Why Skills-Based Recruitment is Worth the Investment – And Where to Invest

When it comes to organisational change, your business will already be considering the need for a strong technology stack, implementing training, and new policies in line with the level of digital transformation that your company is trying to achieve. But did you know that skills-based recruitment is as crucial to enabling and accelerating your transformation success as any other part of your change programme?

Any business change, including the now-common digital transformation, requires the right people to input into the shape and direction of what’s possible in such a transformation. With more businesses looking to enhance the way they compete and serve their customers through the optimisation of technology, making sure you’ve got the skilled workforce in essential departments, such as Finance, HR, and Marketing, is crucial.

With the expected changes that come with organisational change or digital transformations, your workforce is likely to be restructured or affected in some way, not least of all in the form of a skills gap. Recruiting into teams where you have skills gaps can ensure better representation, communication, and support for your business’ changing policies, processes, and digital capabilities.

Impact of the skills gap on your business

There is a skills gap prevalent in every business sector, with industries feeling the pinch of their workforces falling behind industry and competitor capabilities. There is some comfort in knowing every company is feeling the same, albeit in varying degrees.

The skills gap refers to not just the disparity between your expectations and the reasonable abilities of your employed workforce but also the disparity between what is now possible through the evolving technologies and the growing expectations and needs of customers. This can feel overwhelming for you, your leadership team and your experienced workforce.

While it is a common struggle felt broadly across sectors, by focusing on your own recruitment and development practices, you can enhance your workforce capabilities, as well as ensuring competitive advantages in how your company optimises technology.

The skills gap can reduce productivity and creativity as a business. This in turn can reduce your profitability as you struggle to compete for customers and pricing strategies come under pressure to deliver more for a lower cost. Skilled workers, as well as a diverse workforce, are essential for promoting innovation and collaboration. By investing in a skilled workforce, you can bridge the gap in expertise, encourage better communication and creativity, as well as boost your performance.

How recruitment can help fill the skills gap

Recruitment is more than just filling vacancies. It is essential for ensuring that your workforce is comprised of skilled workers with the ability to meet your business needs and capable of performing within changing environments. By hiring into your skills gap, across all teams, you don’t only thrive from individual achievements but can build a culture of knowledge sharing and expertise within your business.

A trusted recruitment partner can also help you bridge the skills gap within teams, by offering support and guidance for your workforce development initiatives. Plugging the skills gap isn’t solely about hiring into the space, but by analysing your current abilities and ensuring that training and development is set in place to provide coherent understanding across all teams.

By being an employer able to support skills development in the workplace, you not only strengthen the capabilities of your business, but you also contribute to a wider skills development within your industry. Offering this training and support, your business can assist your current employees to acquire the skills they need to feel confident in their roles, expand their careers, and enhance innovation within your business.

Where you should be hiring skilled-based candidates

The skills gap damages businesses through a lack of specific talent within teams. While many businesses understand the need to hire into their skills gap, it can be difficult to highlight the areas that truly need assistance. The skills gap can look different for every business, but there are some crucial teams that often underutilise the skills that can make the biggest difference to how your company competes and grows.

Each department in your business offers the opportunity to raise the bar on a digital transformation and while some of this undoubtedly starts within the I.T. team, technology capability, especially as a point of competitive advantage, is too important to leave to one department. Consider how other teams including Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR, and Operational leadership can contribute to the aspirations of the business.  By investing in their development and enhancing their digital skills, you can strengthen the overall digital capabilities and growth of your business.

These teams act as ambassadors and decision-makers within your business, influencing how you are perceived by customers and in the wider market, so ensuring that they have the necessary digital skills is essential for growth. These teams can provide you with the best investment for the future of your business, by supporting your core functions with skilled workforce development.

Looking to hire into your skills gap? Learn how to budget your investment into skilled-based workers