Chapter 5

Overcoming obstacles

Challenging legacy thinking and robust change management capabilities will take you far in your skills journey.

Top Barriers to Building a Skills-Based Organization

Legacy mindsets and practices
Compensation practices restricting us from rewarding people for the skills they possess or develop
Complexity and difficulty of managing skills-based practices
Keeping up with the pace of change
Inability to move skills to business priorities
Lack of common definition or taxonomy of skills
Inability to evaluate performance based on skills
Insufficient skills data
Lack of effective skills-related technology
Recruiters or hiring managers not knowing how to source or evaluate skills

Deloitte, 2022

Assess Your Organizational Structure and Culture

You need to understand the existing skill sets within your workforce and identify any gaps that need attention. By conducting this evaluation, you can gain insights into areas where skills-based practices can be effectively implemented and determine where to focus your efforts.

Start with Areas Needing the Most Change

Next, prioritize the redefinition of roles and responsibilities based on skills rather than experience and titles. Start by focusing on the roles that require the most significant changes and evolution.

Foster Transparency

Establishing a culture of transparency and communication is crucial. While organizations often emphasize technological aspects such as skills marketplaces and AI, it is the operational and agility-related obstacles that represent 80% of the barriers.

Ensure employees understand how skills data will be used to empower their careers and productivity, thereby fostering trust and engagement.

80%

80% of barriers to change are operational and agility-related.

What Would Make You More Open to Letting Your Employer Collect Your Skills Data?

My employer would clearly tell me how my data is collected, used, and the benefits that will be achieved
My data would open new opportunities for my growth and development, but it wouldn’t influence hiring, deployment, performance assessment, pay or promotions
My employer would only use data that is objective and verified to inform hiring, pay, or promotion decisions, with the intent of making them fairer and more meritocratic
New work opportunities such as roles, assignments, teams, or projects would be suggested to me based on my data
I would have control about what data is shared and with whom
I could validate and correct my data as needed
I could have more customized work experiences based on my data

Deloitte, 2022

Lead by Example

Garner leadership consensus and support. Active involvement and commitment from senior management is essential for driving cultural change and ensuring long-term success. Leadership buy-in fosters alignment and creates momentum for the transition toward a skills-based organization.

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