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Peter L. Lim

Any chance of an economic recovery in 2001

As organizations navigate an evolving landscape, there’s more urgent emphasis on a skills-based workforce. Rapid technological advancements, particularly in AI, are reshaping jobs, necessitating continuous upskilling and reskilling. Businesses embracing skills-based learning will be better positioned to thrive. L&D is at the center of this transformation. Your role is no longer limited to delivering training—it now extends to driving continuous learning, facilitating agile workforce planning, and ensuring employees acquire the right skills at the right time. Let’s explore why a skills-based approach is crucial, plus actionable strategies to stay ahead. Why a Skills-Based Workforce Matters in 2025 The traditional approach of hiring and developing employees based on degrees or job titles is becoming obsolete. Instead, companies are shifting to skills-based hiring and workforce planning to ensure they remain competitive. Key factors driving this shift are: 1. AI & Automation Is Reshaping Jobs While AI automation eliminates some roles, it creates new opportunities that require employees to develop skills in AI collaboration, data literacy, and problem-solving. L&D can help employees reskill and upskill to work with AI-driven systems. 2. Workforce Expectations Have Changed Today’s workforce values continuous learning, career development, and flexibility. A skills-based approach lets L&D offer personalized learning paths, making career progression more transparent and attainable. 3. Business Agility Requires Skills Agility Industries are evolving at an unprecedented pace. Companies that invest in a skills-based learning strategy can quickly identify skill gaps, redeploy talent where needed, and remain agile. Strategies for Building a Skills-Based Workforce 1. Foster a Culture of Continuous Learning To prepare people for future roles, you must embed learning into daily workflows:Promote microlearning in training modules.Encourage peer-to-peer learning and knowledge-sharing.Provide on-demand platform access for employees to learn at their own pace.2. Leverage AI & Adaptive Learning Tech AI-powered learning platforms can help you deliver personalized training experiences that adapt to each employee’s progress. These platforms offer:Real-time feedback and progress trackingPersonalized learning paths based on skills gaps and career goalsAI-driven content recommendations to keep employees engaged3. Align Learning With Business Goals L&D must work closely with HR, leadership, and department heads to ensure training programs align with strategic priorities. Businesses should:Map skills to business objectives to ensure relevance.Develop role-based learning journeys that support career growth.Implement mentorship programs to facilitate hands-on learning.How to Implement a Skills-Based Learning Strategy 1. Develop a Skills Taxonomy A skills taxonomy helps categorize essential competencies needed across the organization. You should:Identify core skills for each role.Use data analytics to track skills progression and workforce trends.Continuously update skill requirements to reflect emerging industry needs.2. Utilize Data to Measure Learning Impact Track learning effectiveness through:Skill proficiency assessments before and after trainingEmployee engagement metrics (course completion rates, feedback surveys etc.)Performance data to measure skill application in real-world tasks 3. Encourage Cross-Functional Learning To futureproof the workforce, you should encourage employees to acquire skills outside their immediate job function. This includes:Offering job rotations or project-based learning opportunitiesCreating cross-functional training programsEncouraging certifications in emerging fieldsFinal Thoughts The transition to a skills-based workforce is no longer optional—it’s a necessity. One thing is clear: Organizations that prioritize skills development today will be the market leaders of tomorrow. 

How to Successfully Adopt a Skills-Based Approach to L&D

L&D professionals spend much of their time developing formal learning programs. Yet, in today’s work environment where geographically dispersed workforces may limit in-person gatherings, many budgets are constrained, and the pace of business is increasing, you need to be intentional about fostering experiences and peer interactions to keep learning going. Communities of practice can help you do just that. In this issue of TD at Work, Maggie Romanovich highlights how CoPs work. Further, she: Reviews different peer learning methodsDiscusses methods of creating, maintaining, and encouraging CoPsOutlines best practices for successful CoPs.Tools & Resources included in this issue are a CoP worksheet, meeting discussion planning template, and results communication template. 

Expand Employee Learning With Communities of Practice

Federal agencies today are caught between two competing tensions. On one hand, there’s mounting pressure to modernize workforce capabilities and close critical skill gaps. On the other, agencies are losing headcount, consolidating systems, and being asked to deliver more with less.This paradox—do more, do it better, but do it with less—makes skill development feel daunting. The assumption that it requires a big budget or a tech-heavy transformation often leads to analysis paralysis. And the often-cited, utopian vision of becoming a “skills-based organization” can feel more aspirational than achievable, especially when just getting started feels overwhelming.New data from the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs Report reveals that by 2030, an estimated 39 percent of workers’ core skills are expected to change or be outdated due to macroeconomic, demographic, and technological shifts.So, here’s a question worth exploring: What if you don’t need expensive software or new infrastructure to grow the skills that matter? How might we tap into what we already have—and build on what we know about how adults actually learn?That’s where the Four Rs Framework comes in: resources, roles, relationships, and reflection. Based on lessons learned from years of public and private sector advisory work, this model helps agencies make practical progress—even with limited tools, budget, and time.Resources: Use What You Already Have When most people think of L&D, they think of content—designing it, delivering it, and scaling it. And while content has its place, many agencies already sit on a wealth of underutilized assets: compliance modules, standard operating procedures (SOPs), facilitator guides, orientation materials, and more.Rather than building something new, the opportunity lies in repurposing and reframing what already exists through the lens of your most critical skills.Tag existing content to your agency’s priority skills.Curate learning playlists by role, level, or skill domain.Reuse onboarding and compliance materials for broader development.Establish content governance to guide future curation.You don’t need more content—you need more clarity and intentionality around how it’s used. According to the 70-20-10 model, only 10 percent of learning comes from formal training, while 20 percent comes from learning through others, and 70 percent comes from experience.Roles: Let People Build Skills by Trying New OnesNo matter how engaging, dynamic, or thought provoking your content is, chances are your learners will forget most of it within hours. In fact, research shows people forget up to 70 percent of new information within 24 hours—and up to 90 percent within a month. One of the most effective—and overlooked—ways to build skills sustainably is to give employees the chance to practice them in real time. Development doesn’t need to come from a classroom or an e-learning module. It can come from stepping into new responsibilities and testing their skills in the flow of work. Ask someone to lead a project outside their usual role.Offer temporary rotations or cross-functional task force roles.Assign someone to shadow or backfill for another team.For learning to stick, people have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. It’s in the vulnerability of trying something new—working in a new function or stretching into leadership—that learning becomes real. This is where skills become sticky through application and reinforcement.Relationships: Make Learning Social Learning has always been social—but today, we can’t ignore just how much we absorb from those around us. We’re constantly scrolling, watching, reacting, and resharing. Whether it’s a TikTok tutorial or a colleague walking us through a process over Teams, our brains are wired to learn through interaction. The same is true at work. People don’t just learn from content—they learn from each other. And in lean environments, where formal training budgets are tight, relationships and internal expertise are powerful development tools.Create mentorship or buddy systems across departments—with a focus on key skills.Encourage peer-to-peer learning or informal knowledge sharing. Highlight internal subject matter experts (SMEs) through “Skill of the Month” lunch & learns.Form learning circles around critical capabilities. Use cohort or community functionality in your learning management system (LMS) or learning experience platform (LXP) to promote knowledge sharing. This isn’t just anecdotal. LinkedIn found that learners who engage with social features consume 30 times more hours of content than those who don’t. All of this requires planning—not budget.Reflection: Turn Experience Into GrowthAs an executive coach, I’ve seen firsthand that real behavioral change doesn’t come from the experience itself—it comes from making time to process it. The same applies to skill-building; it doesn’t stick unless people pause to reflect.Yet reflection is often overlooked. We jump from one task to the next, shifting gears before the learning has had a chance to settle. But when we slow down, even briefly, we create space for growth and reinforcement.Add reflection prompts to training or postmortems.Ask learners to journal or share key takeaways. Debrief after assignments: “What worked? What would you do differently?”A Harvard Business School study found that people who spent just 15 minutes reflecting after a task performed 23 percent better than those who didn’t. If we want skills to be developed for the long run, we need to make space for people to make meaning of what they’ve done. Start Where You AreWhile skill development is sometimes portrayed as a complex process, it doesn’t have to be hard. You don’t need a five-year roadmap or a massive transformation plan to begin. Start with the end in mind: What skills does your agency need to grow?Then, work backward from there—using creativity and a deeper appreciation for how adults learn.Yes, traditional training resources still matter. But employees also crave:Opportunities to apply skills on the jobHuman connection to learn from each otherSpace to reflect and improveThere’s no one-size-fits-all model. But the practices that make skill development effective—application, connection, reflection—don’t require a big budget or a sophisticated tech stack. They require intention, a bit of creativity, and a willingness to start where you are.

Building Skills on a Budget: The Four Rs Framework for Government Agencies

“Next person up.” This is how most frontline managers get the job.According to DDI, frontline managers are the most important people in the workplace. They lead 80 percent of the workforce and influence every part of the employee experience. But most never planned to do this job. In fact, 70 percent of managers didn’t anticipate their promotion.Companies rely on these managers to turn strategy into action. “As a result, the work piles on, and 40 percent of managers feel burned out,” according to The Deskless Report 2024. This leaves little room for development. Even a 30-minute quarterly webinar is a stretch.Traditional leadership development isn’t built for the frontline. It’s designed for people with steady schedules, not those running the floor and putting out fires all day. Managers are asking for help, but they need a different approach—one that fits into their reality, rapidly builds capability, and boosts on-the-job confidence.Here’s a better way.Start with guidanceBefore building any courses, make sure managers have access to real-time support. Provide a knowledge base with proven practices and answers to everyday challenges, such as:What happens if we miss a delivery or run out of stock?What’s the process for approving shift swaps?What do I say in a write-up conversation?Make this knowledge easy to find and apply. Use AI to provide managers with a digital assistant that’s always available to answer questions, share advice, and help them stay focused.When managers can solve everyday problems on their own, training can shift from teaching processes to building the skills that drive outcomes.Focus on what’s most useful nowSkip the leadership theory—at least at first. New managers need practical skills that enable them to run the operation without letting things fall apart.Start with the basics, then build up. Restructure your manager training into job-relevant phases:Manage a shift. Build core confidence in leading daily operations.Navigate disruption. Provide the knowledge and tools needed to handle the unexpected.Lead a team. Focus on building trust, improving communication, and coaching to performance.Lead initiatives. Help them take ownership of projects and excel in stretch opportunities.Pursue opportunities. Foster the skills that will get them to the next role.Personalize the path so each person can progress at the right pace. Strong operators may move fast. Newcomers might need more time to build the basics. Make sure the manager and their team are confident they can handle the next shift—because it’s tomorrow. Foster peer networks“Training has limits. There’s only so much you can cover in the time available. It’s no surprise that 67 percent of frontline managers say they’re making it up as they go,” according to The Deskless Report 2024.Microlearning and reinforcement are essential for ongoing development, but a manager’s most valuable resource is fellow managers. They’ve been through it. They know how topics discussed in the classroom play out in real life. Make it easy for managers to connect with peers who can share advice and offer support in difficult moments.A frontline manager might be the only one in their location, and that location might be the only one in the city. But they shouldn’t feel alone. Foster community. Create space for real conversations and judgment-free guidance. The support they need is often one text message away.Design for realityLeadership development is falling short, and most companies know it. “75 percent say their programs don’t deliver value,” according to Josh Bersin.This gap is even wider on the frontline. Managers don’t need theories and slide decks. They need actionable training that fits into their free moments. They need tools to solve real problems and lead through the daily chaos.Fixing leadership development doesn’t mean lowering the bar. Instead, L&D must design for the reality frontline managers face every day—and give them a real chance to succeed.

From Teammate to Team Leader: A Blueprint for Frontline Manager Development

Training alone isn’t enough to scale great leadership. New managers especially need just-in-time support. That’s where AI comes in.Far from replacing leaders, artificial intelligence is becoming a quiet partner in helping them communicate clearly, make better decisions, and support their teams more consistently. For learning and development professionals, the opportunity isn’t just to teach leaders about AI. It’s to help them use it.Here are four practical ways AI is already transforming leadership development:1. AI as a Communication Assistant Leaders spend much of their day writing—emails, evaluations, strategy documents, team updates, and more. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot can help draft first versions, suggest more inclusive or motivating language, and adjust tone for different audiences.When I using AI to write, start with a brain dump—what you want to say, who it’s for, tone, length, even your favorite humorists. The more prompt you offer, the better the draft.AI tools are especially helpful for newer managers still finding their leadership voice. They act like training wheels—supporting clarity and consistency until the leader gains more confidence.2. Smarter Meetings With AI Note-Takers AI-powered assistants like Otter.ai or Fireflies.ai can transcribe meetings, generate key takeaways, and highlight action items. These tools let leaders focus on discussion while capturing a searchable, shareable record—reducing confusion and boosting accountability.For L&D professionals, introducing these tools into leadership programs models good meeting hygiene—and provides practical, immediate value.3. Personalized Coaching in the Flow of Work Coaching has impact—but it’s expensive and often limited to executives. AI chatbots and simulators make practice accessible to everyone. Imagine a manager prepping to give difficult feedback. They could prompt an AI coach: “Help me practice a conversation with an employee who’s missing deadlines,” and walk through a simulation with real-time feedback.This kind of practice can dramatically reduce the anxiety that often keeps leaders from having the conversations that matter most.4. Insightful Decision Support AI dashboards and people analytics can help leaders make smarter, faster decisions. Predictive models can flag burnout risk, highlight skills gaps, or recommend peer mentors. Tools like Microsoft Viva Insights and Culture Amp offer dashboards that help managers spot trends and support their teams with data-informed decisions.What L&D Teams Can Do Now Here are a few ways to help leaders benefit from AI:Introduce secure AI tools into programs—like notetakers or roleplay scripts. Teach prompt basics. Show examples that leaders can apply immediately. Encourage experimentation with a 30-day “try one new use” challenge. Emphasize ethics. Reinforce that AI should enhance—not replace—human connection. Leadership isn’t getting simpler. And AI reminds us that most decisions aren’t right vs. wrong—they’re balancing good vs. good. That’s why paradox-aware training is essential. In the Leadership Progress Cycle, we help leaders navigate tensions like these with confidence and clarity. Learn more at:leadershipprogresscycle.com/.

The Leadership Multiplier: How AI Can Elevate Managers and Their Teams

As a talent development leader, you might be looking for a more curated experience at ATD’s largest annual conference. You are now in a role where instead of designing, training, and facilitating, you are leading a team of L&D professionals. When you plan your ATD25 experience in a few weeks, the sessions that will be best for you are the ones that incorporate the expectations of your leadership role.~Look no further than the Talent Development Leader (TDL) track~The TDL experience is now in its third year of helping TD leaders stay ahead of the curve with curated content, meaningful networking, and solutions tailored to your role. The comprehensive track includes interactive Forum programming, a dedicated networking room, and 10 exclusive concurrent sessions built for leaders just like you. Whether you’re looking to connect with peers, exchange ideas, or explore emerging trends and tools, this is the place to be! For a quick glance at the schedule and offerings, check out the official TDL programming page. Otherwise, here is a breakdown of what to expect at this year’s conference in Washington, DC.Forum Sessions: A Hot TicketATD25 features five exclusive Forum sessions hosted by the ATD Forum, a membership community for senior TD professionals. These interactive sessions use practical tools to ensure attendees can apply insights directly in their organizations. This is where peer insight meets innovation, as you will hear directly from established TD leaders who will provide immediate feedback, tools, and resources to elevate your own leadership and organizational learning function. Insider tip: Because of their hands-on format, demand for these sessions is high (one of the sessions is even being offered twice!). Although we wish everyone could sit in on these sessions, seating is limited. Make sure to arrive early!Sessions:Fueling Growth and Success Through Talent Investments Monday, May 19, at 11:30 a.m.Want Solutions That Work? Do a Deep Dive Monday, May 19, at 1 p.m. & Tuesday, May 20, at 1 p.m.Connect, Collaborate, Share: Unleash Innovative Performance Opportunities With Peer Benchmarking Tuesday, May 20, at 2 p.m.Unlock Your Organization’s Potential Using the Wow Factor Wednesday, May 21, at 9:30 a.m.In the Room Where It Happens (Room 102)The Talent Development Leader Networking Room is your conference home base. Open from Monday to Wednesday, Room 102 offers refreshments, a quiet space to reflect or recharge, and opportunities to engage in both facilitated networking sessions and casual conversations. Personally, the TDL networking room changed my life. It’s where I connected with another professional who held the key to solving a problem in one of my projects. You can read all about that story here, or you can take my word for it: The TDL networking room is the place to be. Room Hours:Monday–Tuesday: 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.Wednesday: 8–11 a.m.Facilitated Sessions You Don’t Want to MissThese sessions spotlight real-world case studies, hot topics, and tools for today’s TD challenges. (Again, seating is limited, so make sure you plan accordingly.) Session Schedule:The Power of Compassion-Driven Leadership: Insights From Japan with Tadahiro Wakasugi from GLOBIS Corporation, sponsored by GLOBIS Monday, May 19, at 1 p.m.Crafting a Dynamic Onboarding Journey for Executive Leaders with Alissa Weiher and Mackenzie Friday, UCHealth Monday, May 19, at 4:30 p.m.The Science of Great Teams: How to Create a Culture of Psychological Safety with Britt Andreatta Tuesday, May 20, at 11:30 a.m.AI in Action: Real-World Insights From TD Leaders with Markus Bernhardt Tuesday, May 20, at 2 p.m.Improve Your Storytelling – and L&D Results – With “Garlic Press” Questions with Deb Arnold Tuesday, May 20, at 4 p.m.What’s Your Organization’s Conflict Cocktail? A Guided Conversation for L&D Leaders with Karin B. Hurt and David M. Dye Wednesday, May 21, at 8 a.m.*All sessions will occur in Room 102 on Level 1 of the conference center*Invite-Only Experiences for Senior LeadersThe remainder of the TDL programming sessions are invite-only for those participating in ATD’s senior leader communities: ATD Forum, CTDO, and the ATD-Penn GSE Talent Development Executive Certificate. Learn more about ATD’s TD leader communities here.Stay Engaged All Year With ATD Talent Development Leader While the conference is only a few days long, Talent Development Leader is more than just a conference track! As ATD’s professional development brand for people leading learning in their organization, TDL provides you with cutting-edge industry insight, advice from leaders doing the work, budding research, and more. Subscribe to the Talent Development Leader newsletter and get the tools you need to lead the future of learning. Don’t miss out on monthly articles, podcasts, webinars, and special events—such as our current collaboration with Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2025!See You at ATD25!Personally, I am counting the days until the conference starts on May 18. Make the most of your time at ATD25 by fully immersing yourself in the Talent Development Leader Experience. From exclusive sessions to invaluable connections, it’s your launchpad to greater impact and innovation in talent development.

Your Ultimate Guide to the Talent Development Leader Experience at ATD25

Knowing what skills your people have and what they need is an essential part of any upskilling and reskilling strategy. According to Bridge-sponsored research, it's never been more important, as 77 percent of HR professionals and business leaders consider talent development a top priority over the next two years. However, despite talent development’s importance, survey ﬁndings also reveal that less than half of HR teams currently match learning to future talent requirements or assess employee needs and gaps in knowledge.Let’s take a look at how developing a skills matrix can keep your talent management strategy in step with learner needs and business demands, as well as how to use AI-powered upskilling software to personalize your L&D programs.What Is a Skills Matrix?Think of a skills matrix as an inventory of your employees’ current abilities. By evaluating these skills and competencies and presenting them in a table, you can easily monitor skills gaps, ﬁnd your strongest performers, and ensure your people are equipped to undertake a project or succeed in their roles.A skills matrix is useful for quickly identifying and comparing people’s competencies and experience, allocating resources, and targeting L&D programs.The Beneﬁts of Using a Skills MatrixSome of the beneﬁts of a skills matrix include:1. Finding and Filling Employee Skills GapsKnowing what skills are required to drive organizational success means you can organize your talent and prioritize training programs based on demand.Mapping your workforce’s skills, capabilities, and experience levels makes it easy to spot any skills gaps across teams or departments, and then direct them toward learning and development opportunities they need.2. Assessing Employee PerformanceConnecting the work your people do to organizational objectives with a set of measurable goals reveals your strongest performers and the capabilities that drive organizational success.A robust skills framework can help your people understand what’s expected of them, showing them the areas in which they make the most impact and providing actionable steps for improvement.3. Incentivizing Learning and DevelopmentBeyond delivering mandatory training, a skills matrix can help identify employees’ strengths and career goals and connect them to meaningful learning opportunities. When your employees develop and grow, everyone beneﬁts. LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report ﬁndings show that people are four times more likely to engage in training when it’s connected to their career goals. And 87 percent of L&D pros say they show business value by helping employees gain skills to move into different internal roles.4. Workforce Planning and Risk MitigationAssigning tasks is easy when it’s clear who possesses the needed skills and competencies and who’s most experienced to undertake projects. With a view of skillsets across the organization, you can mobilize talent most effectively and tap into otherwise hidden potential. Additionally, you can guard against future disruption and anticipate changing needs by identifying high-potential talent who can step into business-critical roles and prioritize training programs for in-demand skills.How to Build an Employee Skills MatrixAssessing employees at scale requires a system for collecting, categorizing, and organizing these skills. Follow the steps below to build a skills matrix for your organization.Step One: Identify the Required SkillsWhether your matrix is focused across a team, department, or the entire organization, you must be clear about the essential skills each person needs to perform in their role.Start by compiling these skills and competencies with leaders and key stakeholders across departments, including both soft and hard, or role-speciﬁc. You could also review your company’s competency framework to identify core values and behaviors that your people should possess—but remember to keep the list speciﬁc and only include what’s relevant.It’s likely that some of these skills and competencies will be the same for everybody in the organization, while others will be more technical and role-speciﬁc.Step Two: Create a Scoring System to Evaluate SkillsOnce you’ve gathered a list of skills and competencies, you’ll need a way to rank and categorize proﬁciency and map it onto your matrix.A popular way to score and manage skills mastery is using a Likert scale. For example:ScoreRatingDescription1LimitedThe employee has limited knowledge or understanding of the skill or hasn’t yet had the chance to apply it.2BasicThe employee demonstrates the essential components of the competency or skill with the ability to develop a greater competency in a reasonable timeframe.3WorkingThe employee demonstrates experience using the skill at a necessary level to advance organizational objectives.4SeasonedThe employee effectively applies the skill in practice in most circumstances.5ExpertThe employee specializes in this area, showing consistent, superior application of the skill, even in unanticipated circumstances.For an accurate picture of employee proﬁciency, consider collecting and combining several sources of data, such as: Skills assessments Manager and peer reviews Employee self-evaluationsStep Three: Consider Employees’ Career GoalsAlthough including employees’ career goals and the skills they want to develop is optional, doing so can inform development plans and direct people to meaningful L&D opportunities.To uncover this insight, partner with your people managers. By making career and skills development a staple of regular manager-employee discussions, you’ll understand what motivates people and what skills they want to learn. You can use this insight to ﬁnd opportunities that develop these skills aligned with organizational goals.Step Four: Compile Skills Data in a TableAn Excel spreadsheet is a popular format for mapping skills data, and this sheet will give you a visualization of each employee’s proﬁciency level.You’ll plot this information using two axes, with employee names on one and a list of skills on the other. Then, you’ll populate the sheet using the data you’ve collected.Once you’ve built your matrix, you’ll have an overview of each person’s abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. You can sort these skills into categories based on tasks and projects, ﬁlter to ﬁnd gaps, and use them to inform employee development plans.Step Five: Keep Skills Matrices Up to DateUp-to-date skills data is a must for tracking growth over time and prioritizing skills needs. To get the most out of a skills matrix, you’ll need to review and update your data regularly to reﬂect your people’s current skills, proﬁciencies, and certiﬁcations.How Dedicated Employee Upskilling Software Can Streamline Skills AssessmentsHere are some ways an all-in-one learning, development, and upskilling platform like Bridge streamlines creating and managing your skills matrix and keeps your data accurate and up to date.1. Creating a Single Source of Truth for Employee SkillsA dynamic skills taxonomy is the foundation of any skills strategy. However, gathering data to present an in-the-moment picture of your people’s skills takes time, and skills inventories quickly become outdated as employees continue to learn and grow.An LMS allows you to swiftly identify, group, and measure the skills within your organization, giving you a transparent and agile framework from which to build.Using a learning, development, and upskilling platform with AI to combine your existing employee data with external labor market data gives you an accurate, ever-evolving, and easy-to-visualize view of competitive in-demand skills and where they exist in your organization.2. Assessing Employee Skills and CompetenciesOnce you know what skills your people have and what’s required, you’ll need a way to ﬁll any gaps with training and development and measure learner growth.An L&D platform gives you a single destination to conduct performance conversations, record employee one-on-ones, and share skills feedback and recognition. With AI, you can take this a step further by helping people identify the skills they need to grow and recommending competencies based on their roles.3. Personalizing Employee DevelopmentMapping skills using an AI-driven taxonomy keeps learning targeted andgrowth-oriented with minimal administrative input. Once learners know what they want to develop, you make their growth actionable and measurable by connecting them to employee development plans and assigning tasks and training.However, formal training programs are only one way to strengthen your talent pool and close skills gaps. You can also harness these skills and insights and direct learners toward gigs, projects, and mentorship opportunities that put these skills into practice.

How to Create an Effective Skills Matrix With the Help of AI-Based Skills Suggestions

In January, OpenAI’s conversational platform, ChatGPT-3, became the fastest-growing app in internet history. This is just one indication of growing curiosity about GPT (generative pre-trained transformer) and other chatbots in the past few weeks. As one of the first learning professionals to see the potential of conversational AI and one of the few designing the applications for years, I’m excited to see the recent attention paid to this engaging technology.In my book, AI in Talent Development, I outline several ways chatbots can be used as part of a robust learning experience, and ChatGPT-3, the third version in OpenAI’s ChatGPT series, demonstrates most of them. When ATD asked me to write a post on this subject, I struggled to find the value I could add to the exploding conversation. I decided to do what people say I do best: Give you the bottom line and point the way towards practical applications. Let’s start with the basics.How ChatGPT-3 WorksChatGPT operates on an autoregressive model. It’s not as complicated as it may sound. A transformer is a program, model, or algorithm that converts code into something else—in this case, human language. The autoregressive part means the software uses prior events to predict the most likely future events, which is what your brain does all the time. It allows ChatGPT and similar applications to simulate a conversation between two humans. Learn the two keys to making an application like this work:1. Natural Language ProgrammingNatural Language Processing (NLP) allows the bot to recognize input through human speech or writing, eliminating the need for menus or code to engage with it. This same ability enables the bot to reply through text. Before the development of NLP, most chatbots were menu-driven, and the bot responded by selecting the best fit from a database of pre-written options. Conversational AI represents a new way for humans to use computers; it’s a user interface requiring less hardware and prior knowledge than any previous UIs.!CAUTION! Don’t confuse Natural Language Processing with the pseudo-science term using the same acronym. Neural Linguistic Programming is widely disproved and an invalid practice.2. Massive Training DatasetsLike any neural network (including your own), AI models must be effectively trained using a technique called deep learning. Quite frankly, the stunning capabilities of ChatGPT-3 are nothing new. As David Chalmers points out, there is no new technology here. There are many bots with similar abilities, and I described them in detail in 2020. How this bot is trained and how well this approach works is innovative. First, Open AI used the largest training dataset, combining a database containing much of the internet, a huge library of books, and Wikipedia.Then, after refining the bot in-house, Open AI released it free to the world. As we all started to play with it, we were training it further for them. Think of it as a crowd-sourced training effort. The sheer size of the training database resulted in what everyone always expected: Impressive results that can mimic human expression so well it is hard to tell a machine generated it. However, there continues to be an underlying problem: Chatbots are only as good as their training (like us humans). If you consider the source of GPT’s training, you can see why it sometimes makes mistakes.What Can We Do With ChatGPT-3?Because this product is still being explored, there may be new use cases by the time this post publishes. Below are a few applications that can save time and make your work as a learning professional more efficient and productive.Write ContentIf you ask the bot to write a paragraph introducing a subject, it comes back almost instantly with plausible, grammatically correct text. Because its training included unvalidated sources like the internet and Wikipedia, some of the content it produces must be corrected. Still, you can get excellent first drafts and refine your content from there.Summarize DocumentsLooking for a “Reader’s Digest” version of a book or article? Paste the text into a prompt to ChatGPT, and it returns a nice summary that should hit most of the highlights.Write and Troubleshoot Computer CodeBecause ChatGPT was built to analyze and produce output in human language, it is also great at computer languages. Programmers are using it to troubleshoot code. It can even generate new code if you ask it to develop a new capability.Translate DocumentsFar more effective than other translators out there, ChatGPT can take a website or article and translate it into another language.Write and Grade QuizzesYou can feed your content into GPT and ask it to generate a quiz with answers. Or, give it a general subject, like world history, and it will do the same. Feed your student’s quiz responses into GPT, and it will grade them (even essays!).Create GamesI asked GPT to create a game teaching sixth-grade students about the solar system, and the bot came back with a fun adventure through space.Improve Your WritingI didn’t do this for this article, but I could have asked GPT to review my draft and suggest improvements.Conduct ResearchI asked the bot to provide a list of current peer-reviewed studies on chatbot use in education using APA style and received a properly formatted list.Why Does ChatGPT Have Some People Worried?While most of the comments about GPT are positive, you will find a few educators deeply concerned about this new tool’s capabilities.Mimicking Human WritingTeachers are worried about GPT’s ability to write plausible text reading like a human created it and write in a known author’s style. A student could ask the bot to write a paper in the same style as one of their previous works, and it would be hard to tell the GPT paper wasn’t an original student effort. But, again, this mimicking ability is nothing new. AI has generated art in the style of great artists for years. ChatGPT applies the same predictive approach to language.ChatGPT Makes MistakesAnother concern is the bot’s ability to present false information so convincingly that some users forget to validate the response with research. For example, I asked the bot to calculate the mean of five numbers, and the result was interesting. I received a detailed explanation of the statistical definition of “mean” and how to calculate it, which I did NOT request. However, the bot added the five numbers incorrectly.To be fair, ChatGPT wasn’t built to perform math problems. But it didn’t tell me that or report the result might be incorrect. Like any willing assistant, it did its best to provide an answer. If I had been a student relying on GPT’s help, I would have been wrong. The reason for most of these mistakes is the same reason that it is such a stunning improvement in the chatbot experience: It’s primary sources of information are the internet and Wikipedia.I asked Vince Han, one of the pioneers in building chatbots for learning, to sum up the challenges presented by GPT’s new capabilities, and here’s his response:“One of the effects of ChatGPT & increased quality in Artificial Intelligence in general is shifting the skills users need. For example, most users have developed a skill for how to search which is knowing how to craft keywords and how to sift through search results. Now, people will need the skill of discernment, or learning how to decipher truth and views from a chatbot that provides what reads like a definitive answer. So, from a performance support perspective, yes, one can now get an immediate response to a question but how accurate and relevant that response is will be up to them to determine. “As educators, we must now confront a problem that has been boiling for decades—the decline in critical thinking across most domains, demographics, and workgroups. In my opinion, ChatGPT makes this gap more visible and increases the urgency for closing it quickly.Closing ThoughtsBecause Microsoft owns the license for the exclusive use of the model, we’ve all been working for them, revealing exciting use cases that may find their way into AI-enabled Microsoft products. For now, the platform consists of both free and professional versions. It’s an excellent way to begin learning about the promise of AI and our place alongside it. As machine learning expert Santiago Pino says, “AI will not replace you. A person using AI will.”Where Can You Learn More?There are so many articles about this subject right now that I’ve limited myself to a few favorites:Under the Hood of Chat GPT With Myra RoldanHow ChatGPT3 Impacts the Future of L&D in an AI WorldChatGPT Has Educators Scrambling to Keep UpWhat Is ChatGPT and How to Teach With ItWhat Is ChatGPT and Why Does It Matter?What Is ChatGPT? Is It the Beginning of the End?Ger’s Learning Notes #51 - ChatGPTFor more information and resources, Check out ATD's AI Resource page.

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