As part of an enterprise engagement with a global leader in defence and security, WithYouWithMe (WYWM) have been working to refine the process for building a skills and competency framework that is informative, agile and aligned with the internationally recognised Skills for the Information Age (SFIA) Foundation.
After securing several large contracts for the coming years, the organisation approached WYWM with a clear goal in mind to create an internal talent mobility strategy where individuals could be easily moved across verticals in the business as the need arose.
This would see employees readied to tackle the challenges of the future, while also benefiting from investment in upskilling and a clearer view of available career paths. It would also allow the organisation to accurately identify and fill skills gaps by uncovering latent potential in their existing talent pool or informing targeted job descriptions when seeking new talent.
The problem lay in creating a robust workforce framework for the organisation, with agreed upon, globally recognised descriptions of the skills and competencies required in each role – then enacting a change management program to ensure the organisation could realise the true benefit of shifting their talent management approach.
WYWM began by working with the Head of Learning and Development to review the organisation’s existing workforce framework which mapped upwards of 700 roles across a range of areas. Initially, the program would examine five key growth areas: software engineering, system engineering, electronics engineering, IT and cyber and physical security.
All roles that fell within these areas were cross-mapped against the Skills for the Information Age (SFIA) framework, which describes the globally recognised standard for the skills and competencies required to fill digital roles across all levels.
WithYouWithMe is a SFIA Global Accredited Partner
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The next step involved assessing the skillsets of existing employees to accurately identify gaps, while also uncovering those with a strong aptitude for acquiring new skills in particular areas.
Through WYWM’s partnership with SkillsTX, existing staff completed self-assessments of their capabilities which could be later validated by managers, third-party endorsements or through Capstone presentations. Once skills gaps across the teams were clearly identified, staff completed psychometric and aptitude testing through Potential, and those who showed a strong aptitude for specific areas could be matched to new roles that would fill those gaps.
With the insight derived from the program so far, WYWM can develop tailored training programs for the organisation that will see the right staff upskilled to cover gaps, and those with potential placed on career development pathways in new areas of the business.
By mapping their workforce against the SFIA framework and assessing staff competencies and aptitude, the organisation is already benefitting from:
Expanding this program across the wider workforce and creating a culture of continuous learning will see this organisation achieve true talent mobility.
Wondering if your organisation could benefit from mapping your workforce to the SFIA framework? Reach out to us for a chat.
