it comes to hiring. As a result, traditional workforce planning is akin to an older smartphone model in desperate need of an OS update. 

As tech companies move towards rightsizing in an era of layoffs, long gone are the days where relying on instincts or best guesses is good enough — it’s now crucial more than ever to have a mindset that puts data at the forefront, giving way for a clearer understanding of your organization’s skills, gaps, and true needs, so you can make strategic decisions that keep your employees happy, engaged and performing.

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Numbers speak louder than words: Strategic workforce planning can save a company up to $6 million for every 100 employees, according to Deloitte. That’s no small change.

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In this article, we’ll explore the importance of workforce planning, the benefits of a skills-based approach, and key metrics for success.

What is workforce planning and why it matters

Workforce planning refers to the process of identifying and anticipating future workforce needs and then taking action to meet those needs. It’s a critical component of any business strategy, as having the right people with the right skills in place is essential for achieving organizational goals. 

If you’re not familiar with the term, know that workforce planning relates to many HR activities, including: 

• Flexible working systems
• Demand supply forecasting
• Skills audit/gap analysis 
• Talent management
• Role design
• Risk management
• Outsourcing
• Career development
• Scenario planning 

By understanding the current and future demands of your organization, you can make informed staffing, training, and development decisions that will ensure their workforce is equipped to meet business objectives.

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When it comes to workforce planning, standards must be raised: According to a 2022 talent planning report, only 31% of employers collect data to identify skills gaps and 28% to identify retention issues. And 30% of companies plan beyond 6 months when considering future workforce needs.

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Skill mapping is the cornerstone of workforce planning 2.0

Skill mapping is the foundation of modern workforce planning, and it involves identifying and assessing the skills of your current workforce. It allows you to zoom out and get a better picture of your organization’s resources, and helps you zoom in to your real needs by determining where your strengths and weaknesses lie.

By using a skill mapping tool, you can quickly assess your organization’s talent pool and make informed, data-driven decisions about future staffing and training needs.

Applying the M&A Build-Buy-Partner framework, skill mapping helps identify needs and gaps faster to make the right decisions for your company:

• Build: Training existing employees who’ve been identified as having the potential to fill other roles or gaps. This method, when possible, is definitely the least costly.

• Buy: Acquiring or recruiting employees from other companies, also known as employee poaching. Depending on contract clauses, this could be expensive but worth it.
• Partner: Instead of permanently hiring one person, it’s possible to “hire” a team for a fraction of the price via agencies to fill specific needs your business may not be able to do in-house.

Key benefits of a skills-based workforce planning approach

There are several key benefits to using a skills-based workforce planning approach:

Going from reactive to proactive

One of the biggest benefits is going from reactive to proactive. All too often, especially for small and growing businesses (SMBs), workforce planning is done in real-time in response to incoming requests. By taking a more data-driven approach and monitoring skills gaps and needs in real-time, you can become more proactive and strategic, avoiding costly mistakes made in the heat of the moment.

It’s like swimming in the ocean: a proactive swimmer anticipates the waves, whereas the reactive swimmer is painfully surprised by each one every time and needs to use more energy to recover. 

And in the world of business, there will never not be waves. 

Prioritizing  internal mobility over external hiring

Another benefit is prioritizing internal mobility over external hiring. Without a clear view of your people’s skills and capabilities, it’s easy to default to hiring externally and rely too heavily on consultants to fill the gaps. 

External hiring can become expensive over time and may result in turnover, as existing employees go elsewhere to find roles they might have aspired to be promoted for that you already filled with an external consultant — which is terrible for employee morale and trust!

Focusing on reskilling and upskilling can reduce the need for external hiring, ensuring your company doesn’t rely on hiring crutches, and promote career development, which empowers your team.

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Employees appreciate when their organization is invested in their career development:  Happy employees are 12% more productive than ones that are not satisfied at work.

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Bridge skills gaps through training programs

Addressing skills gaps (or skills mismatch) through reskilling and upskilling is a critical component in developing successful training programs, and goes hand in hand with internal mobility. Focusing on internal development reduces the need to hire from outside and maximizes resources at hand.

By equipping employees with the necessary skills and knowledge, companies can not only enhance their internal mobility, but also improve overall productivity and efficiency. 

It’s like teaching a person to fish — upskilling ensures you’re building a team of capable fishermen in the long-run, rather than limiting your workforce to rely on outsourcing.

With the right training programs in place, organizations can create a strong and capable workforce, capable of adapting to the changing demands of the market and technology. 

Ensuring long-term success and creating a positive work environment that supports growth and success for all.

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Upskilling can improve employee happiness too! 71% of employees feel that learning new skills improves their job satisfaction which positively impacts overall company culture.

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Create a data-driven culture over politics

Without a clear, systematic, data-driven approach, it’s easy to be held hostage by politics and be at the mercy of competing managers. Skill mapping can help you get a holistic bird’s eye view of your organization and ensure that business priorities, not politics, guide decisions.

Ultimately, a skills-based workforce planning approach will foster greater organizational agility, accountability, and forecasting — and every company needs to get on top of that.

Workforce planning: Key metrics of success

There are several key metrics to measure the success of your workforce planning efforts, including internal mobility, forecasts, employee bandwidth and morale, and training and development programs. By tracking these metrics, you and other hiring managers can get a clear understanding of the effectiveness of their workforce planning efforts and make necessary improvements.

Internal Mobility

Internal mobility, or the number of positions filled internally versus externally, is a critical metric that provides insight into the strength of an organization's internal talent pool and the impact of its training and development programs. 

Forecasts

Forecasts, or the accuracy of headcount predictions and budgeting, are another important metric. This will help you understand if you over or under-budgeted and what you can do to improve your forecasting in the future.

Employee Bandwidth or Morale 

Another key metric is employee bandwidth and morale. If your employees feel overworked and overwhelmed, it may be a sign that you have not properly planned and staffed your workforce. This can lead to decreased productivity and employee burnout, so it’s important to regularly assess this metric to ensure your workforce is healthy and engaged.

Training Programs

Finally, evaluating your training and development programs to ensure they are meeting their goals and contributing to your workforce planning success should be done routinely. This can be measured through metrics such as employee satisfaction, skill acquisition, and employee retention.

Monitoring and tracking these key metrics will help you get a clear understanding of the effectiveness of your workforce planning efforts and what you can do to improve. 
It’s all connected. Spot on workforce planning means there’s no no understaffing or overhiring — which leads to employee satisfaction and retention because no one is overworked (or underworked, aka bored).

The future of workforce planning: skill management for data-driven decisions

Workleap Skills planning is an essential aspect of any organization looking to grow and succeed in today's competitive market. With the help of a skills-based approach and utilizing AI tools for better skill mapping, companies can unlock the full potential of their resources, increase internal mobility, reduce external hiring, and ultimately create a more data-driven and agile culture.

At Workleap, we’re paving the way for the future of workforce planning. And getting started is easy. In three simple steps, you can experience the full value of our data-driven skills mapping tool:

• Assess your company’s current resources and skills through skill mapping
• Utilize insights gained to identify gaps and prioritize areas for improvement
• Monitor progress and adjust your workforce planning strategy as needed with real-time data and insights

Incorporating Skills into your workforce planning strategy is a proven way to unlock the full potential of your resources and drive success for your organization.

Book a demo today to see how it can help plan, create, and nurture more fulfilling and productive workplaces.

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What's in this article

• The future of work is all about employee experience
• 6 pillars of the modern-day employee experience
• The future of employee experience is skills-based

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Gone are the days when ping-pong tables, foosball, beer taps, and yoga mats were considered essential workplace perks. With the rise of remote work, it's clear that these office luxuries can no longer compete with the true essentials: comprehensive career development and fair compensation plans. These foundational elements are now the cornerstone of the modern-day employee experience.

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What used to work for the previous generation of employees doesn’t necessarily work for the new one. Millennials now make up 50% of the workforce — a number expected to be 75% by 2030. Companies need to pay attention to their Millennial and Gen Z employees, and adapt to changing trends and needs to ensure higher retention, loyalty and productivity.

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In a world of virtual teams, high burnout rates and recognition incentives, how can employers ensure they are building an attractive work environment that delivers on what today’s employees value?

The future of work is all about employee experience

Companies are beginning to realize the importance of the employee experience and how it can serve as a strategic competitive advantage. With the modern-day workforce demanding a more engaging, inclusive, and fulfilling workplace, it's become essential for companies to focus on every aspect of the employee journey — from hiring to onboarding to career development.

A job-hopping survey shows that poor career development opportunities (which includes when companies aren't offering clear career paths) is one of the top reasons for employees to look for another job. However, the appetite is there — 78% of employees (4 out of 5) would be happy to learn new skills with their current employers.

Employees who feel supported in their career growth are more likely to stay with a company longer, resulting in lower turnover rates and increased productivity. The bottomline: ping-pong tables and free office swag are the empty-calorie snacks to the real employee development protein that modern day workers crave.

The connection between employee experience and business success

Building a positive employee experience is crucial to not only job satisfaction, but also overall success for both employees and the organization. 

The employee experience is the sum total of everything an employee encounters when interacting with their organization, from recruiting to onboarding to performance management.

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According to Forbes, companies with a strong employee experience 40% less turnover than competitors — and 4.6 times more productivity!

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Employers must be committed to creating an environment where employees feel valued, supported, and empowered to succeed. By doing so, they’re not only improving company culture, but also boosting productivity and innovation. In the end, human capital will always be the greatest and most defensible economic engine.

6 pillars of the modern-day employee experience

What should employers consider about the modern-day employee experience? The idea is built around four key pillars: 

1. Skill and career development
2. Internal mobility
3. Overcommunication and visibility
4. Role of the office (in a hybrid/remote context)
5. Work-life balance
6. Collaboration and teamwork

Skill and career development

Skill and career development is critical to meet the demands of an ever-changing world and to keep employees engaged and competitive. Clear pathing and goals, as well as gamification for engagement, are key elements to offer employees and keep them engaged.

From winning gold stars in kindergarten to scoring the most points playing video games as teenagers — we love measurable success. Skill mapping tools that offer different levels of star rating keep employees motivated to develop their skills.

Employees who have the opportunity to continuously develop their skills by accessing training, mentorship and opportunities for career growth are more engaged, motivated, and have higher job satisfaction. As the employer, you can be the hero that reminds them the world is their oyster. How powerful is that?

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Those who get it, get it.

Airbnb has a strong focus on employee development and growth, offering a range of training and career advancement opportunities to help employees grow their skills and advance their careers. Through these programs, employee engagement, satisfaction and performance improved — No wonder the company keeps being voted as one of the best employers to work for!

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Internal mobility

Working hand in hand with skill and career development, internal mobility is important to help employees take their careers to the next level and stay loyal to their employer. By allowing employees to upskill and make lateral moves within the organization (think cross-onboarding) and work on projects outside of their departments, they enhance their knowledge, get exposed to new peers and mentors, and develop a more T-shaped skill set.

Employees can be more empowered, able to identify areas for improvement and work on acquiring new skills that will make them more valuable to the organization. This leads to higher job satisfaction and a better work-life balance, as employees feel empowered to take control of their own professional growth.

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A T-shaped skillset is the perfect balance of versatility and expertise. It combines a broad range of general skills with deep expertise in one specific area. T-shaped skillsets bring a well-rounded understanding and a specialized perspective to problem solving, making employees highly valuable to their teams.

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Overcommunication and visibility

Overcommunication and visibility are crucial to ensure that every team member involved is informed and engaged — especially in this hybrid and remote work era. It's important to recreate organic information exchanges as much as possible, communicating more rather than not enough to ensure every stakeholder is engaged and on the same page. 

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Slack, our favorite chat channel (we love the GIFs features!) analyzed the importance of connection at work. 98% of employees report wanting to feel close to their colleagues and 31% believe communication tools should be made a priority.

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The role of the office in a hybrid and remote era

The role of the office must be redefined in the hybrid and remote era. Instead of serving as just a place to work, the office should become a community builder and campus, providing employees with a place to collaborate, connect, and grow. 

Companies like WeWork, Google, and Amazon are great examples of this, creating offices that serve as hubs for their employees' professional and personal growth — allowing for flexible remote work schemes, but hosting big meetings and social gatherings under a shared roof. 

Work-life balance

Balancing work and life is a challenge for any professional, but studies show it's essential for employee well-being and job satisfaction in the short and long term. While a majority of people consider themselves workaholics, 72% factor in work-life balance when looking for a new job.

There are many ways employers can support work-life balance via flexible working arrangements, including remote work options and flexible schedules:

• Flexible Scheduling: Offering employees the option to work flexible hours that better align with their personal life can help improve work-life balance.

• Remote Work: Allowing employees to work from home or another remote location can be a great way to give them more control over their work environment and reduce the stress of commuting.

• Unlimited Time Off: Some companies have implemented an unlimited time off policy, allowing employees to take the time off they need to recharge, reduce stress, and maintain a healthy mind and body.

• Mental Health Days: Encouraging employees to take mental health days to prioritize their mental well-being and reduce stress can help improve bandwidth and capacity.

• Employee Assistance Programs: Providing access to counseling, wellness programs, and other resources can help employees navigate personal stress to improve their mental and emotional well-being at work.

• Health and Wellness Initiatives: Providing on-site gyms, healthy snack options, and other wellness initiatives can help employees stay active, healthy, and reduce stress.

• Career Development Programs: Providing training and professional development opportunities can help employees grow in their careers and feel more fulfilled.

Collaboration and teamwork

Collaboration and teamwork are critical components of a successful work environment. From regular team-building activities to open communication channels, companies need to create a workplace where employees feel heard and valued.

Diversity and inclusivity are also key to promoting collaboration and innovation, pooling from a variety of talent with complementary skill sets to create even more dynamic and effective teams.

The future of employee experience is skills-based

With the rise of remote work and hybrid models, the need to focus on employee satisfaction and engagement has become more pressing than ever. And, let’s be honest — modern day employees want to continuously grow in their career to feel engaged and fulfilled. A skills-based approach makes it a win-win for both the organization's bottom line and the employee's personal growth.

Employee experience is the secret of the Caramilk when it comes to talent development and retention.

Anchoring the employee experience around a skills-based approach is key to unlocking employees' full potential and fostering deeper engagement across the organization — making employees feel like they are in the driver seat of their own careers.

Skill and career development, internal mobility, communication and visibility, and the rethinking of the office must be at the forefront of the employee experience strategy if you want to succeed in this new digital era.

Mapping the way forward with Workleap Skills

At Workleap, we understand the importance of this and have built a career development platform that helps employees build their skills, grow in their careers, and collaborate more effectively with their colleagues. 

With our platform, your company can take the employee experience to the next level and create a dynamic, engaging, and fulfilling workplace for their employees. Book a demo with us today and see how you can start building a more resilient, agile, and engaged workforce — your future self will thank you!

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Internal mobility will become a trump card and secret weapon for the highest-performing companies of the next decade. In this age of constant change and a tightening job market, doing more with less is essential at both the company and individual level. 

It’s imperative for companies to remain agile and for employees to access career development opportunities. However, unlocking a culture of internal mobility is easier said than done, so we have prepared an easy guide to help you get started on the right foot and prepare for the future of employee management.

What is internal mobility?

Imagine that your company is a big and complex maze with different departments, projects, and opportunities. Internal mobility is like a GPS that helps your employees find their way through the maze and explore different paths to reach their goals. 

For example, a digital marketer might look to become an SEO specialist. This could grant them the ability to be assigned to SEO-related projects in their current roles or get promoted to a role that takes on more SEO-specific responsibilities.

It's not just about moving up the ladder, but also about moving sideways to gain new skills, or even moving down to explore a different department or project that aligns with their interests.

Internal mobility programs are like personal fitness programs for your employees' career development. Just like how you need to work out regularly to build and maintain a healthy body, internal mobility helps your employees build and maintain a healthy career fit to their needs, interests, and strengths. It helps them avoid stagnation and complacency, and keeps them motivated and engaged by providing new challenges and opportunities. You could consider an HR manager to be the trainer that creates that program and accompanies the employee in their journey, ensuring they achieve the necessary milestones to reach their goal — like identifying that a 3-month PMP certification course needs to be passed for a manager to be promoted into a senior role.

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Career progression is valued by the new generation of workers: A survey by LinkedIn found that 43% of Millennials would consider leaving their current job for a role with more opportunities for career progression.

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The benefits of internal mobility are not just for the employees, but also for the organization as a whole. It helps retain valuable employees by showing them that they have a future in the company, and it saves the company money and time on recruiting and onboarding new hires. Plus, it fosters a culture of continuous learning and development, which attracts top talent and boosts the company's reputation, as well as produces subject-matter experts which are extremely valuable to organizations.

Why internal mobility matters

Companies that have a robust internal mobility program experience higher performance and retention rates. How so? Several benefits come from implementing an internal mobility strategy, including:

• Greater visibility and collaboration across the company which helps break down silos as well as promote teamwork and communication. This involves creating a company culture where departments are open to sharing information and collaborating on projects — such as a marketing team working with a sales team to create a cohesive strategy for lead generation.
• Career development acceleration by encouraging the development of more rounded skills and T-shaped employees. Encouraging employees to develop a diverse set of skills can increase their value and make them more adaptable in their careers. A graphic designer who takes courses in UX design and social media marketing is an example of this.
  
• Maximizing existing resources instead of overreliance on new hires or external consultants. This means looking at current employees and their skills to see if they can take on new responsibilities before hiring new employees or consultants. A company may identify an employee who has a talent for social media and have them manage the company's social media accounts instead of hiring a new employee for that role.
  
• Increased employee engagement because employees feel their work is seen as valuable when they feel they are part of the bigger picture of the business. This creates a sense of ownership and purpose by providing opportunities to learn about the company's overall goals and strategies. A good way to do this is for a company to hold regular town hall meetings to update employees on company performance and future plans.
  
• Shift to a project-based approach instead of a role-based approach, which creates a culture focused on positive outcomes rather than personal advancement. This means focusing away from job titles and roles, and towards project successes. For example, a company may have a team of employees working on a specific project rather than assigning tasks based on individual job titles.
  
• Encouraging intrapreneurship achieved by encouraging employees to be entrepreneurial within the company, allowing them to create and innovate. Creating an internal innovation lab where employees can pitch and work on new projects is something many tech companies do.
  
• Flatter organization instead of top-down decision-making, which fosters a culture of ownership and accountability. This means moving away from hierarchical management styles and giving employees more autonomy to make decisions. At a basic level, companies may give employees the authority to make decisions related to their work (such as task prioritization) without having to seek approval from a manager.
  
• Enlisting new mentors offers a variety of perspectives, and working and leadership styles. This is a good thing, as learning from multiple people is better than from the same manager all the time. Encouraging employees to seek out mentors who can provide guidance and support can be done through creating a mentorship program that pairs employees with mentors from different departments or areas of expertise.

How to track and measure internal mobility

Tracking and measuring internal mobility can be done in several ways. We like to call them our Internal Mobility Key Performance Indicators (IMKPIs). 

• Employee attrition rates: An attrition rate is the percentage of employees who leave a company over a certain period (voluntarily or involuntarily). By tracking and measuring employee attrition rates, companies can gain insights into whether their internal mobility policies are working. A decrease in attrition rates can indicate that employees feel they have opportunities for career growth and development within the company — and vice versa.

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A company notices that they have a high rate of turnover for employees in specific departments. Upon investigating, they discover that there are fewer opportunities for career advancement within those departments. The company then implements a career development program, which includes job rotations and cross-functional training. After a year, the company notices a significant decrease in attrition rates in those departments.

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• The number of internal applicants for new roles: This is the amount of existing employees who apply for a different position but within the same company. By tracking the number of internal applicants for new roles, companies can gauge the level of interest employees have in advancing within the organization.

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A company posts a job opening for a management position. They receive a high number of internal applicants from various departments. The company recognizes that they have a pool of talented individuals who are eager for career advancement and are loyal to the company. They offer additional training and development opportunities to prepare these individuals for future management roles.

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• Positive responses in career satisfaction surveys: Surveys to “take the temperature” of their employees can be anonymous, done digitally or in-person. By measuring employee satisfaction with regards to career advancement and development opportunities, companies can identify areas where they need to improve

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A company conducts a career satisfaction survey and notices that a large percentage of employees feel they are not being given opportunities to grow and develop within the company. The company then implements a mentorship program, where senior employees mentor and coach junior employees. After a year, the company conducts another survey and sees a significant increase in positive responses regarding career growth and development.

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• The number of consultants: By tracking the number of consultants (non-employees hired to fill a gap in skills), companies can determine if they are over-reliant on external resources and if there are opportunities to develop internal talent.

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A company hires a consulting firm to help with a project. After the project is complete, the company tracks the number of consultants used and the associated costs. They realize that they could have used internal resources to complete the project and save money. The company then implements a cross-functional training program to develop internal talent for future projects.

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• Time to complete projects: By tracking the amount of time it takes to complete projects (and associated individual tasks), companies can determine if they are effectively utilizing internal resources for the project.

A company begins a new project and brings in a consultant to help. They track the time it takes to complete the project with the consultant and then track the time it takes to complete the project with internal resources. They notice that the project takes less time to complete with internal resources. The company then implements a program to better utilize internal resources for future projects.

• Company profitability: Profitability is the organization's profit relative to its expenses. By measuring profitability at the organization level, companies can determine if their internal mobility policies are contributing to the bottom line — or hindering it.

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A company implements a career development program and tracks the profitability of the organization over time. They notice that profitability increases as employees are given more opportunities for career advancement.

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• Diversity and inclusion ratios: This is the measure of the employees found in minority to the total strength of the organization. This ratio can be based on gender, ethnicity, age, and so on — and gives valuable insight into the broadness of the perspectives an organization benefits from. By measuring diversity and inclusion ratios, companies can determine if their internal mobility policies are benefiting a diverse set of employees.

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A company implements a job rotation program and tracks the diversity and inclusion ratios of employees who participate in the program. They notice that the program benefits a diverse set of employees, ensuring equality of opportunity is available for all.

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Top internal mobility challenges (and how to overcome them)

Internal mobility programs can be a great asset to companies, but they are not without their challenges. Here are some of the most common hurdles and how to overcome them:

• Resource hoarding by managers: Some managers may be unwilling to share their best employees with other teams. To overcome this, it's important to emphasize the benefits of cross-departmental collaboration, such as increased innovation and knowledge-sharing, and establish clear politics around this to formalize it at a company level.

• Time management: Employees may be hesitant to take on new roles or projects because they are already overwhelmed with their current responsibilities. To overcome this, it's important to make sure that internal mobility programs are flexible,can be adapted to fit the schedules of employees, and offer a clear view of objectives and expectations.
• Sourcing candidates based on current skill and forgetting about future potential: When looking for candidates for new roles or projects, it can be tempting to stick with those who have the skills and experience required for the job. However, internal mobility programs are all about giving employees opportunities to stretch and grow outside of their comfort zone. To overcome this, it's important to look for employees with potential and a willingness to learn.

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79% of CEOs are concerned about the availability of key skills — internal mobility can be a way to address this issue.

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• Lack of visibility into employee skills, potential and pathing: Without a clear understanding of employees' skills and potential, it can be difficult to identify the best candidates for new roles or projects. To overcome this, it's important to invest in tools that can help you map out employee skills and career paths.
• Psychological safety: Employees may be hesitant to apply for new roles or projects for fear of being shamed or feeling disloyal. To overcome this, it's important to create a culture of psychological safety, where employees feel comfortable taking risks and trying new things.

Internal mobility best practices and case studies

Let’s take a look at some companies that have successfully implemented internal mobility programs and what we can learn from their efforts.

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Hilton Worldwide

Hilton Worldwide launched their Thrive@Hilton program to help their employees find fulfilling career paths within the organization. The program includes career mapping, internal job postings, mentorship opportunities, and learning and development resources. As a result, Hilton has seen a significant increase in employee engagement and a decrease in turnover rates.

Key Learnings: Hilton’s internal mobility program is successful because it provides employees with clear career paths and opportunities to grow within the organization. The program is also supported by an extensive suite of additional resources — like online courses, mental health support, financial planning tools, and volunteer opportunities — which ensures that employees have the support they need to succeed.

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IBM

IBM’s Blue Matching program is an internal talent marketplace that matches employees with projects that align with their skills and interests. The program uses a proprietary algorithm to match employees with relevant projects and provide them with the opportunity to gain new skills and experiences. Since the launch of the program, IBM has seen a significant increase in employee engagement and a reduction in external hiring.

Key Learnings: IBM’s internal talent marketplace is successful because it uses data and analytics to identify relevant opportunities for employees — using AI-powered objectivity rather than human-related subjectivity (and bias). This ensures that employees are appropriately matched with projects that align with their interests and skillsets, which makes the program more engaging and effective.

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T-Mobile

T-Mobile’s Career Success campaign was a comprehensive internal mobility strategy that helped reinvent its employee growth and development program. The campaign included activities focused on career guidance and job exploration, growth and development planning, opportunities to meet new career advocates and to audition for a future job shadowing. As a result of this campaign, T-Mobile has seen a significant level of employee engagement and an increased participation rate at the CareerFest event.

Key Learnings: T-Mobile’s internal mobility program is successful because it is supported by a range of initiatives that provide employees with opportunities to grow and develop through a comprehensive lens. The program is also designed to be inclusive and accessible, which ensures that all employees have the opportunity to participate.

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Internal talent marketplaces are the next frontier

The future of internal mobility lies in the development of internal talent marketplaces (ITMs). 

ITMs are platforms that use skill mapping as the company’s currency, allowing employees to be assessed, developed, and matched with the right projects. These platforms can help organizations create a culture of continuous learning and development, while also providing employees with opportunities to advance within the organization.

According to Gartner, the development of ITMs is a critical step in the evolution of internal mobility. By leveraging data and analytics, organizations can gain a better understanding of their employees’ skills and potential, which can be used to create more effective career pathing programs and support the development of the workforce.

Internal mobility: 3 easy steps to get started 

In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, internal mobility has become a key competitive advantage for organizations looking to do more with less. By creating a culture of internal mobility, organizations can leverage the skills and experience of their existing workforce to drive innovation and growth — which also boosts job satisfaction and retention of their employees.

Here are three easy steps towards improving your company’s internal mobility capabilities:

1. Map your talent pool’s skills: Use skill mapping to gain a better understanding of your employees’ current and potential skills, helping you see gaps and opportunities more clearly.
2. Open projects across expertises: Create a culture of internal mobility by opening up projects to employees from different departments and teams, which offers them opportunities to expand their skills and professional horizon within the company.
3. Design career pathing around new skills and projects: Use your employees’ skills and interests to create more effective career pathing programs — it’s about personalization rather than standardization.

Internal mobility is a cornerstone of the future of work. Companies that invest in internal mobility programs, supported by internal talent marketplaces or skill mapping tools, are better positioned to succeed in the modern business landscape. By enabling employees to move within the organization and expand their skills, companies can foster a culture of engagement, collaboration, and growth.

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Companies who invest in internal mobility programs see 3.5X employee engagement and 2X longer employee life cycles

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So, whether you're just starting with internal mobility or looking to enhance your internal mobility strategy, Workleap Skills is here to help. 

Get in touch with our team to schedule a free demo and see how you can transform your company programs and leverage your workforce ingeniously.

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Meet your new employee of the month (and of the decade): AI. Artificial intelligence used to be the stuff of sci-fi movies - a distant promise of a distorted future. No longer. AI will soon be as ubiquitous as electricity or the Internet, and will usher in the 4th industrial revolution. In fact, it's already underway and it's transforming the way we work... forever. 

From natural language processing to machine learning, AI is creating new opportunities for collaboration between humans and machines, allowing the workforce to focus on more valuable tasks while giving less valuable ones to machines. 

In fact, calculations estimate that AI could add $15 trillion to the global economy by 2030. AI is not a fad but a paradigm shifter, set to become the backbone of the all-digital world and the next frontier for the workforce worldwide. 

In this article, we explore how AI-human collaboration is changing the workplace, what jobs and tasks have been affected… and what the future holds for AI and the workforce.

AI-induced white-collar blues: the impact of artificial intelligence on office jobs

The 20th-century industrial revolution changed blue-collar work forever with machinery and automation taking over factory floors to make work faster and safer for all. 

Now, the next great industrial revolution is happening. And this time, it will affect white-collar jobs as well. AI will replace some jobs while displacing others. But more significantly, it will augment workers and create new jobs too.

More than ever, the need to upskill or reskill with AI will become paramount to the success of organizations and the employability of workers. According to the World Economic Forum, 50% of us will need to reskill by 2025, as the "double-disruption" of the economic impacts of the pandemic and increasing automation transforming jobs takes hold. Organizations must build with agility and adaptability to take advantage of technology and its new darling: AI.

AI-human collaboration is the future of work and HR leaders must prepare for it. Technology will change the way we hire, train and retain talent.

Putting AI to work: 10 examples of AI-human collaborations

These days, ChatGPT is all the rage. Its popularity has given us a glimpse into the future of how game-changing AI assistants will be for human productivity. While some knowledge workers fear AI could replace them, the most future-forward companies and individuals understand that putting AI to work as a copilot for tasks will grant them a competitive edge. 

Here are examples of existing professions already benefiting from AI to automate the minutiae, maximize productivity and scale their impact:

1. Customer service: AI  has the ability to learn from past tickets to automatically build custom answers, which can save a ton of time to customer service representatives.
2. Email marketing: AI algorithms can be your personal coach for email marketing, analyzing customer data to optimize email content and subject lines. The result? Higher open and click-through rates, like scoring the winning goal in a game.
3. Content writing: AI can be your brainstorm buddy, assisting in generating content outlines and providing suggestions for improvements to increase readability and engagement. Think of it as having a co-writer who always has your back.
4. Programming: AI can be your trusty sidekick, assisting in coding, testing, and debugging software. This leads to faster development cycles and enables you to save the day for your clients, like a superhero team working together.
5. Graphic design: AI can be your design genie, assisting in designing graphics and layouts based on user preferences or with image generation. Who doesn’t want faster turnaround times and improved user engagement? AI can create magic that delights your audience quickly.
6. Recruitment: AI can be your talent scout, assisting in writing job descriptions, screening and evaluating candidate resumes — resulting in more efficient hiring processes and helps you build your dream team, like a coach building a championship team.
7. Data analysis: AI can be your data wizard, assisting in data analysis and decision-making. This results in more accurate and timely insights that can help you make better decisions, like having a crystal ball to predict the future.
8. Sales forecasting: AI can be your fortune teller, assisting in predicting sales trends and identifying growth opportunities for a stronger bottom line. It can help you stay ahead of the competition, like a team that always scores before the buzzer.
9. Project management: AI can be your assistant, helping manage project timelines, allocating resources, and identifying risks. Think smoother project completion and your team being always one step ahead, with everything kept on track.
10. Language translation: AI can be your language ninja, assisting in translating documents and content accurately and quickly. Faster communication and expanded global reach on demand — your very own multilingual team who can communicate with anyone, anywhere.

TL/DRL: AI is quickly becoming everyone’s favorite and most reliable colleague, helping boost productivity and achieve faster results by allowing workers to spend less time on repetitive, mind-numbing tasks. Enhancing employees' skill sets with AI can actually make work more fulfilling — humans can focus on their higher value tasks and create better work-life balance, while AI takes care of the minutiae.

Artificial Intelligence will likely create more jobs than it will destroy

News headlines often equate technological advancements with job disruption. But if history tells us anything, it's that technology leaps inevitably lead to the creation of new needs and more jobs. 

For example, the advent of social media created an entire new stream of jobs, with now hundreds of thousands of social media managers in the world — a job title that didn't exist 15 years ago. 

AI will likely do the same for our job market, creating more jobs than it will displace. We are already seeing glimpses of that future. Even if it is estimated that up to 14% of the global workforce (375M workers) will have to change jobs by 2030, AI integration will prompt the surfacing of innumerable net new jobs — more than we could have ever imagined.

1. AI Copywriter: Writer's block no longer has to get in the way of creativity. With the help of AI, content creators can generate endless writing prompts to spark their imagination and spend more time on creative copywriting.
2. AI Developer: Also referred to as an AI engineer or a machine learning engineer, the name says it all: AI developers are becoming more and more needed, not only to develop artificial intelligence but to also integrate it into software and applications.
3. NLP Engineer: Natural Language Processing (NLP) engineers specialize in human language, including spoken and written information, focusing on improving the voice assistance, speech recognition and document processing aspects of AI.
4. BI Developer: Business Intelligence (BI) Developers generate and manage the business interface — organizing business data, extracting insights, and keeping a close eye on market trends.
5. AI Safety Agent: Such roles are linked to AI alignment, ensuring the existential and technical safety of AI processes, optimizing them for researchers and developers.
6. AI-Generated Photo Editor: AI can do the heavy lifting when it comes to generating high-quality images thanks to its advanced algorithms so that photographers can spend more time being creative in their editing process of the final product.
7. VR Experience Designer: The world of entertainment and training is about to get a lot more immersive and Virtual Reality (VR) Designers are masters of AI tools in order to create mind-blowing virtual reality experiences that transport users to entirely new worlds.
8. Digital Transformation Consultant: The digital age is here to stay, and businesses need to adapt to stay competitive. Consultants will be able to guide organizations investing in the right kind of AI assets, assisting them in their digital transformation, and helping them achieve growth and innovation objectives.

Friend not enemy: AI-Human collaboration is an opportunity, not a threat

While there may be some apprehension around AI replacing human jobs, it’s essential to understand that AI-human collaboration is not about replacing people, but rather about augmenting their capabilities. 

Most of us are quite excited about AI! In fact, 81% of employees believe AI improves their productivity and overall performance at work — which is awesome.

AI-powered machines can take on the more mundane, repetitive tasks, freeing up time for employees to focus on the more engaging and strategic aspects of their jobs. The benefits of AI-human collaboration unlocks an abundance of opportunities:

1. Making work more meaningful by removing redundant, mind-numbing tasks and focusing humans on higher-value outputs.

AI can take on tasks that are repetitive and mundane, allowing employees to focus on higher-value tasks.

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AI-powered chatbots can handle customer inquiries, freeing up human customer service representatives to handle more complex issues. This not only makes work more interesting and engaging for employees, but it also increases productivity and job satisfaction.

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2. Make organizations more efficient and profitable.

AI can help businesses streamline their operations, resulting in greater efficiency and profitability.

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AI-powered supply chain management systems can optimize inventory levels and shipping routes to reduce costs and improve delivery times. Similarly, AI can be used in predictive maintenance to detect and fix issues before they cause downtime, thereby reducing costs and increasing productivity.

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3. Helping you leapfrog to offer better customer service and experiences to customers.

Thanks to automation, AI can be used to provide customers with faster and more personalized service, which can lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty.

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AI-powered chatbots can provide 24-7 support, answering customer questions and resolving issues in real-time. This not only reduces the workload of human customer service representatives but also improves the customer experience by providing instant and efficient solutions. AI can also be used to personalize marketing messages and offers based on individual customer behavior and preferences, leading to higher conversion rates and customer lifetime value.

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Opportunities are yours for the taking! But act quick. 35% of companies worldwide are already using AI and 42% are exploring AI options for future implementation.

The companies that are hesitant to embrace AI-human collaboration and innovation will quickly find themselves at a disadvantage, both in terms of the speed of innovation and the agility required to adapt to new technologies.

Adopting AI to unlock new skills and advance career progression

Upskilling and reskilling will become imperative in the age of the AI-augmented workforce for any business model. As constant change becomes the new norm, companies and employees will need to invest in their capabilities in an ongoing fashion. Turns out AI is there for that! 

Workleap Skills is a prime example of putting AI to work at the service of human potential. Its AI-powered skill mapping tool helps map your teams' skills and identify gaps in a matter of minutes. This ensures HR managers spend more time on workforce planning and designing career progression paths by saving them the countless hours manual processes used to take when updating skills in Excel spreadsheets.

If your company has yet to embrace AI-human collaboration, there's never been a better time to start and we’re happy to take you for a Skills test drive.

The future of work is here, and the AI-augmented workforce is leading the way. Those who embrace this change will be better equipped to meet the demands of a rapidly changing business landscape. It’s time to prepare for the future — are you ready?