Hire and Develop the Best Talent by Mapping Hard Skills and Workplace Competencies with Job Success Profiles
MILWAUKEE – (November 16, 2011) — ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, has detailed key approaches for aligning the core workplace competencies, culture, values and career paths of candidates within the right roles and organizations in the company‘s new Insights paper “Hire and Retain the Best Talent With Success Mapping“ that published today.
“Employers must upgrade one-dimensional job descriptions and supplement them with detailed competency requirements and a framework for how to succeed in a designated role and function,” said Jeffrey A. Joerres, ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO. “It’s the responsibility of both employers and candidates to collaboratively refine the most critical skills and mindsets needed in today’s fast-changing workplace. Individuals are exercising an increasingly powerful voice in today’s Human Age and so they are expected to take charge of developing the skills needed to bolster an employer’s marketplace competitiveness.”
To guide this effort ManpowerGroup advocates using “Job Success Profiles,” a template for mapping essential hard skills and workplace competencies, traditionally known as “soft” skills, against expected outputs and outcomes.
“In the Human Age, the fast pace of workplace change implies that employees will need to unexpectedly transfer their skills to a new role, function or organization in a new industry,” Joerres added. “Fungible talent – individuals with flexible mindsets and agile skills and competencies – are essential for leading and operating a business that must adapt to new market conditions daily. Clearly defining roles, expectations and outcomes and mapping them to the required skills and competencies for success is the key to unlocking human potential today.”
A 2011 ManpowerGroup survey on Workplace Skills and Competencies details how working collaboratively is the No. 1 competency or soft skill missing in today’s employees. Separately, the 2011 ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage Survey reports that approximately three-quarters of employers worldwide cited a lack of experience, skills or knowledge as the primary reasons why they can’t fill certain positions. In a do-more-with-less mentality, employers can afford to hold out for the right candidate; meanwhile, available candidates simply lack the right qualifications.
To guide individuals in the process of hunting for a job and planning a career, ManpowerGroup recommends they develop an “Employability Profile” to supplement their traditional resumes or CVs. It is critical for individuals to clearly communicate the value that they bring to an employer. This employability profile serves as a sort of sales tool, enhancing individuals’ saleability by featuring the critical skills and competencies that employers are seeking and demonstrating success by linking them to the value they bring to business.
Individuals have a prime opportunity and in today’s age, a responsibility to continuously enhance and build needed skills by proactively pursuing extracurricular iterative training and development to bolster their employability.
Likewise, employers are responsible for ensuring that a candidate is compatable with an organization by delving into what makes them tick, including their values and their potential for leading and executing a range of responsibilities. By doing so, employers can build the capabilities of their workforce, and with a robust workforce strategy, they can develop and stretch their people to achieve their full potential in a way that aligns and supports their ability to execute and achieve their business strategy.
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