The potential of skill positioning for personnel development

Understanding the abilities of your employees and knowing how to optimally position them to achieve company goals is a decisive competitive advantage. In this blog, we will explore the potential of qualification positioning to unlock the full potential of human resource development.

By using competency positioning, companies are able to better recognize the competencies of their employees and thus make well-founded decisions about their deployment and development.

Customer case study on skill positioning

First of all, it's important to understand exactly what skill assessments are and what they include. We recently worked with a customer whose Learning and Development (L&D) department was struggling to provide employees with effective development support. It was difficult to identify the specific skills to be developed and, despite all efforts, it was not possible to measure the impact or yield of staff development measures.

This situation changed when they introduced the positioning of skills in their organization. They now have a clear picture of their current skill profiles and have identified areas for improvement through a process of mapping relevant skills and positioning people based on those skills.

They used indirect conclusions and direct assessment methods to assess the capabilities of their employees. This combination of methods helped them create personalized and adaptive learning experiences and measure the success and profitability of their training programs.

The results were very positive. They were able to identify internal development opportunities for individual employees and, very importantly, they were also able to balance their skills with the company's needs and support personnel planning.

As an added benefit, it was found that publishing information about their own abilities and allowing employees to assess themselves and find their own internal development opportunities helped them greatly in building and maintaining a culture of continuous learning and development.

The success of this customer's L&D department shows how important it is to position skills for personnel development. Companies can support the development of individual employees and at the same time improve their company's willingness and culture to learn by identifying and evaluating their employees' abilities.

But what exactly is skill positioning?

In its simplest form, skill positioning is the process of identifying and evaluating capabilities in an organization. It includes recording the relevant required skills (through indirect derivation of skills or competency assessments), using competency positioning to create the company's current competency landscape, and positioning or placing people in the company based on these skills.

Skill positioning is used to identify development areas for individual development and to understand the skill profiles of an entire organization, team, or group. They can also be used to provide clarity about current capabilities in organizations.

What is the difference between indirect skill inference and direct skill positioning?

Two main options for evaluating skills are indirect inferences and direct assessments. Let's explore the differences between them as well as their benefits.

Indirect skill conclusion

Using existing documents, such as job descriptions or resumes, to infer skills based on keywords or job titles is known as indirect inference. Various technology providers and AI-based software support this increasingly popular method.

However, this method may be less accurate as it uses existing documents that could be out of date. Workplaces and processes in companies change rapidly, and supporting documentation and guidelines do not always reflect these changes.

Direct skill positioning

Direct assessment, on the other hand, asks employees to rate themselves or answer quiz questions to assess their abilities. This direct method enables companies to create personalized and adaptive learning experiences. This method could be susceptible to distortion and may not always be accurate.

A person's skills can also be assessed by other people, such as colleagues, managers, or experts. A combination of assessment methods reduces the likelihood that results will be distorted. The assessment method may depend on factors such as the complexity of the skills, the desired level of control, and the possibility of deception or distortion.

Why you should start positioning

The benefits of using skill positioning in the workplace are manifold. At the level of individual employees, the positioning of skills can serve as a basis for learning recommendations, improve learning attitudes and culture, and identify internal growth opportunities. At company level, competency assessment can support personnel planning and progress tracking.

Publishing qualification information in a company enables employees to assess their current qualification level, search for internal development opportunities, and support organizational planning and reporting.

Best practices for getting started with skill positioning

Involving all stakeholders in the process is one of the best practices for any project to introduce competency positioning. Stakeholders include employees, management and HR managers. Involving all stakeholders helps ensure that reviews are fair, accurate, and relevant to the company's needs.

Another important process is to update skill profiles. This means that the assessed skills are regularly reviewed and updated as the needs of the company and workforce change. Regular surveys, focus groups and continuous monitoring of job advertisements and industry trends can ensure that the assessed competencies remain relevant.

Learn more about skills

The positioning of skills is an invaluable tool for personnel development. Once a company has identified and assessed competencies on an individual and organizational level, it can understand employees' skill profiles, create personalized and adaptable learning experiences, support workforce planning, and promote career development by publishing competency information.

The proper implementation of competency positioning must involve all stakeholders, the regular review and update of the required competencies, and the use of the most appropriate evaluation methods. Accurate results of competency positioning enable companies to make well-founded decisions about the deployment and development of employees and at the same time contribute to a culture of continuous learning and development. It is also important to keep an eye on which qualifications are particularly in demand and which new qualifications are being added. In our skills report, we address this question in detail.

Find out everything in our Skills Insights Report.