Skills-First Talent Management
What Is Skills-First Talent Management?
Skills-first is more than a rallying cry. It is a powerful talent strategy.
At its core, embracing skills-first practices means recognizing and prioritizing skills – rather than degrees, job histories, or job titles – at every stage of the talent journey.
The benefits of skills-first practices for employers are simple: More and better talent.
Bigger talent pools. Improved retention. Increased opportunity and productivity. Greater efficiency.
Skills-first talent management is a comprehensive approach that involves centering skills across talent operations including recruitment, hiring, and learning & development.
It is inherently cross-functional and deeply related to overall business strategy and organizational culture. The roadmap below provides an overview of what goes into successful skills-first talent management.
The Benefits of Skills-First Practices for Society
We know adopting skills-first practices is good business sense.
Embracing a skills-first approach also enables employers to make an impact for their employees, their communities, and in society broadly.
By centering talent practices around skills, employers increase access to economic opportunity and mobility for all. They open up jobs to skilled workers with nontraditional backgrounds. And create opportunities for employees at all levels to advance based on their performance and skill attainment. Skills-first practices are a powerful lever for building a more inclusive and efficient economy — and closing our nation’s Opportunity Divide.
Scaling Skills-First Practices in the Private Sector
Skills-first talent management is a competitive advantage. As technology advances quickly, employers are competing for top talent and managing rapidly changing skill demands. Skills-first talent management offers the nimble, agile approach employers need.
Making the shift to a skills-first approach requires a deep commitment to learning and iterating, robust change management, and significant investment in new practices and mindsets.
The return? A stronger workforce, a more resilient organization, and improved business outcomes. For employers ready to make the transition, Grads of Life can help you design, implement, and sustain your skills-first organization.
