Skillstech integration is the ‘number one frustration’ in HR technology

A new report from Northeastern University—Understanding the Emerging Skillstech Landscape—has reviewed the "explosion of providers of 'skillstech' tools and the ongoing dialogue about skills frameworks in the policy world."

The report is the culmination of a year-long research initiative that involved extensive demos, interviews, and analysis. In the report, Northeastern University aims to define the skills intelligence landscape, examine its ongoing transformation, and identify critical considerations that stakeholders should be thinking about.

What do we mean by ‘skillstech’?

Skillstech encompasses a range of technologies and tools that focus on skills as the primary unit of analysis in talent management. These tools are designed to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of skills identification, assessment, and management within organizations. Many of these tools leverage AI to drive innovation in talent management through real-time skills analysis and personalized development plans.

The skillstech landscape is still in its early stages, with a growing number of start-up companies, global enterprise software firms, and nonprofit organizations investing in developing skills taxonomies and new technologies.

The integration frustration

One of the key issues in the skillstech landscape identified by Northeastern’s report is the integration of these tools with existing HR systems to create a cohesive and effective skills management strategy. They call this the number one frustration in HR technology.

One of the most significant challenges identified in the report is the issue of integration within HR technology. Sean Hinton, CEO and Co-founder of SkyHive, emphasizes that while organizations have heavily invested in various HR applications, these systems often fail to communicate with one another. “A few years ago, HR went all-in on investing in applications, but the issue is these applications don’t speak to each other, and therefore cannot provide a unified talent architecture that commonly defines jobs and skills across the organization,” Hinton says.

The report underscores the expectation that vendors specializing in skills management must be adept at consolidating and normalizing data from siloed applications. As organizations increasingly rely on internal employee and skills data, effective data management becomes crucial. Vendors who can seamlessly integrate disparate data sources will be better positioned to provide valuable insights and drive organizational success.

Northeastern says that "it is early in the still-evolving skillstech landscape. The development of this market is expected to include new entrants, potential consolidation, and continued work to integrate with other HR systems."

Implications for skills-based organizations

For organizations that have already embarked on their journey to becoming skills-based, skillstech tools offer powerful solutions to a variety of problems.

They can, for example, leverage advanced analytics to redefine job architectures, streamline workforce planning, and identify skills gaps and potential future skill needs. This not only helps in aligning the workforce with organizational goals but also fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement which forms the foundation of every successful skills-based org.

The most important function of skillstech, however, is the role it plays in developing skills taxonomies. These serve as the foundation for understanding and categorizing the capabilities of an organization and are crucial for effective talent management within it. With a well-defined skills taxonomy, organizations can create clear career pathways, design targeted training programs, and facilitate better internal mobility—all are examples of things that lead directly to employee satisfaction and retention.

Skillstech tools enable the development of these taxonomies by providing a comprehensive view of existing skills and how they relate to various roles and responsibilities. By extension, this enables talent teams to make informed decisions about recruitment, development, and deployment of talent, ultimately leading to performance improvements.

Overcoming skillstech integration challenges

The extent to which skillstech integration is a challenge depends on the individual circumstances of each organization. It’ll be a walk in the park for many but for some—particularly those that have already implemented HR tooling—there will be bumps in the road. Like any challenge, however, they can be overcome with planning and preparation.

Create a unified skills language

Disparate and isolated systems represent the biggest barrier to a successful skillstech implementation. This is particularly true when the systems and tools you’re using each have their own playbooks. That’s why we recommend creating a unified skills language that’s standardized across the organization.

Begin by structuring your scattered workforce data into an organized, coherent framework. This might involve standardizing the terminology used to describe skills and ensuring consistency across all HR systems and documents. By creating a common language, talent teams can facilitate better communication and understanding among all stakeholders. This helps eliminate ambiguities and ensures that everyone is on the same page when it comes to defining and recognizing skills.

Build a skills inventory

A skills inventory is a powerful repository that, when paired with the right technology, can be used to automate skills assessments, source talent faster, and stay on top of skills gaps. To build yours, you’ll need to collect data from a variety of sources to ensure a holistic view of each employee's capabilities.

Begin by gathering information from employee profiles, CVs, and performance appraisals. These documents often contain valuable insights into an individual's skills, experiences, and areas of expertise. You can also use other HR records, such as training histories, certifications, and project evaluations, to paint a complete picture of your workforce's skill set. Armed with your data, you can use skillstech solutions like SkyHive to extract and consolidate this information into a comprehensive, real-time skills inventory.

Develop a skills taxonomy

While your skills inventory catalogs your current skills, a taxonomy is a structured classification system that identifies and categorizes the essential future skills required for achieving current and future goals. It’s an absolute non-negotiable must-have for any skills-led organization. Pairing a skills inventory with your skills taxonomy makes for a powerful tool for ensuring you’ve always got the right skills in the right places

Your skills taxonomy should be dynamic and adaptable to reflect the changing needs of your organization and the wider industry. With critical skills mapped out in an easy-to-digest way, talent leaders and HR teams can align training and development programs with organizational goals. A well-defined skills taxonomy also provides a clear framework for addressing skills gaps, planning career paths, and making informed hiring decisions.

Implement changes in stages

Implementing new skillstech practices should be approached gradually to ensure a smoother adoption and minimize disruption. Start by introducing new practices, tools, or solutions within a single team or department. This pilot phase allows you to test the effectiveness of any new systems, identify potential issues, and make necessary adjustments in a controlled environment.

Collect initial results and insights from this pilot to inform and refine the implementation process. Use these learnings to develop agile methods that can accelerate the adoption of skillstech practices across other departments. By iterating based on real-world feedback and scaling gradually, you can increase overall buy-in, ensure smoother transitions, and optimize the integration of new technologies and practices throughout the organization.

You can check out Northeastern’s report, which is available free here, for more context about the skillstech landscape and what you as a skills-based organization can do to embrace the changes it will bring.

Are you looking to foster workforce agility and transition to a skills-based workforce? Book a demo with SkyHive by Cornerstone today.