Skills and the Future of Self-Service Career Development

It’s no secret that the past few years have been a wild ride for the employee-employer relationship. You’re probably tired of hearing how the pandemic has forced companies to adapt to remote work, fundamentally shifted the balance of power within corporations, and prompted many employees to quit. 

As markets shift again, Anthony Klotz (the professor who coined the original term) believes we are coming to the end of the “Great Resignation.” 

But even as the relationship balance begins to shift back, the need for companies to reevaluate their policies and practices in order to retain top talent will likely persevere. While employers may begin to enjoy a bit more balance of power in the next employment cycle, your talent’s appetite for career self-determination, career mobility, and more, will no doubt endure. 

So what’s coming next? In light of the changes brought by the Great Resignation, the broad adoption of remote work, generational shifts (and more) led HR to transition towards a more collaborative and empowering employee-employer relationship. All of the recent changes in the social contract of “work” have impacted the power dynamics in corporations, and empowered employees to take more control of their careers.

According to the Harvard Business Review, 94% of companies made significant investments in their well-being programs during 202X. This demonstrates that firms are looking for ways to invest in and retain their current talent. 

Today’s blog explores this shift and dives into self-service, an increasingly popular method for companies to further engage their teams and empower their professional growth. 

Why Self-Service and Control Over Your Career Matters 

The last few years have weighed heavily on teams. The stress of the post-pandemic era has created challenges for employees at every level: individual contributors report reduced motivation; meanwhile, managers struggle to find ways to re-engage and inspire staff to find purpose in their daily responsibilities.  

If you’re worried that your team feels unfulfilled or stagnant in their current role, you’re not alone. Gallup, in a recent report, found that 60% of employees reported being emotionally detached at work. The good news is that there’s something you can do about it: empower your team to take action on their career path through self-service. (Spoiler alert: Talented employees find control over their own destiny motivating!) 

An Amazon Experience For Careers 

When you think about the self-service most people have become accustomed to in their personal lives – whether it be returning an item on Amazon or scheduling a doctor’s appointment on an online portal – it shouldn’t be surprising that workers are now looking for a similar sense of independence and transparency from their work environments (and technology). 

So what exactly is a self-service model for career growth? At the Enterprise level, it means offering employees visibility and opportunities to take ownership of their own professional development, rather than relying solely on an employer to dictate all the resources and opportunities. 

Katie Burke, Chief People Officer at HubSpot, explains, “People want to be in the driver’s seat of their careers, and they want to be able to chart their own path forward. With remote work, employees are more likely to take the initiative to make things happen for themselves, and employers need to provide the tools and resources to help them do that.”

The opportunities for self-service are endless: 

• • Promoting additional training or certification programs 
  • Implementing an internal Gig program to showcase stretch assignments 
  • Leveraging a skills paradigm for performance management, to increase employees’ visibility on their career paths 
  • Creating networking vehicles for employees to connect with mentors, peers, and alumni 
  • Leadership training and softer skills training for middle management
  • And more…

By providing employees ways to shepherd their own career trajectory inside their org, companies are recognizing (or acknowledging) their importance. Giving employees the tools and resources to take control of their own professional development both validates them and gives them a chance to sit in the driver’s seat to direct their own future. 

Which matters to your teams. According to a recent study by LinkedIn, 70% of employees say that opportunities for learning and development are among the most important factors when considering a new job.

Beyond a more engaged and motivated workforce, firms that support employee development also see increased employee productivity and retention.

The Power of Skills

In today’s job market, skills development has become a top priority for both employers and employees. Employers recognize that investing in their employee’s growth and development is key to retaining top talent and maintaining a competitive edge. 

According to a study by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), “more than 80% of organizations have increased investment in employee training and development programs over the past year.” 

From a self-service standpoint, visibility into skills requirements for roles allows employees to prioritize their self-guided learning journeys and skill-building. By sharing which skills your leadership is looking for, you help employees understand which ones will help keep them competitive, and ultimately grow in their careers. 

But they can only grow into roles they can see – driving calls for increased skills transparency in the workplace. 

How can you improve your corporate skills transparency? Here are a few quick suggestions: 

• First, start: By developing or promoting your skills strategy, for example, enabling and actively showcasing your Skills Cloud, you’ve set the right foundation to get moving with skills self-service. Many organizations get stuck at step one because it just seems too big. Don’t worry if you don’t have all the answers about your Year-Five Skills Vision today. Find a strategic business unit or engaged team to pilot your skills program, and use those lessons as building blocks to grow your program from there.
• Connect skills with Learning and Development: Employees want the ability to take control of their own career development by accessing training and development resources on their own terms. It not only empowers employees but also frees up HR departments to focus on more strategic initiatives.
• Enable your management layer coaching conversations: But turning on the right technology dials, while important, isn’t sufficient to empower your team’s self-service goals. Employees need to have open conversations with their managers about their career goals and what skills they need to acquire in order to achieve them, which often requires manager enablement. 

Ultimately, you want your technology, management conversations, and individuals to have similar information on where the company is trying to get to and feel empowered (at their relevant level) on how to work together to achieve your common goal: growth! 

Self-Service in Action 

As we shared above, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to developing self-service career programs grounded in skills. Companies looking to support employee growth efforts can start by offering training programs, mentorship opportunities, or flexible work arrangements – the sky’s the limit!

For your inspiration, here’s an example of what self-service can look like in an organization: 

After doubling in size, AlphaSights (a global knowledge on-demand company) knew it needed to scale its internal training courses to upskill its employees in accordance with the company’s growing needs. The team decided to employ a bold upskilling strategy by asking SMEs from different departments to turn their knowledge into internal training courses. Nearly a third of the company (27%) went on to become a course author! As a result, their training became much more interesting and course completion rates rose to 95%. Rather than solely relying on the Learning & Development Team to create trainings, AlphaSights empowered their team to step up and lead – and their people did not disappoint. 

A Promising Future

By providing a sense of purpose and direction, career-driven self-service makes workers feel more engaged and satisfied in their job. Additionally, self-service helps individuals build valuable skills and experiences that set them up for both short- and long-term career success. 

If you’re looking to better navigate the ever-changing job market, here’s your ticket. Self-service helps you take the initiative to learn, all the while adapting to new roles and responsibilities in the process.