The Skills GapParadox

Discovering����������� ������������������  yo

ur����������� ������������������  employees’

����������� ������������������  

untapped����������� ������������������  pote

ntial

skills

ⓒ 2014 Best Companies Limited

Contents

Introduction

What the data reveals

Key trends

The 4 key behaviours of top-performing managers

What next?

To summarise

Appendix

Ceri EllisResearcher, Best Companies

Best Companies helps organisations gain competitive advantage

by measuring, recognising and improving employee engagement.

Our BCI Measure methodology underpins the famous Sunday

Times Best Companies to Work For lists and Best Companies

Accreditation star ratings - widely recognised as the standard of

engagement.

With one of the biggest data sets on engagement in the country,

Best Companies are committed to sharing insights from our

research, as part of our bid to fulfill our primary purpose of

helping make the world a better workplace.

visit b.co.uk for more information

Measure. Recognise. Improve.

page 1

page 2

page 3

page 4

page 5

page 6

page 7

ⓒ 2014 Best Companies Limited b.co.uk

The skills gap is often cited by business leaders, politicians and HR professionals as a fundamental barrier to economic growth and innovation.

Many organisations are struggling to fill vacancies due to a lack of necessary skills in candidates: according to the latest Employer Skills Survey by the UK Commission for Employment & Skills, 23% of all unfilled vacancies are classified as ‘hard to fill’ and 72% of these hard to fill vacancies are due to skills shortages¹. Without a suitably skilled, energetic work force, our businesses will struggle in an increasingly competitive market place.

But instead of looking immediately towards recruitment, should we be looking to our existing employees to improve performance and increase productivity? Is there untapped potential in our people that we can release to bridge the skills gap? The answer is a resounding yes.

The war for talent is not just about attracting new, high calibre recruits, but unleashing the potential in your existing workforce. We know about the most popular strategies for investing in people with reward schemes, benefits packages and remuneration, but today’s market demands a more thoughtful approach. Employees are no longer satisfied with a pay packet and holiday allowance – they are demanding something more meaningful, the chance to realise their potential and contribute more fully to the success of their businesses.

Data from our 2013 Best Companies survey shows that more than a third of employees believe their skills are not fully utilised, presenting the possibility of a pool of untapped potential that could help solve the skills gap crisis in a cost effective way. Tapping into this talent could lower staff attrition rates, boost morale, improve employee engagement and enhance an organisation’s reputation as great workplace. It could also provide access to additional sources of creativity.

Introduction

¹ UK Commission’s Employer Skills Survey 2011: UK results. Evidence Report July 2012 found at: www.ukces.org.uk/

publications/employer-skills-survey-2011

1ⓒ 2014 Best Companies Limited b.co.uk

Making the most of employees’ hidden talents can help to engage existing employees and reduce staff turnover. People who score highly in the Best Companies survey for this question also score highly for engagement overall – and employees who feel their skills are better utilised are more likely to stay with the organisation.

The way people feel about how well their skills are used has a strong correlation with overall engagement and a number of other items on the survey, including ‘My manager helps me to fulfill my potential’ and ‘I have confidence in the leadership skills of the senior management team’. It also has a strong relationship with employees intention to stay and feeling they have a positive future in the organisation (see Appendix for ‘Top 15 Highest Correlated Questions’).

Our analysis also shows that when employees disagree that they have other skills the organisation could use, just 10% agree that they would leave tomorrow if they had another job. When they agree they have other skills the organisation could use, the proportion that would leave rises to 45%. Of those respondents who disagree that they have skills the organisation could use, 93% also feel they have a positive future with the company, however this drops markedly to 63% when employees feel their skills are not being used fully.

What the data reveals...

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Slightly Disagree

Neither Agree nor Disagree

Slightly Agree

Agree

Strongly Agree

0 7.5 15.0 22.5 30.0

8.1

16.1

16.0

20.9

8.5

21.8

8.8

“I have skills my organisation could use, but doesn't”

Percentage of respondents

“The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean

unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities

waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good.”

~ Brian Tracy

2ⓒ 2014 Best Companies Limited b.co.uk

93% of people who disagree that they have skills the organisation is not using

believe their manager helps them to fulfill their potential, compared to 61% of those

who agree

When employees feel their skills are made the most of only 10% would leave

tomorrow if they had another job and 93% feel they have a positive future within the

organisation

“I have skills my organisation could use but doesn’t”

So, how do we engage with employees to unlock hidden potential? Authenticity and transparency are clearly important enablers to building trust, but how do you inspire your people to give their best? Do you really know them? What kind of investment is made in time spent with employees to find out what they are really capable of achieving? What are their aspirations and motivations? Do they feel empowered? Do they have access to the right development opportunities? Is their personal contribution recognised and valued?

40%

39%

21%

Positive Negative Neutral

So how do organisations make the most of their employees’ skills? Looking at some organisations who score well in this area, there are some similarities in what they do to support employees’ personal development:

• Empowerment and autonomy – allowing employees to select their own specialisms and follow their own path, letting employees decide what support they need and enabling them to be in charge of their own training budget can all help to give employees autonomy over their work.

Key trends

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and

they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

~ General George Smith Patton, Jr.

3ⓒ 2014 Best Companies Limited b.co.uk

• Managerial involvement and understanding of individual needs – having regular contact with their manager is essential to gain a deeper understanding of an employee’s potential. This can lead to the development of bespoke training, individual coaching and mentoring to tailor development to individuals’ preferences.

• Freedom to grow – allowing employees the space to take risks and possibly fail without fear of repercussions or blame. Helping employees explore their various interests by moving around departments and trying different roles, as well as encouraging their creativity and ideas, will all help to maximise their contribution to the organisation.

Giving control back to the employee and enabling managers to give them the right amount and type of support is a vital component of trying to identify and encourage these hidden talents and skills.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

~ Thomas A. Edison

Good management engagement is the key to success, which is why at Best Companies we have developed a methodology to examine how employees really feel about their managers.

MC³ explores motivating, considering, conversing and caring; four essential elements of good managerial engagement. It helps businesses understand whether their managers:

• Inspire and motivate their teams by listening, identifying key skills and exploring ways to fulfill potential

• Listen to team members’ ideas and give them credence

• Recognise what is being asked of their people and reward a job well done

• Make time for conversation, and promote knowledge sharing in an informal, honest way

• Know and show interest in team members’ lives outside work, and respect their commitments such as family or interests and hobbies

The 4 key behaviours of top-performing managers

4ⓒ 2014 Best Companies Limited b.co.uk

You can’t use what you don’t know exists: the first step is to identify skills and talents in your employees that aren’t currently being utilised.

Managers have an important role in both identifying hidden skills and empowering employees to make use of them. Make sure managers are aware of the importance of identifying employees’ hidden skills. Consider making this a part of their regular conversations with their reports. Even things that aren’t obviously work related might involve transferable skills that could be used to benefit the employee and the organisation.

Employees need to have the opportunity to bring their hidden skills to the table. Consider setting aside some time for them to spend working on projects of their own design or opportunities to showcase the things they are good at, which they don’t get to do in their day-to-day job. Freedom to be creative can highlight solutions and opportunities that otherwise remain hidden.

Consider using some kind of internal social media as a way to build relationships between employees at all levels and to generate awareness of individuals’ unique skills and talents to help identify where people may be able to contribute something more.

What next?

MC³ workshops can help managers understand the business case for employee engagement and the impact that their behaviours have on engagement scores and, ultimately, business performance. Best Companies’ MC³ Portal can be used to measure performance and monitor improvement.

MC³ workshops at Best Companies’ immersive learning centre, The Art of Engagement

5ⓒ 2014 Best Companies Limited b.co.uk

• Organisations are struggling to fill vacancies due to lack of skills in candidates.

• Best Companies research suggests that there could be a vast pool of untapped potential within an organisation’s existing employees.

• By looking inwards and making the most of these skills, organisations could begin to fill some of their existing gaps and also access a potential source of creativity and new ideas. In addition they could improve their staff turnover and help to engage their existing employees.

• Empowering employees to be in charge of their own development, ensuring close and supportive line manager involvement and giving employees freedom to grow and the confidence to take risks will all help to access their hidden talents.

To summarise

Our Best Companies annual survey takes place between September and November and is the biggest survey of its kind in the UK. Data for this report has been drawn from the 2013 process from

over 170,000 respondents across more than 550 UK private sector organisations

6ⓒ 2014 Best Companies Limited b.co.uk

Top 15 Highest Correlated QuestionsI have skills that my organisation could

use but doesn’t

Senior managers of this organisation do a lot of telling but not much listening .841

My manager helps me to fulfill my potential .832

I have confidence in the leadership skills of the senior management team .824

Some departments/teams in this organisation don't work well with each other .820

Senior managers truly live the values of this organisation .816

This organisation feels more reactive than proactive .815

Everyone is treated fairly here .806

I think I have a positive future ahead of me in this organisation .805

Sometimes I feel that this organisation takes advantage of me .799

I have confidence in the leadership skills of my manager .795

There are limited opportunities for me to learn and grow within this organisation .795

My manager is an excellent role model for me .792

What is expected of me in my work is made completely clear to me .791

I would leave tomorrow if I had another job .790

My manager ensures that I have the resources I need to do my job .789

Appendix

Correlations

7ⓒ 2014 Best Companies Limited b.co.uk