It’s hard to find anything that’s more disruptive, and yet as inevitable, as change. And today, the pace of change has accelerated so much that many companies can’t adapt rapidly enough. Groundbreaking new technologies – such as the recent explosion of generative AI – are constantly reshaping the job market, often followed swiftly by new regulations. Elsewhere, ongoing geopolitical shifts and pressures have the ability to alter economies, as well as business priorities, sometimes overnight.
Organisations are also managing a hugely multi-generational workforce, with values and expectations that differ from one age-group to another. Not to mention that we’re teetering on the edge of witnessing what McKinsey executives recently dubbed, the ‘silver tsunami’, as older generations of workers retire – taking their skills and knowledge with them.
There is much that organisations must contend with, and it is all compounding into a widening “workforce readiness gap” – the growing inability of organisations and their people to synchronise growth and productivity with the pace of change. For instance, this Workforce Readiness Gap report revealed that just 16% of employees feel that their employers genuinely invest in their skills for future success. Concerningly the World Economic Forum has also reported that, by 2028, nearly half (44%) of workers’ skills will be disrupted – likely driven by the rise in AI and automation. Organisations are struggling to close the gap, and it’s leading to unrealised revenue and underperformance.
At times like this, businesses need to think strategically and focus on their organisation’s ability to be agile. Human resource imperatives such as driving continuous learning, empowering people growth and optimising your talent strategy need to be taken into consideration, in order to foster innovation, resilience, and collaborative excellence.
1. Upskilling
Upskilling is the first key to bridging the workforce readiness gap and building an agile workforce. It places people’s development at the forefront, aligning their capabilities directly with business needs. An upskilled workforce is adept at anticipating and addressing change-related challenges, continuously learning, and demonstrating resilience in dynamic environments. However, many organisations struggle to implement effective upskilling strategies, often grappling with employees who don’t find value in review processes, a lack of understanding of skills within the organisation, and no clear successors identified for leadership positions.
To remedy this, organisations must make it easy and fast for employees to learn the skills they need, whilst simultaneously closing critical skills gaps. This involves seamlessly linking performance and skills data to learning opportunities that enable employee-driven, manager-supported growth. By doing so, companies can tee up a robust succession planning framework.
Implementing high-quality upskilling programmes yields major organisational benefits: those receiving such training are better equipped to adapt to changing business needs. As such, organisations must prioritise both assigned and self-directed learning opportunities, enabling employees to continuously enhance their capabilities. This approach not only helps to close compliance gaps and rapidly upskill people, but also facilitates effective onboarding of customers, partners, and new employees – setting the stage for a future-ready workforce.
2. Careers and modern talent management
The second crucial area to focus on is careers and modern talent management, encompassing how organisations nurture, retain, and mobilise their workforce. A well-managed talent pool can pivot when needed, proactively embracing shifting market demands and workforce trends. However, 63% of leaders report their workforce isn’t adaptable to change. To close this gap, organisations must prioritise strategic career development initiatives that align employees’ goals with organisational needs, while enabling internal mobility. Employees receiving quality training are three times as likely to adapt and 71% more likely to rate themselves highly adaptable. This approach is critical in today’s volatile job market where employees constantly seek new ways to make an impact.
To achieve this, managers must engage in transparent conversations with team members about skills aligned with organisational advancement. Workers involved in consistent skills discussions are 50% more likely to believe their employer is investing in their future success and nearly twice as likely to feel their skills are up-to-date. By maintaining this focus on career development, talent management, and internal mobility, organisations can build a workforce that’s not only adaptable but also deeply engaged and aligned with the company’s strategic objectives.
3. Visibility
You might have a vision for your organisation’s skill requirements over the next few years, but do you have the visibility to map these against your current workforce capabilities? In any strong organisation, understanding the company’s skill needs and employees’ existing competencies are crucial. Poor skills visibility could risk driving misaligned workforce planning and employee turnover, which can bring with it huge cost. For one, when an employee leaves, an organisation does not just lose a member of its workforce, but the knowledge and skills that go with them. To avoid this happening, employers need to have comprehensive workforce data and skills insights. However, currently, the reality looks very different – the PwC’s Future of Work and Skills Survey found that just one in four leaders can identify the skills they need in the future. A recent report also revealed that 69% of employers believe a lack of skills visibility imposes a cost or burden on their organisation.
This must change. Organisations must prioritise making skills needs visible to employees, aligning skills with internal mobility and growth opportunities, and identifying adjacent skills. To remedy this, having the right systems and technologies in place is crucial – it’s not enough to simply catalogue existing skills. Organisations need to leverage internal data on employee capabilities, harness AI to identify skills gaps, and provide personalised learning paths. Moreover, only one in four employers are currently looking at automating workforce skills analysis with AI technology, suggesting a lack of proactive strategy in workforce planning. As AI continues to disrupt industries and job roles, delaying this analysis doesn’t make it any less critical. By developing comprehensive skill-building strategies and embracing AI-driven skills analysis, businesses can boost retention, prepare for future challenges, and maintain the valuable skills they have cultivated within their workforce.
Sustained organisational success hinges on continuous investment in workforce agility through an integrated strategy that focuses on developing the right skills quickly, connecting the goals of people and leaders, and gaining visibility into workforce skills gaps. And by identifying technology that supports these business imperatives, organisations can ensure they’re designing the workforce they need both today and tomorrow.
About the Author
Vincent Belliveau is Chief International Officer for Cornerstone. He is responsible for overseeing all of Cornerstone’s EMEA and APJ operations including sales and marketing, implementation, services and support.
