3 reasons your skills framework needs to be dynamic

The skills framework is an essential tool for HR.

A skills framework, also called a competency framework, skills referential, or skills map, provides key information on the skills and competencies of the people at your company as well as career pathways, emerging needs and gaps and sometimes even training problems as well.

While the techniques used to track skills vary from one company to another — the main difference between dynamic or static, which we'll get to in a moment — the definition and objectives remain consistent.

Skills framework definition

A skills framework allows you to list, view and organize all the active skills and competencies in your company. 

The idea is that, with a skills framework, organizations can gain visibility on the skills they have, uncover what skills they will need for the present and future, and receive insights to get roadmap skill development. 

At the same time, a people-first skills framework can provide employees with similar insight on the skills they have, the skills they may need for future mobilities and the career paths skill development could open up.

Skills framework and skills mapping

The two are essential and work hand-in-hand. While a skills framework is technically just the database of skills, often structured around professions, positions, departments or divisions of a company, that is then used to map skills in the act of skills mapping, discussion of the importance of “skills frameworks” often encompasses the applications as well.

5 ways to use a skills framework

A true management tool for HR professionals, the skills framework is essential for placing skills at the heart of your HR approach. 

Here are 5 ways you can use your skills framework.

1. Measure performance: Performance indicators allow you to improve employee engagement, identify experts and determine the skills that need to be developed to bridge present gaps.

2. Anticipate future needs: Having an accurate view of skills and job evolutions allows you to propose strategic solutions. For example, you can identify and suggest internal mobility opportunities and training needs or adapt your recruitment plans.

3. Ensure your company's competitiveness: To remain competitive, companies need to know exactly what talents are present at the company. And as HR, you are in the best position to provide this analysis. With a skills framework, you will be able to really determine the key competencies to develop.

4. Essential for the job evolution planning: The skills framework is the key ingredient for job evolution planning. That is, for keeping your employees equipped with the right skills as their jobs and industries evolve over time. The data collected will allow you to assess the level of skills and take the necessary measures to adapt them for future needs.

5. Enhance your training offers: The skills framework is an important tool for managing your training needs. With an overview of skills and professions, you can offer a personalized experience to your employees.

3 reasons you need a dynamic skills framework

As you can see, having an accurate skills framework is an essential HR tool for achieving your objectives and tackling your challenges. However, we cannot put enough emphasis on the word accurate — it’s one of the greatest hurdles HR face when it comes to leveraging the skills framework. 

The most common skills framework pain point is time. By the time you have finished your skills framework, the data within is already outdated, rendering it useless.

That is why it is essential to use a skills framework that is dynamic and updates in real-time, to ensure you are always seeing an accurate view of your actual company that represents the real skills and career paths of your people. 

Using a tool like 365Talents allows and encourages your employees to enter their skills, ambitions and interests in their own words, minimizing the work you need to do to gather the data. Your people are active participants, and the AI does the organizing to bring all your skills into alignment in a common skills language with digestible, actionable insights. 

Further, you can quickly develop a constantly updating skills framework that is not only accurate with respect to time, but also your company: These are the skills of your real employees, not a cookie-cutter framework lightly tailored by industry. 

In short, a dynamic skills framework gives you: 

1. Real-time view: The framework you are working with is up-to-date with the latest skills, interests and ambitions declared by your own people.
2. Company-specific skills: The framework you are working with shows the skills of your actual company, not some generic list for your industry.
3. People-first perspective: The framework you are working with evolves with your employees as your company’s skills and needs change over time, ensuring your people are always at the heart of your HR strategy.

Want to learn more about dynamic skills frameworks? Talk to our team today.