Skill Management – Benefits, Challenges and Applications

Knowledge is an important topic when it comes to digital transformation in companies. Good and continuous knowledge transfer brings many benefits and can provide a competitive advantage. Similarly, conscious use of the knowledge and ability of employees is playing an increasingly important role. What knowledge already exists in your company? What skills are there? Which ones do organizations need in the future? And how can they be used strategically? A systematic skill management plan can offer solutions.

Skill management

Skill management is the ability to manage the skills of employees in a company. Skill management’s goal is to place employees in the right position in the company based on their abilities and to further develop these abilities.

Globalization, demographic change, shortage of skilled workers, technologization, automation – external factors have greatly changed the demands made on companies and thus on managers and employees. Organizations and above all managers have to react. No wonder then that there are numerous articles in the media on the subject of “digital leadership” and “new leadership.”

Businesses today must have a clear view of the skills they require to be successful now and in the future. However, managers must also recognize what knowledge and competencies their own employees already have in the organization, and they must be able to activate and use these skills.

Example: projects

Projects are a driving force for innovation and change; defining and developing new projects is vital to any business. In most cases, however, project initiation and project funding are implemented in a classic top-down manner. Often, it is only a matter of filling the respective project, seldom taking into account the skills of the individual people. What skills are needed for the project? And do employees automatically have this know-how just because they work on a specific team?

Good and strategic skill management has many advantages:

•       Employees can be supported based on their skills

•       The existing knowledge within the company is made available and can be used

•       Skill management helps with strategic personnel development

•       Employees are more productive and satisfied when used based on their abilities

•       Collaboration between different teams, departments and hierarchy levels can improve

•       Qualified employees become committed to the company

Competitive advantage through skill management

Skill management is also becoming increasingly important when it comes to competition. Good skill management and the strategic use of available skills can make the difference. Employees can work more strongly according to their needs and feel more effective. That makes them happier and more motivated. And, therefore, more productive. This in turn leads to a high commitment, with less fluctuation. This, of course, increases employer attractiveness.

Systematic and self-motivated

There is already an incredible amount of knowledge, creativity and innovation potential in every organization. What is missing are spaces to share knowledge, to open and connect silos and to foster a lively exchange of expertise and ideas. Our Tandemploy SaaS can help you with strategic skill management. The software links the valuable and existing knowledge within your company – and thus supports you in your full potential development. Project managers can specify which skills they still lack – and a smart alert system informs only the colleagues who are interested in project work and have the right skills. Hidden and unused potentials are revealed and resources are better distributed.