Bridging the workforce readiness gap

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In the face of rapid change, employers are facing a widening skills gap. An expert discusses the critical steps to aligning workforce skills with business needs

IN RECENT YEARS, the incredibly rapid advancement of technology has transformed the workforce at an unprecedented pace. This surge in innovation has promised immense opportunity; however, it has also revealed a significant readiness gap in the workforce. The latest research reveals that organisations are struggling to keep up with the constant need for new skills, and there is a disconnect between employee skills and business needs. According to Paul Broughton, GVP and managing director at Cornerstone OnDemand, this gap highlights the urgent need for employers to reassess their approach to workforce development and agility. “Organisations that aren’t able to pivot quickly could be facing significant productivity losses,” Broughton tells HRD.

Cornerstone powers the potential of organisations and their people to thrive in a changing world. Cornerstone Galaxy, the complete AI-powered workforce agility platform, meets organisations where they are. With Galaxy, organisations can identify skills gaps and development opportunities, retain and engage top talent, and provide multimodal learning experiences to meet the diverse needs of the modern workforce. More than 7,000 organisations and 125 million users in 186 countries use Cornerstone Galaxy to build high-performing, future-ready organisations and people today.

“Seventy-six per cent of employees are planning on leaving an organisation they don’t believe is investing in them. That’s a ticking time bomb of attrition”

Paul Broughton, Cornerstone OnDemand

“Additionally, 76% of employees are planning on leaving an organisation they don’t believe is investing in them. That’s a ticking time bomb of attrition. In contrast, organisations that are prioritising critical future skills and development are 44% more likely to have had a revenue increase over the last year.”

According to the 2024 Workforce Agility Report, conducted by Cornerstone OnDemand in collaboration with Lighthouse Research & Advisory, 68% of employees think their work environment is evolving more quickly than ever. And while 89% of employers think they are providing adequate training and development, only 38% of employees agree – an alarming gap that points to a growing disconnect between organisations and their employees. Broughton notes that three key dimensions are exacerbating this problem: the rapid pace of technological change, the presence of five different generations in the workforce, and an unpredictable geopolitical environment. This has led to a perfect storm of uncertainty and has resulted in organisations feeling somewhat lost when attempting to future-proof the business. “It’s incredible how many geopolitical challenges we’re facing,” Broughton says. “Many businesses I speak to are having supply chain issues based on what’s happening in the Middle East, for example. Then you have the proliferation of technology, which is making it incredibly difficult for organisations to keep pace with the skills they need to remain competitive. And finally, you have five different generations with very different expectations of their employer, and of each other.”

While many organisations have hit the ground running with skills development, many are feeling overwhelmed by the fast pace of change. For every organisation, the first step is the same – to take a ‘skills inventory’ and see what you already have. Once employers gain this visibility, they can start to develop a targeted strategy. The 2024 Workforce Agility Report found that only 34% of employees have their skills measured through assessments and technology. However, 82% of employers agree that a lack of visibility into skills creates a cost burden for the organisation. To start closing the workforce readiness gap, having this visibility is vital, and Cornerstone OnDemand has been investing heavily in tools that help employers achieve this.

Broughton says many organisations are entering this environment with good intentions and are making the necessary investments. However, this may not be resonating with employees in the way that leaders expect. To address this, employers need to take a ground-up approach and consider what employees are actually looking for. “You need to have a crawl-walk-run approach to this,” Broughton says. “The first step is taking a skills inventory and understanding what skills you already have in your organisation. Then you can determine the strategy moving forward and think about what skills you need to attract and develop.” Broughton notes that this is a particularly exciting opportunity for HR and L&D leaders to really make their mark and make a vital contribution to business execution and outcomes. Ultimately, skills development and agility don’t just benefit the bottom line – they also increase employee engagement and motivation. The 2024 Workforce Agility Report found that employees with adequate training are two times more equipped to deal with challenges at work, and employees with access to skills development are 67% happier, with no plans to quit.

“We understand what’s happening globally and locally in terms of skills. We can help organisations identify what they have internally today and where they need to go in the future”

Paul Broughton, Cornerstone OnDemand

The hero platform is Cornerstone Galaxy, which has been designed specifically to help employers address the workforce readiness gap by providing visibility into their current skills and skills gaps to enable more strategic talent decisions and drive workforce agility. It leverages AI to assess where businesses are with regard to skills and delivers the most relevant learning and talent opportunities to employees whenever they need them. “The platform is very holistic, and we can align skills to goals, performance management and succession planning,” Broughton explains.

“We understand what’s happening globally and locally in terms of skills. We can help organisations identify what they have internally today and where they need to go in the future.” Cornerstone OnDemand has also been working with immersive learning – one of the most exciting developments to come out of the L&D space. “It’s four times more effective to use VR [virtual reality] or AR [augmented reality] for learning, and it really changes the level of focus and the level of upskilling,” Broughton says. “It makes people more confident in different situations because it gives you a safe place to fail. You’re not failing in front of a class or even in front of an instructor. You’re in a world that is incredibly captivating, and you’re not being distracted by emails or notifications.” Broughton highlights that AR and VR can be used for a huge variety of scenarios and industries. For example, retail workers can practise dealing with unhappy customers, while healthcare and aged care workers can gain experience in handling emotionally charged situations. “This is very exciting new technology, and I think it’s going to really change things in L&D,” Broughton says.

Keeping pace with change

Where do employers start?

Published 02 Sep 2024

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of employers think their workforce receives adequate training and development

89%

Workforce readiness gap: the stats

of employees agree that they receive adequate training and development

38%

of employees don’t think their employer keeps track of skills in the organisation

51%

Source: Cornerstone OnDemand and Lighthouse Research & Advisory 2024 Workforce Agility Report

– designed to meet employers at their stage of the journey

Fully flexible

daily users

125+ million

Cornerstone Galaxy at a glance

Ultimately, businesses are still finding their feet in this rapidly changing environment. Broughton says the most important thing an employer can do is find a technology partner that will meet them where they are, whether they’re a seasoned skills developer or just starting out on the journey. “You need to find a tech partner that will be flexible with you, depending on your maturity, strategy and goals,” Broughton says. “Being adaptable and facing significant change is going to be a big challenge over the next 18 months, and it’s not going anywhere any time soon.”

“Seventy-six per cent of employees are planning on leaving an organisation they don’t believe is investing in them. That’s a ticking time bomb of attrition”

Paul Broughton, Cornerstone OnDemand

Source: Cornerstone OnDemand and Lighthouse Research & Advisory 2024 Workforce Agility Report

of employees don’t think their employer keeps track of skills in the organisation

51%

of employees agree that they receive adequate training and development

38%

of employers think their workforce receives adequate training and development

89%

Workforce readiness gap: the stats