Whitepaper Executive Summary
Creating A Skills-Based Future
with Learning Technology
Welcome to the future of work —
a landscape in constant flux.
In a shift more profound than any Industrial Revolution, the world of work is
undergoing a fundamental transformation that’s reshaping global business,
Defining Skills-Based
Organization
A Skills-Based Organization (SBO)
is an organization that leverages
skills data to inform its talent and
management practices and uses
skills insights to make decisions
about its workforce capabilities,
development, and deployment for
daily routines and even people’s relationships with technology. All this profound
change begs the question: why are we relying on the antiquated concept of a
job to get work done and move business forward?
Since the industrial age, “the job” has been the defining structure for organizing
and managing every aspect of work. It has determined organizational structure,
titles, compensation and the description of work. This approach made sense
when businesses and markets changed slowly, and when workers were
considered cogs in an industrial machine. But the world we work in today
is different and we need a different approach to satisfy the needs of both
business and employees.
today and in the future.
Defining Skills-Based
Future
The Solution: A Skills-Based Future
The time has come for companies to transition from a jobs-centric to a
skills-based model. But getting there requires some new ways of thinking
and working — namely, instead of just assigning a job label, you’ll need to
The Skills-Based Future is one in
understand the components that workers need to succeed and assign them
which companies large and small
relevant problems, tasks, or projects.
have transformed into Skills-Based
Organizations. But it doesn’t end
Companies see the writing on the wall. Almost every leader (93%) surveyed in
there. Individuals own their portable
the Deloitte 2023 Global Human Capital Trends Survey said that retiring the job
lifelong learning profile and are
construct is important to their organization’s success.
empowered to find and do work
based on real-world, skill-building
The switch promises impressive incentives. So far, 41% organizations that
experiences powered by dynamic
are early adopters of the skills-based approach increased their financial
learning and development data. In
performance. Along with improved financal performance, the change increased
this future, society at large values
retention by 33% for organizations, and 26% of the organizations increased
those experiences more than than
their ability to anticipate future disruptions, build a more agile workforce, and
college degrees or similarly limiting
enhance innovation.
measures of human ability.
Whitepaper Executive Summary
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From Theory to Practice:
Bringing the SBO to Life
1 Dynamic and accurate skills data
Organizational Skill
Capabiltities
2 An adaptive skills framework
Determine skill needs based on
A fully functional skills-based organization has 10 key characteristics:
strategic priorities*
3 An integrated skills technology ecosystem
Understand your skill portfolio
4 Skills-based organizational design
based on the skills you have*
5 Skills-based work and work descriptions
Conduct workforce planning
6 Employee skills profiles
analysis
7 Skills-based talent and management practices
Analyze cost/efficiency
8 A Skills-based learning culture
Measure buiness/talent impact/
9 Skills-based employees
outcomes
10 An ability to calculate the value of skills
Develop decision insights
If your organization has embraced some of these elements, then you’ve begun
*Identify gaps & learning priorities
your journey toward the skills-based future. If not, starting now can help you
create real business value. In the words of RedThread Research:
“We heard a tone of urgency in our discussions
with senior leaders who have already begun
implementing skills in their organizations. We
heard the same advice over and over: START.
Just start.”
The Skills Strategy Journey
Collect
Data
Establish a skills
framework &
design your
skills tech
ecosystem
Assess
Proficiency
Develop
Skills
Deploy
Skills
Knowledge &
application
Career
progression &
workforce
planning
Whitepaper Executive Summary
Evaluate
Skills
02
Getting Started
Step 1
Collect skills data from all parts of your organization where work and learning
gets done.
Learning data is vital to this process, as it provides an up-to-date view of your
existing employee skills and those being developed by your workforce. It’s
the ideal complement to the resume and job role information found in HR and
recruitment systems.
Step 2
Assess the proficiency of the skills in your organization. Are they at a level
needed to fulfill your strategies, tasks, and projects? Consider a mix of self, peer
and manager ratings as well as badging, certifications, and formal assessments.
Step 3
Develop the skills you know you’ll need in the future based on what your skills data
Step 4
Deploy skills strategically across your organization to fulfill the work that needs
Step 5
Evaluate models and processes to determine the financial and social value that
is telling you. Empower employees to identify areas of skills improvement too.
to get done.
specific skills are bringing to your organization.
While monetizing skills may feel weird, it’s a necessary step towards a skillsbased future. A Josh Bersin Company study estimated the worth of a critical
skill needed to perform a job at $20,000 on average. Similarly, McKinsey & Co.
estimated that an individual’s accumulation of skills is responsible for two-thirds
of their total wealth.
The Importance of a Flexible, Unrestricted
Ecosystem
Because building a skills-based organization is a company-wide endeavor, it
makes sense that more than one HR, talent, data, or learning vendor will be
involved. That means the ecosystem of solutions supporting your skills-based
organization needs to work effectively.
At a minimum, data needs to be normalized and flow seamlessly across the
numerous technologies in your HR and learning tech stacks. In the ideal scenario,
your vendors will work closely to mobilize your skills data between their
platforms.
If you’re planning to become a skills-based organization, even if it’s a decade
from now, make sure your technology investments today work with other
platforms. In other words, they need to be open, integration-friendly platforms.
For more tips to prepare your ecosystem for a skills-based future, download our
free whitepaper “Building Your Learning Tech Ecosystem.”
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Taking Your Next Skills-based Step
with Degreed
Wherever you are on your journey to a skills-based future, Degreed offers
solutions and expertise to help you succeed.
The Degreed Suite enables you to collect and understand the skills you
have and need, as well as the programs and tools to effectively build and
strengthen skills. Our unique partnerships and integrations unlock your
data from silos, making it more robust, accurate and actionable. And our
professional services teams are here to help with strategy or tactical
execution if you need an extra hand.
Collect
Skills
Build
Skills
Understand
Skills
Partnerships & Open Ecosystems Integrations
Professional Services: Skills and Learning
Thought Leadership & Community
To take the next step on your skills-based future, reach out to schedule a
30-minute skills strategy session: connect@degreed.com
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