Workforce Skills Gap is getting worse in organizations: Leaders believe in a lack of Strategic/Critical thinking while employees lack Leadership !
Nicolas BEHBAHANI
Global People Analytics & HR Data Leader - People & Culture | Strategical People Analytics Design
?? It’s not only the way we work that’s evolving, the workforce is also changing job content, the skills needed and the jobs that are being eliminated
?? More than a third of leadership believe that skills gaps are growing quickly.
?? The majority of leaders say that strategic/critical thinking is the top soft skill needed in their workforce today.
?? Junior employees are clearly interested in developing leadership capabilities as they’re prioritizing the skills that are most closely tied to making a visible organizational impact.
?? A majority of leaders appear to see that the solution lies within their workforce and is upskilling and reskilling.
? But organizations are prioritizing more junior staff when it comes to upskilling, reskilling, and learning and development, but these workers are constrained and they don’t have adequate time to dedicate to learning and one in five employees say their employer doesn’t provide enough learning resources, according to a new interesting research published by Springboard using data ?? from over 1,000 corporate professionals working at companies with at least 5,000 employees.
?Gap between leaders and junior employees about Soft skills
Researchers found that the majority of leaders say that strategic/critical thinking is the top soft skill needed in their workforce today, with the related skill of problem-solving and decision-making coming in second.
?? Junior-level employees also see opportunity to grow in their critical business skills, but the development of strategic thinking is a slightly lower priority for them than skills needed for career growth
?? 44% of junior employees say they are most interested in developing leadership/management skills
?? 42% want to improve their communication skills.
?? Surprisingly, effective remote/hybrid collaboration is among the bottom positions even though research has already proven that this factor is decisive in performance and productivity.
?Skills gap is getting worse
Researchers noticed that 38% of leadership believed that the skills gap at their company has gotten worse in the past year.
?Solutions to address skills gap
Researchers found that majority of leaders believe that upskilling is the top priority for solving their company skills gap in the next year and 43% plan to invest in reskilling to help employees acquire a new set of skills to transition to wholly new roles. But more concerning, 58% of companies still plan to search externally to fill vacant roles that are contributing to their skills gap.
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?Priority for upskilling only for Junior staff
Researchers found that about half of leaders say they are prioritizing entry-level employees (51%), independent contributors (47%), and first-level managers (47%). There’s an L&D cliff around middle management, with only one-third of leaders (34%) saying their companies are prioritizing training these employees and prioritization decreases rapidly in seniority from there.
Researchers noticed that the good news for companies putting junior employees first is that this set of workers is eager to learn. The vast majority of junior employees (77%) say they want to learn new skills, a trend that’s even higher among managers (82%).
?? But, these workers are constrained and they don’t have adequate time to dedicate to learning and one in five employees say their employer doesn’t provide enough learning resources...
?? Finally, researchers conclude that leaders should invest in high-potential employees (HIPOs) to quickly capitalize on this enthusiasm. Companies that meet the development priorities of junior employees are likely to see positive impacts on employee happiness, engagement, and retention which together have a disproportionate impact on business performance.
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This wonderful research demonstrates the difference in skill needs between employees and leaders - the fact that organizations are thinking of reskilling their workforce rather than recruiting new employees is reassuring but a personalization approach is to be favored when organizations want to look at the skills gap. Surprising, all employees unfortunately are not equal in prioritizing upskilling and priority is always given to young people while this priority decreases with the age and seniority of employees. Furthermore, we must not forget that recruitment is more costly than talent development in the long run, especially when considering the opportunity cost of operating with open roles
Thank you ?? Springboard researchers team for these insightful findings:
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Industry Veteran | Exploring Future of Work | Great Manager’s Coach & Mentor
9 个月Thanks Nicolas BEHBAHANI for sharing this research. ??The most interesting part that I have witnessed is that learning (structured) seems to be happening at lower levels within organizations. ??To gain a better understanding of the learning behaviors of all (including C-Suite leaders) would be important. ?Personalisation - which you have already mentioned. ?? Build Culture of Continuous Learning. ??♀?There was time when I wanted training to fly a plane ?? & my boss used to stare at me (joking). ??The learning’s are based on - Org need, Business needs, Function needs, Managers need & Emplyee needs - but for performing in a role. (Sometimes one level up is fine) ? it’s simple TNI & TNA - Execution. ? Not all roles require strategic thinking.
HRBusiness Partner (Gest?o) - ChMg- Prof Grupo Trhoca - Espec Previdência Complementar - Talent Leader in Human Capital - sHRBP, Pension Plan, Benefits, Diversity, Wellness, Educator, Adventurous, Dreamer, Curious.
9 个月Fear of those numbers...
Katie Quinn
Talent Strategy | HR Solution Provider | MBA | Business Analyst
9 个月That is interesting! As we navigate the evolving workforce landscape, the gap in soft skills like strategic and critical thinking becomes more evident. To bridge this gap, it's essential to recognize that such skills are often honed through real-world experiences. Leaders aiming to cultivate these competencies in their teams should consider providing opportunities for employees to engage in actual projects. By granting autonomy and encouraging delegation, leaders can create an environment where employees can actively develop these crucial skills, making a tangible impact on the organization and their personal growth.
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9 个月Another remarkable research showing that leaders and employees have different perspectives on what's needed for a company. I met it many times, in regards with various aspects of corporate life. What does it say to us? I take out that leaders and employees must establish stronger dialogue, strive for participative approaches to decision making and try to establish trustful relations and listen each other. Thanks for the thought provoking share, Nicolas BEHBAHANI !