Are you focused on Skills-Mapping?
Are you focused on Skills-Mapping?
The repercussions of the pandemic have led to international unemployment rates not seen since The Great Depression. As a result, the job market has been populated with millions of job-seekers often vying for similar roles. It has also become increasingly difficult for recruiters and HR professionals to hire the right people based on ‘job-fit’ criteria. To navigate through this issue, companies have begun to adopt a skills-mapping strategy for their recruitment requirements as opposed to the traditional job-mapping strategy. In this article, we will illustrate what this strategy may look like and how you can best take advantage of this trend.
What is it?
Skills Mapping refers to a visual representation of the skills necessary to succeed at any given role. For recruiters, it helps determine a candidate’s existing skillset that can be cross-referenced with what skills are already present in the organization. This helps to identify and remedy any gaps within the workforce. The same criteria can be used on an individual level to help identify what skill gaps they may have. It provides a starting point from which they can pinpoint what they need to improve in order to advance their career.
Additionally, skills mapping needs to be data-driven and that it demonstrates skills both qualitatively and quantitatively. It should explicitly show what skills an individual may or may not already possess and how developed those skills may be. Virtual processes like e-learning procedures can provide initial insight into these statistics. For example, Citibank developed a comprehensive 600 module e-learning and reference solution for its internal employees and incoming candidates. These range from specific topics around anti-fraud training to cybersecurity competency exercises. It helped identify weaknesses in employee skills and training and led to re-focused resources into key gaps in the business.
Example of a Skills Map based on Writing Skills
How can you take Advantage of this?
Benjamin Shute, CEO of Comprara, offers some helpful advice for businesses harnessing the power of Skills-Mapping.
“Don’t forget to map soft skills” – Skills like Empathy, Communication and Collaboration are often overlooked due to difficulties in quantifying them but they are just as important!
“Map both qualitative and quantitative skills” – Put data at the heart of your skills-mapping to save time and resources to help grow your business.
“Ensure that you account for multiple sources for the sake of objectivity” – Internal bias has been a growing issue in large corporations particularly in hubs like London where emphasis has been placed on HR Departments to hire for diverse workforces.
“Do not discount the importance of an employee’s desires and interests” – Sometimes, skills-mapping uncovers employee interest levels: if a particular skill receives a low score, perhaps they are not motivated to develop it making career progression an issue
“Skill mapping can be done at multiple levels” – Are you hiring an executive? Or are you hiring 6 new sales reps? Either way, help yourself by pinpointing what skills are needed for certain levels to get the most output from people in your organization.
How does Q2 HR Solutions Help?
With 20 years in the industry, we continue to be data and people driven. To quote our late co-founder, Brendan Whyte, “people are our greatest assets” and we maintain this philosophy, that people define their job, jobs do not define people. Our Recruitment by Design service and bespoke Consultancy Services can refine your recruitment strategy and hire the most skillful talent specific to your needs.