As we move forward in the 21st century, any organization would agree that the lack of awareness of the skill gap is real and not hidden. According to McKinsey & Company, 87% of companies worldwide are aware that either they already have a skill gap or will have it with in a few years.
In simplest terms, a skill profile can be referred to as the representation of skills associated with a specific job within the organization, or team. It helps in determining the level of expertise. The purpose of the skill profile is to have an interactive and visual presentation of organized skill data. In many ways, a skill profile can be also directly referred to as a job profile. Both terms are interchangeable and describe the same concept.
Skill profiling is valuable for employees too as it will allow them to know how to become successful in their job roles. After successfully exploring and using the tool of skill profiling, organizations will be able to comprehend if their current skill set maps with the required skills described in the skill profile. It will further provide them with the chance to locate the problem and treat it. Organization soften use pre-generated job profiles, for instance, ESCO. Although, it is helpful as it has vast data on the job profile, qualification data, and commission but it only provides generalized data. Therefore, it is highly recommended that each department in the organization should sit together with HR and define the required skills fora skill profile. Some organizations even use different proficiency levels foreach skill added to have even vast spectrum of different skill profiles.
The importance of skill profiling cannot be denied. Survey stell us that organizations are currently having difficulty dealing with this problem. The following statistics tell us more about the skills gap and its profiling.
· Only 34% of the employees feel that they are being supported by their organization’s skills development opportunities.
· 46% of the organizations have agreed that they do not have a strategic plan which addresses the skill gaps internally.
· According to PWC’s 2021 Future of Workand Skills Survey, more than 4000 organizations agreed that one of the most significant challenges in identifying skilled workers is because of changing technology.
· Deloitte in their report“Building the future-ready workforce” mentioned that only 17% of the companies feel that they can anticipate the skills they will be requiring.
With the help of skill profiling, organizations can improve their efficiency and effectiveness in process of recruitment and selection. When employers are aware of the specific skills required for a job, then they will be able to find the right fit for the right job.
The hiring process can become a more practical, quick, and straight word. The use of the software in skill profiling can assist employers in searching for profiles with their desired job-specific skills.
The process of training needs analysis is often referred to as the skill gap analysis where the skills of a job role are compared to the existing skills of the employee. Once the skills are identified through skill profiling, organizations can use the information for their training needs.
It ensures showcasing of an accurate representation of requirements for the training needs of employees. Organizations tend to become successful if their resources are provided with the right skill-based training.
Succession planning is a business strategy that companies use to ensure the leadership is rightfully role down to another employee. This planning is incomplete without skill profiling for each job role in the organization.
Succession planning helps companies make sure that the right leaders are chosen if sudden changes are required in the organization. Research shows that better succession planning can result in 20% to 25% higher company valuation and investor returns.
It can become very complex and time-consuming for working professionals to identify the skills they require to make their careers successful. Skills profiling provides them with the opportunity to find this information more quickly.
Once the knowledge and skills are identified, they can easily acquire the right training, and certification related to it. They can also groom themselves and becomes profitable in their careers.
Skill profiling helps organizations organize thee employee’s skills which are beneficial for hiring and training and succession planning. It provides an easy-to-follow record.
Record keeping comes in handy for organizations where inspections and audits occur on regular basis. It makes the company look professional and auditors can also view record easily with skill profiling.
When information on skill profiling is easily available then it becomes simpler for organizations to achieve higher productivity. Companies can successfully pick the right fit for the right job.
Organizations can also invest in training of those specific skills which are highly essential for employees. They can then become efficient and effectivness their work which will ultimately result in improved performance of the organization.
Favouritism in the workplace can be very detrimental to organizations. Employers tend to favour during the process of hiring as they do not have data on skill profiling.
Skills profiling reduces favouritism by making the organization aware of the right decision it should take. It makes employers hire the right skillful people they need.
Skill profiling is a road map for career growth. It lets them build their professional profile with all the relevant skills they need. It further helps them explore their strengths and weaknesses.
The workplace is getting competitive more than ever therefore skill profiling helps employees update their skills, knowledge, and new technologies. They then can make smarter decisions regarding their career and invest their time more effectively.
Organizations often make teams for the project. Theydon’t have much time to evaluate each employee’s skills and identify which would be a great fit for the team. With the help of skill profiling, organizations can make the best decisions in this regard.
Similarly, employees when they are offered or want to work on a specific project can also see whether it is relevant to the skillset, they have. They can also assess if the project will be fruitful for their career growth or not.
Skill profiling offers organizations a bird's eye view of the skills capacity of all their employees in contrast to just using job titles. The market has become so fast paced that management has to make quick decisions.
Having this bird's eye view can help them make wise decisions by aligning strategic decisions with the current and anticipated skills available in the organization.
In conclusion, skill profiling is a plan of action for organizations and employees. They can make some crucial decisions that will guarantee them success, profit, and higher productivity. Employees will feel happy delighted and more committed to their work if they knew that their organizations care about skill development. It isa worthwhile investment that can result in good results and overall job satisfaction. Employees at a certain period will crave new opportunities and challenges. If organizations devote time to up skilling and upgrading their employees, then they stay loyal to the company.
Thus, introducing skill profiling to your organizations and yourself will give you an added advantage to deal with theever-changing and competitive environment. Let yourself and your employees know what they are capable of and what they can achieve with the right knowledge of skill profiling.
