Leading Companies Use Skills as the New Currency for Workforce Transformation
April 07 2021 - 9:30AM
Business Wire
- Over 50% of organizations embarking on transformation are
targeting workforce upskilling/reskilling toward critical talent
pools1
- 44% of organizations surveyed by Mercer have already made it
easier to loan and/or share talent internally, with 26% planning to
do so in the future
- Mercer launches its Skills-Edge Suite, an integrated service
offering of consulting, technology and data to help companies
advance skills-based talent and pay practices
Skills have become the new currency of workforce and talent
strategies, as more than half of organizations that responded to
the 2021 Mercer Global Talent Trends survey are targeting
upskilling and reskilling of critical talent pools to drive
workforce transformation.2 In response, Mercer has launched its
Skills-Edge Suite, an integrated service offering of
consulting, technology and data that helps companies advance
skills-based talent and pay practices.
For most organizations, from COVID-19 to technological advances,
the nature of work has experienced seismic disruptions as we have
become more interdependent, knowledge-focused, specialized and
flexible about where, when and how we work. Traditionally, the base
unit of managing a workforce has been a job. Job descriptions and
titles have, until recently, defined how companies viewed work, how
they set salaries, and how they made critical decisions around
talent and workforce transformation. Today, the base unit of work
has fundamentally evolved from jobs to skills.
“It became clear during the pandemic that skills fuel business
transformation and organizational resilience. Companies that took
inventory of their workforce or talent ecosystem have been able to
find talent quickly, move talent to where it’s needed most, and
make critical talent decisions to keep the business running during
uncertain times. Mercer research shows that 14% of organizations
that responded to Mercer’s 2021 Global Talent Trends survey have
already embarked on skills-based talent practices such as
skills-based pay,” said Kate Bravery, Global Advisory Insights and
Solutions Leader at Mercer.
Mercer Skills-Edge Suite will help organizations adapt to the
new shape of work through a skills-based workforce strategy. The
offering helps to create skills frameworks and roadmaps to help
companies transition from job-based practices to skills-based
talent and pay practices.
A skills-based approach to workforce strategy assesses talent
based on their holistic skill set (including adjacent skills across
industries), rather than industry experience or qualifications. A
well-designed skills-based workforce strategy will enable
organizations to proactively identify future skills needs and
develop an actionable plan to retain, build, buy and deploy talent,
as needed.
According to Mercer’s 2021 Global Talent Trends survey, there
has been an increase in talent practices that have enabled
organizations to use their talent pool more flexibly. To better
adapt to evolving business needs, 44% of survey respondents stated
they have already made it easier to loan and/or share talent
internally, with 26% to do so in the future.
The Global Talent Trends survey also revealed, however, that
organizations are still struggling to understand the skill gaps in
their current workforce. Two in five HR professionals responding to
the survey admitted that they do not know what skills they have in
their own organizations.3
“Transformation demands deconstructing jobs into tasks and
skills, and updating talent models so that skills are the basis for
defining work and compensation, deploying talent, managing careers
and valuing employees. Companies that do this well will be better
positioned to meet today’s business goals, remain agile in a
changing world, and be more likely to retain and attract the best
talent over time,” said Ravin Jesuthasan, Global Leader for
Transformation Services, Mercer.
“By making skills the currency of work, organizations can
connect talent to work in a more modern, agile way, and better meet
the needs of the changing business landscape. Employers can focus
on what skills they need — by either acquiring or developing them
through workforce planning and supporting activities — and
employees can focus on skill development and career alignment,”
added Jesuthasan.
About Mercer Skills-Edge Suite
The Mercer Skills-Edge Suite creates skills frameworks and
skills roadmaps to help companies to transition from job-based
practices to skills-based talent and pay practices; and the support
to operationalize and integrate companies’ skills philosophy into
their HR systems through deployment and optimization services. Some
of the new products include:
- Skills Library: A skills taxonomy based on market data
curated by Mercer and mapped to the Mercer Job Library. With this
first step, organizations learn what skills they should focus on to
support their business strategy.
- Skills Pricer: A self-service web application that shows
which skills are influencing the pay of a selected job. Determining
the skills that are most valuable to them helps organizations
attract and retain in-demand talent.
- Skills Pay Planner: An AI-driven tool designed to arm
organizations with intelligent pay recommendations for individual
employees. Understanding the premiums associated with certain
skills helps organization make informed compensation
decisions.
About Mercer
Mercer believes in building brighter futures by redefining the
world of work, reshaping retirement and investment outcomes, and
unlocking real health and well-being. Mercer’s approximately 25,000
employees are based in 43 countries and the firm operates in 130
countries. Mercer is a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), the
world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk,
strategy and people, with 76,000 colleagues and annual revenue of
over $17 billion. Through its market-leading businesses including
Marsh, Guy Carpenter and Oliver Wyman, Marsh McLennan helps clients
navigate an increasingly dynamic and complex environment. For more
information, visit www.mercer.com. Follow Mercer on Twitter
@Mercer.
1 Mercer’s Global Talent Trends survey, 2021, reflecting 50% of
survey respondents 2 Mercer’s Global Talent Trends survey, 2021 3
Mercer’s Global Talent Trends survey, 2021
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210407005118/en/
Micaela McPadden +1 201 694 9719
micaela.mcpadden@mercer.com
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