How to use skills mapping to assess workforce needs | WilsonHCG

Skill-based hiring is a hot topic these days, and one of the key processes in this approach is skills mapping. At its core, skills mapping as an exercise identifies key proficiencies for departments or roles and acts as a stepping stone toward a more formalized skills taxonomy. To read more about the value of a skills taxonomy, read our skills-based hiring report here where we go in-depth on skills taxonomies and ontologies to achieve better workforce planning.

So, how does skills mapping work?

To get started, I created an example skills map based on our existing template for AI Engineers based on the most in-demand skills, using our labor market data. For those of you who are visually oriented (like me), this process is useful because it organizes both hard and soft skills in an easy-to-understand way. Note your expertise and understanding as a recruiter or HR professional will be essential in determining the specific role and function when searching for relevant labor market data.

Tip:

You can fill in a skills map with or without initially running labor market data – it's up to you. As a brainstorming exercise, skills mapping is useful to figure out skills gaps and existing proficiencies with your people. By factoring in labor market data the inform this map, it helps speed along the transition to a skills-based hiring approach.

It's important to note that a skills map acts as a baseline that's expected to be fine-tuned to meet the hiring manager’s needs, and after that, used to assess candidate fit. A clear visual will help you have discussions on whether these skills align with the goals and values of your organization. And if you choose to compile the latest labor market data to determine the skills baseline, you'll likely discover skills that might be new to your organization. This is beneficial and will help you to assess future educational and workforce training needs.

What are the benefits to mapping skills?

Although this process takes time, effort, and expertise of internal HR professionals, skills mapping is useful, as it:

• Clarifies the hiring process by giving you a clear target for both current and future needs
• Simplifies discussions to evaluate candidate profiles with a side-by-side comparison of the target skillsets and the candidate’s skillsets
• Helps you lead with less of "my gut tells me," and more "current market data shows" for maps factoring in labor market data

By leveraging skills mapping, you can make fact-based hiring decisions and be better prepared for your team’s success. Without it, you risk missing out on top talent and falling behind the latest and greatest technology used in the fast-paced landscape of recruiting.

Looking to improve your hiring strategy? Register for our upcoming webinar, where we deep dive skills taxonomies and how to leverage AI for quicker, more accurate organizational skillsets.