Employers need workers who can perform
It is not surprising to note that “accomplishments” and “service assignments” are the two most important factors hiring managers are looking for when making recruitment decisions, followed closely “skills and abilities,” according to 2018 research from Strada-Gallup Education Consumer Insights.
The survey results show that it is not all about acquiring more skills and knowledge, or even degrees, that will make us successful in the workplace. Rather, it is the effective application of our skills and knowledge to deliver the required accomplishments and results that will matter most for employers.
Only when skills and knowledge are effectively converted or translated into meaningful accomplishments and results, they will remain just as potential power — unused and ineffective. Acquiring and storing just-in-case skills and knowledge that can be obsolete in less than five years will not be helpful for anyone. It is just wasted effort.
Having the relevant skills (hard and human), knowledge and degrees are just pre-requisites for job seekers to submit their job application. Beyond that, it boils down to what the job seeker or worker has accomplished or can accomplish for the employer!
The reality is that employers want to hire people who can get things done and accomplish something through the application of skills, abilities and knowledge that the workers have.
Employers are desperately needing workers who can hit the ground running with new or innovative solutions to solve complex problems, especially in today’s competitive environment. They need effective doers and accomplishers who can implement new strategies quickly and effectively. They don’t need unproductive or ineffective people who are puffed up just-in-case skills, knowledge and degrees. It is a case of “show me the money” or “showing me the evidence rather than just telling me what you can do”.
The bottom line is that workers and job seekers must be able to demonstrate tangibly, not just tell people what they can do, that they have acquired the right pre-requisite skills, abilities and knowledge to get things done and accomplish the expected results for their employer. Or they know where to acquire just-in-time skills, knowledge and digital tools to get the job done.
The solutions
There are a number of solutions we can implement to overcome the challenges posed by a highly digitised world that is constantly generating vast amounts of information and data and creating lots of digital tools and platforms.
This will require a different approach to learning and working.
Solution 1
Always be creating and giving value to others. Apply your existing skills and experience (inputs) to produce the required tangible results (outputs or outcomes). Accomplishments and achievements are essential outcomes for you to secure and future-proofing yourself and be in continuous employment.
Solution 2
Acquire and maintain (through upskilling) sufficient amounts of just-in-case skills and knowledge that can bring you to the point where you can effectively learn-on-demand and effectively apply yourself in specific contexts to produce the required results including the use of additional just-in-time skills, knowledge and digital tools where appropriate.
Solution 3
The results of the 2018 survey of ACCA’s global students and affiliates confirmed the need for developing a portfolio of experiences rather than a more linear, increasingly specialised career.
By developing a portfolio of experiences, people can fast track the building and curating of their mental library using a variety of situations. This will enable them to effectively connect the dots and understand relationships for future use.
Solution 4
Teaching people to learn rather than teaching them what they need to do their job.
Workers need to be developing the right attitude and behaviour to life long learning. It is not just about acquiring more just-in-case skills, knowledge and degrees. But rather, it is about being able to effectively learn to acquire just-in-time skills, knowledge and digital tools that are relevant and appropriate for the context to successfully complete the task at hand at that given time.
People should readily embrace work-based learning opportunities such as internships, apprenticeships, mentorships, co-ops, and experiential learning programmes.
Solution 5
Employers should be aligning their learning strategies to their organisational strategy. Everything an organisation does must support the achievement of its strategic objectives. Otherwise, don’t do it.
Unless individuals grow, teams will not grow. Unless teams grow, the organisation will not grow. Growth is, therefore, the tangible outcome of effective learning.
Solution 6
Incentivising people to continuously learn throughout their lives. People including workers need to be flexible and agile. They need to be able to shift and grow throughout their longer work lives. This will enable them to continuously develop and curate quality personal mental libraries ready for application in the future.
Learning to curate mental libraries could be in the form of watching TED talks, reading technical journals, attending continuing professional development (CPD) talks or attending webinars or even joining a technical discussion or professional groups and forums.
Solution 7
There are opportunities for higher education to evolve and deliver the right amounts of in-demand just-in-case skills and knowledge that tomorrow’s students and workers will want and need to meet the requirements of future employers.
This includes knowing:
- When people require relevant information.
- When they will want to use it.
- Under what circumstances they will want to use it.
Technology, online learning and real-world learning can take central roles in delivering just-in-time learning and information.
Solution 8
Recalibration of higher education to focus more on the in-demand application of non-technical, soft skills and personal attitudes and behaviours that will allow people to effectively apply their skills, knowledge and digital tools across different situations and scenarios to create value for others. That is, students must be appropriately equipped to achieve the expected outcomes and deliver results (accomplishments).