Building a skills-based workforce model for one of Australia’s largest retailers

The traditional organisational structure built upon strict job descriptions and vertical, linear career pathways is giving way to a new way of thinking underpinned by skills. This skills-based approach enables organisations to gain a clearer picture of the capabilities available across their workforce and harness their people’s full range of soft and technical skills.

Skills are reshaping modern employment, guiding everything from hiring, to training and mobility, and strategic workforce planning. According to recent research by Deloitte, skills-based organisations are 79% more likely to provide a positive workforce experience and 63% more likely to achieve results.

Seeking to reap the benefits of a skills-based workforce model, one of Australia’s largest retailers engaged WithYouWithMe to support their transition using the Potential platform.

The project began with a pilot to build a comprehensive skills framework for the retailer’s marketing team and to align the current capabilities of all team members against both the organisational requirements and global industry standards. The aim of the pilot was to support a more effective workforce management approach, enabling the business to ensure access to the skills it needs and creating more meaningful career opportunities for its people.

First, the job descriptions of more than 180 marketing roles across multiple brands were analysed by WithYouWithMe's team and distilled down to the core skills required to perform their functions. The skill and level requirements for each role were then mapped against the globally recognised Skills Framework for the Information Age, including their generic levels of responsibility, and uploaded to Potential. The skills allocated to each role were reviewed by SFIA consultants and internal team managers to ensure they accurately represented the needs of the business.

WithYouWithMe is a SFIA Global Accredited Partner
Find out more about the SFIA framework →

The result of this initial exercise was a streamlined, simplified skills framework for the entire marketing team – essentially a blueprint for organisational success to be achieved in line with the retailer’s current workforce strategy. As business needs evolve, new skill requirements can be easily added into the framework, allowing the organisation to be agile and fit-for-purpose into the future.

Following the development of this skills framework, all team members across the marketing function will sign up to Potential to undergo a skills assessment and complete WithYouWithMe's market-leading psychometric and aptitude testing. Insights gathered from these assessments will give managers and leaders a holistic view of every team member’s current skills and levels, natural strengths and growth potential.

Skill gap analysis conducted using these insights will allow leaders to identify where critical capability gaps exist and guide targeted recommendations for training to bridge those gaps.

Beyond the ‘now’, this data will also be used to understand where latent potential may be hidden across the workforce. Through personalised professional development pathways inbuilt on Potential, this will be harnessed to grow team members’ skills in future-focused areas which align to their natural aptitude. This could mean advancing to a higher level within the marketing team or making a horizontal move into an alternative career pathway within the retailer’s ecosystem. This mobility ensures organisational knowledge is retained and team members are given the opportunity to pursue careers suited to their natural strengths while remaining within the company.

Following the completion of this pilot, the retailer intends to move forward with developing a broader skills framework across all corporate divisions and enabling tranches of employees to be skills mapped and assessed. The expansion of the program will see all employees across the organisation gain access to professional development and mobility opportunities that match their potential.

For employees, this means:

• A comprehensive understanding of what skills and competencies are required for specific roles.

• The opportunity to map their skills against global market standards.

• Access to personalised insights on cognitive strengths, learning preferences and engagement styles – and the career pathways best suited to them.

• The ability to identify areas for upskilling both within their current team or across the broader retailer.

And for the organisation, this means:

• Access to comprehensive data on the skills their workforce has and the skills they need both now and into the future.

• The technology and processes to underpin a culture of continuous learning.

• A holistic understanding of every team member’s current skills, natural strengths and growth potential.

• A platform to facilitate internal talent mobility and harness transferable skill sets.

To learn more about how Potential underpins skills-based workforce management, request a demo from one of our experts.