Filling your skills gap – the process is the obstacle
One of the major goals of all organizations is to have the required skills available in the organization. I have never found an organization which has met that goal. Many organizations have severe gaps in their required skills. The most common complaint is too many people in less skilled positions. These employees are one or two rungs below the senior positions. It is these senior positions which make the organization and employees money. These positions are what I call the backbone of the organization.
Waiting drives people crazy and is demotivating
The stories are countless of people recalling the training programs where they worked. With few exceptions, the employees felt development was always an afterthought. They felt it was important only when management had an immediate need. The employees always felt they had little to no control over their own development. The vast majority of the good employees were more than willing to give their own time. All they required was the final result would also benefit them, not just the organization. The employees wanted to see how it benefited everyone in the long term.
People want control of what is important to them
People Profits believes it is this control element which is the lynch pin of reducing your skills gap. Many years ago I developed a program I can Value Pathing. It directly links the increase in value of the employee to the development issues. For each position you develop a value path which might have numerous sub paths. Employees are then matched up with the path and sub path(s) as needed to meet the organizations requirements. The employees see the path clearly and know exactly what they need to do. They also see the value they receive by completing the development or level of experience.
This is not a career path. Career paths are NOT linked to organizational or employee value. This lack of a link is why no one takes career paths seriously. It is this link which creates the value to all concerned. The employees know what the steps are, when they are completed and what comes next. The training department and the employees’ supervisors certify each step when completed. Once certified the employee contacts the training department for the next required module.
This may sound complicated; but it is not. Our experience is that 50% of the path is already there. What is missing are the links and the employee empowerment. All of this leads to engagement and a strengthening of the culture.
