The modern business world is changing rapidly, and staying ahead of the competition requires a workforce with the right skills. Unfortunately, many organizations face a skills gap, where employees lack the necessary know-how to meet the job demands. According to some studies, 77% of employers report difficulty filling roles because of talent shortage. And leaders now face the challenge of finding ways to close the skills gap in their organizations. If you’re one of those leaders, here are four ways to solve the problem.
Gather the evidence
Before you develop any plan to improve skills in your organization, you need to know where to start. And that means establishing a baseline, so keep this in mind. You can use management assessment surveys and observational assessments to determine whether there are skills gaps you need to close and how best to do so. You can also perform a skills gap analysis to understand what skills your current workforce already has.
Determine the skills your organization needs for the future
After gathering the evidence and understanding what skills your organization has or lacks, you can determine what skills are needed for the future. Some studies reveal that approximately half of the organizations do not clearly understand their current skill set. And this is unfortunate, as it means many organizations may be sitting on unique skills going untapped.
Offer competitive compensations and benefits
Some workers may have crucial skills but may be unwilling to apply them without the proper motivation. Competitive compensation and benefits packages can encourage such workers to leave their shelves. For example, a worker skilled in graphic designing will be more willing to apply their skills to help your organization if they know they’ll get additional rewards (aside from their salary). Competitive compensation and benefits can make your organization more attractive to new talent. Aside from monetary benefits, you can consider options like retirement plans, health insurance, and other performance-based bonuses.
Think differently about talent
As a leader, you need to rethink your talent acquisition strategy. Start by looking outside what you usually consider your traditional talent pool when filling a skills gap. For example, instead of relying solely on traditional job boards, consider attending industry events and professional networks to unearth talented prospects not actively job searching. To attract skilled candidates, you can also try innovative recruitment techniques like gamification, hackathons, and job auditions.
Engage experts to help bridge the skills gap
Sometimes, it’s difficult or even impossible to equip your workforce with specific skills to complete specific tasks, and a better option will be to work with or hire experts. For example, if you need welding solutions, a better option is to work with experts like Simpleweld instead of trying to train your workforce to equip them with welding skills. No workforce in any organization can have every skill set, and turning to third parties or experts is a better way to cover for any lack of specific skills.
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