The Importance of Skills-Based Talent Management Practices for Public Sector Organizations

At all levels of government (local, state, and federal), the notion of shifting talent management practices to be more skills based has been discussed for years. For just as long, agencies have understood that making this shift successful would require not only a shift in process, but also the technology that supports learning and performance management processes.

In this blog, we’ll discuss the differences between “skills” and “competencies,” the benefits of skills-based talent management practices for agencies and workers, and best practices for skills technology adoption.

What Are the Differences Between Skills and Competencies?

Skills often refer to single proficiencies possessed by an employee, often gained through training and experience. There are both “soft skills” such as emotional intelligence, or “hard skills” such as proficiency in a foreign language. Skills and skill proficiencies may be identified by an employee’s manager or peer, or even the employee themself. Attributing skills to an employee is typically done in a less formal manner than competencies.

Competencies are often used to refer to an overarching group of skills, knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes that an employee should possess to be successful. They may be specific to a role or apply across an entire business and are used by organizations in formal performance review processes to set expectations for job roles and levels.

Skills Are Integral to HR Digital Transformation

According to the Academy to Innovate HR, HR digital transformation refers to the digitization of existing HR operations to optimize business processes and enhance employee experiences. Many public sector agencies are well under way in transforming their HR processes, and skills are integral to continuing this effort forward. And for good reason! There are many benefits to moving toward skills-based talent management practices. From an agency perspective, skills-based practices can help:

• Increase Employee Performance and Satisfaction. Research has shown that employees who are provided with ample learning and growth opportunities are more likely to be actively engaged in their work and report higher levels of job satisfaction. Agencies can leverage skills and skills-related technologies to enhance their learning and growth opportunities by tailoring their catalog to the skills employees are looking to develop and providing training on skills needed for a specific job. Doing so enables the upskilling of the public sector workforce as well as increased employee performance and satisfaction.

• Improve Workforce Planning and Agility. As technology continues to advance , some jobs are becoming obsolete while others are growing to require more advanced or different skills. This has led to an increased demand for upskilling and reskilling within an organization. By implementing a skills taxonomy and leveraging skills-first strategies, public sector agencies can remain adaptable and stay on top of these changes.

• Improve Recruiting and Hiring Outcomes. Skills technology makes it easier for recruiters to identify candidates with specific skillsets needed for a job. In addition, it enhances recruiters’ ability to hire and promote internally, fill vacancies more quickly, and retain the company’s top talent and highest performers.

From a public sector employee perspective, there are also many benefits to skills-based talent management practices including:

• Tailored Growth and Development Opportunities. With effective incorporation of skills into learning and development initiatives, individual employees benefit from tailored growth opportunities based on their current skillset and skills they wish to develop. For example, if an employee indicates their desire to enhance their written communication skills, they may receive automatic recommendations for training to take within the learning management system (LMS). By interacting with skills functionality, employees can help find the training they need to succeed and grow in their careers.

• Upskilling Within a Current Role. According to a LinkedIn study, 48 percent of workers would consider changing jobs just to update their skills. For many, being able to upskill within their current role is an incredibly enticing reason to stay in their current job and avoid the stress of needing to look elsewhere.

• Expertise Development in New and Emerging Fields. Expertise can increase the value of an employee within the workforce exponentially. Skills technologies enhance employee development, ultimately leading to more experts in burgeoning skillsets and fields.

Best Practices for Skills Technology Adoption

Build a Skills Taxonomy

To implement skills-based practices within an agency, a skills taxonomy should be created that identifies the skills required within that agency, as well as skills already possessed by the workforce. The taxonomy can be expanded by associating critical skills to different job roles and outlining how skills relate to each other.

Encourage Employee Involvement

Employee involvement is critical to successful skilling strategies. Ensuring employee buy-in early in the process will enable agencies to get the most from skills-based functionality and technologies. Also, employees will need to interact with the skills taxonomy to get the most from it. From identifying the skills they possess, to assessing the proficiency of a direct report, employees’ use of skills functionality like the taxonomy will vastly increase its effectiveness.

Embrace Change

Implementing skills-based talent management approaches within a public sector agency may seem like a daunting task but embrace the change! Help employees understand how the change will benefit them individually, as well as the agency, and convey that it’s something to be excited about.