Sponsored by SAP
In this episode, we are exploring the research findings from SAP SuccessFactors about how to master skills-based HR practices. We are going to discuss how the world of HR has evolved in how skills are used and how technology can help us gather skills, data, and intel. It’s a fascinating and applicable topic to anyone out there who handles people management. Be sure to tune in!
Meet Our Guest: Dr. Lauren Park
Joining us today is Dr. Lauren Park from SAP SuccessFactors.
Dr. Lauren Park is a senior HR research scientist on the SAP SuccessFactors Market Insights and Customer Engagement team. She leads applied mixed method research programs on HR and workforce topics to inform product and portfolio strategy and provide consultative guidance to organizations around the world.
Employee Skills
Let’s begin by having you define what skills our listeners should be considering during our conversation.
So for the purposes of our research and what we consider skills as a research team, we’re really looking at an umbrella term for knowledge, skills, and abilities. And these are perhaps the traits, the concrete skills, the knowledge that employees have that they can apply on the job. We also differentiate between technical and professional skills or knowledge. So what some folks would call soft skills or hard skills, we prefer to call them professional and technical respectively.
Winning The Race for Skills Research
Please tell us about the Winning the Race for Skills research program. How did it come about and what was specifically studied?
So this was a really great research program we’ve done over the past couple of years, and the focus was on specifically skills-based hiring and pay. We had as a team, done a lot of work on topics like skills-based learning or skills-based career development. But from what we’ve seen around skills-based organizations, we really see this transition to becoming a skills-based organization starting with hiring and ending with pay.
The Surprising Results
So tell us, what research findings do you think are most surprising or informative that leaders can apply in their journeys to become more skills-based?
The biggest thing and the most surprising thing was around candidate change management. Now, we talked to our HR leaders, we surveyed all of these different personas to ask, what are your opinions of skills-based hiring and skills-based practices? And understandably, recruiters have to change the way they work. Hiring managers have to change the way they make decisions about hiring. Senior leaders may have their decisions challenged more often than they’re used to. So all of these personas have a lot of change that needs to happen.
To Learn More About Skill-Based HR Practices
For more insights about how your organization can make the most of employee benefits, listen to this full podcast episode. And be sure to subscribe to the #WorkTrends Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Anytime you want to continue this conversation on social media, follow our #WorkTrends hashtag on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Let’s talk!
SAP Winning the Race for Skills – 4 Approaches to Making Skills a Reality Whitepaper
SAP Winning the Race for Skills – The Science of Skills Storyboard
Winning the Race for Skills with Skills-Based Hiring
