Stay ahead of the competition and become future-ready
Talent development is key to building a competitive organization.
A common mistake is to think your organization’s competitive advantage only comes from products and services, but this is not true. A competitive advantage is a result of superior talent—who are then able to make more contextual products and services, and deliver them to the right customer, in the right context, and at the right time. Your talented employees are truly the ones who drive the success of your business.
As you are building the future of your organization, consider the level of talent your employees have, the size of your talent pool, and the development opportunities you have in place. This is where creating a practical and goal-oriented upskilling program comes in. When it’s done well, it allows you to take the current level of your talent and raise it to the next level. It’s about developing five-star talent, so that an employee who has been performing only specific tasks can now out-think and out-perform the competition.
A few years ago, I worked with an event planning company that focused on large, in-person events. Though the company was doing well, the leaders had realized a potential opportunity. They had plenty of employees who were good at providing an amazing experience, but they didn’t have many ongoing customer relationships. As soon as an event ended, so did the relationship.
So, this company began the upskilling process. To better follow up with the organizations that hired them and the event attendees who experienced their services, they saw a need for skills in technology, negotiation, creativity, and customer relations, in addition to typical sales skills. The level of skill needed to grow significantly—when mapping their sales team, these skills landed at a level 3 out of 5. They knew that these were the skills their employees would need to create the future of the organization.
For the next 14 months, the company focused on training the sales team on these skills. And at the end of the upskilling process, they found the team’s skills had risen to a level 4 out of 5. Team members said they felt more prepared for the future and more marketable within their industry. They were now able to complete virtual events due to their focus on digital skills and saw an increase in revenue due to better negotiation, more creative services, and more followup with current and potential customers.
The future always rewards organizations that invest in upskilling. This was four years ago, and the company has continued to grow despite disruptions from Covid-19. If they had not invested in growing their digital skillsets four years ago, the pandemic would have wiped out the organization. But since the leaders were creative and forward-thinking, the company was able to keep its talent, its customers, and its revenue.
To gain a talent advantage, out-perform your competition, and prepare for the future, develop an upskilling mindset by following these four steps:
Assess Your Current Context and Business Needs
What talent do you currently have? What is the current context of your business? What skills would it take to beat your most formidable competition? This strategic exercise allows organizations to map out their current situation against real-world factors—context, competition, and current talent resources.
Identify Your Current and Future Talent Requirements
Create a talent map to clearly demonstrate both the current and future needs of the business based on your organization’s strategy. What is the current level and size of your talent, and what will they need to be in the future? This talent map will inform strategic decisions on how to increase the level of competencies required to stay competitive within your industry.
Define the Skills that Need Developing
Focus on the individuals in your current team to determine which specific skills or skillsets they each need to develop. Identify any gaps that you may need to hire for, and create timelines for both current and future team members’ upskilling processes.
Consistently offer upskilling opportunities and evaluate your efforts.
Create a baseline of current levels and regularly measure the level of skills that are being developed. Whether through training, on-the-job experiences, or other opportunities, keep detailed records of the skills your team focuses on and their level of competency in each new skill.
You Cannot Grow and Remain Competitive Without a Talent Advantage
Depending on your business growth needs, follow these four steps. Understand your business’ context, map your employees’ skills, then upskill and evaluate regularly. This is how you stay ahead of the competition and become future-ready.
Originally published in Talent Management Excellence by HR.com. | Header Photo via Shutterstock.
