Talent management is the full scope of HR processes to attract, onboard, develop, engage, and retain high-performing employees. This means that talent management is both aimed at a) improving business performance in the current state and b) enabling a targeted approach for future growth and overall evolution.

Since 2020, we have seen a more agile approach to these key processes with a specific focus on skill insights becoming the nucleus used by the above processes.

As technology continues to cause disruption equating to planned and unplanned need for change, we have seen an urgent requirement for organizations to get a better understanding of their greatest asset; their people. The new currency is skills and this has only accelerated through the pandemic, emerging technologies and the shift towards a remote workforce. Innovative technologies are causing change at a record pace and as a consequence, an ability to adapt and lead the way forward is wholly dependent on the skills of your people. Technology skills are also becoming essential for people across all disciplines of work, not just IT.

The Ancient Greeks had a saying “Know Thyself” and only upon asking this question can we open up an exciting world of opportunity to assess who we are and plan for who we want to evolve into. Understanding your people’s skills is no longer a nice-to-have on a CV or document. In today’s fast paced world, skill insights are critical because they are dynamic. Innovation is happening by the minute and this in turn is enabling people’s skills to evolve through on the job learning.

If there is no plan to assess, review and use these skills then chances are that your Talent Management strategy could be at a high risk of failure. The ability to capture and use your skill insights will enable the key pillars that exist within Talent Management to truly come to life.

Using a skills based approach to enriching Talent Management Practices such as Talent Acquisition, Talent Retention, Talent Allocation and ultimately Talent Development Programs means those organizations that understand their skills are in a highly advantageous position. They can plan for the current, future and transitional states they want to achieve whilst assessing progress and adjusting as the need rises. Any effective Talent Management Program must have an agile capability and skills insights will enable this to occur.

Let the truth be told – do you know your greatest skills gap? Have you done anything about it?

The ultimate test which can expose the key threat to success is this real life scenario where a group of Executives who lead a variety of Departments are asked one game changing question;

“What is the greatest skills gap within your Department that will impact your ability to succeed against your key success metrics?”

• Answer 1: We do not know because, we do not measure skills,
• Answer 2: We have a generic, high level view of competencies,
• Answer 3: HR might know,
• Answer 4: How are we supposed to know?

The answer to that question is an eye opening realization.

We cannot reduce risk if we cannot see the risk.

At this very moment, you realize that the one variable you can control is the one variable you have lost control over.

If we do not have skill insights underpinning our Talent Management strategies then we are in turn unable to assess the value of our skills and the associated skills currency we possess or aspire to develop. Success and failure at every level is dependent on having the ability to understand, measure, and act on skills.

Below are some tips with reference to how skills insights are aligned to Talent Management.