Fishing your own pond for digital talent

Competition for digital talent remains critically high, despite the headlines espousing downsizing and lay-offs in some of our largest technology organizations. That’s because digitally fluent companies are 5.4x more likely to be projecting high revenue growth (over 20%) than their less digital counterparts.

While the open recruitment market is a large, and viable, talent pool, have you ever considered fishing in your own organizational pond?

How can you uncover existing digital skills?

Your organization could already have untapped digital talent just outside of your core technology team. But how would you know?

What you do know however, is that those current employees will already have the necessary domain, business knowledge, and possibly cultural fit. So maybe now is the time to fish the organizational pond, before, or even while still fishing the external recruitment pool! Here are some places to start:

1. Start with an assessment of your current employees to determine their digital skills and experiences. This can be done through surveys, self-assessment forms, or internal skill assessment tools. Gather information about their technical competencies, relevant certifications, previous digital projects, and any other pertinent qualifications.
2. Create a culture that encourages employees to self-report their digital skills and experiences. Promote transparency and emphasize the importance of employees showcasing their abilities. This can be achieved through internal communication channels, such as company-wide emails, intranet platforms, or internal social networks.
3. Incorporate discussions about digital skills and future development plans into performance reviews. Use these reviews as an opportunity to identify employees who have demonstrated a keen interest in digital technologies or have excelled in digital projects. These discussions can help uncover hidden talents and aspirations among your workforce.
4. Advertise digital job opportunities or secondment programs within the organization. This allows employees to express their interest in digital roles and gives them a chance to apply their existing skills in new contexts. Internal postings provide a platform for employees to showcase their capabilities and demonstrate their potential for digital positions.
5. Encourage cross-functional collaboration and knowledge sharing. Facilitate interactions between different teams and departments, enabling employees to learn from one another and discover hidden digital talents. This can be achieved through cross-functional projects, task forces, or internal workshops focused on digital skill development.
6. Implement training and upskilling programs specifically tailored to digital skills. Offer workshops, courses, or online learning resources to enhance employees’ digital competencies. By investing in their development, you not only enable them to contribute to digital initiatives but also foster a culture of continuous learning and growth within the organization.
7. Establish mentorship and coaching programs where experienced digital professionals within your organization can guide and support employees interested in developing their digital skills. Mentors can provide valuable insights, share knowledge, and help individuals navigate their digital career paths effectively.
8. Incorporate digital skills and competencies into your talent management and succession planning strategies. Identify high-potential employees with digital aptitude and create development plans that align with their career aspirations. This ensures a pipeline of qualified internal candidates for future digital leadership positions.
9. Utilize data analytics tools to gain insights into employees’ skills, performance, and potential for digital roles. Analyze employee data to identify patterns, correlations, and trends that can help you make informed decisions about internal talent placement and development opportunities.

It’s a win/win situation all round. As a bonus, hiring an internal candidate signals to other employees that they too have a future in the organization, making it more likely that they will look internally when contemplating their next career move.

Identifying digital skills is easy with SkillsTX.

Our solution not only addresses the digital skill shortage but opens opportunities for your existing digital professionals to progress their own ambitions, as new candidates are found, and enter to back-fill your current technology workforce.

In fact, many of our customers are already doing it, and here’s how:

1. They customize their self-assessment registration page for the organization (see the examples).
2. They ensure their self-assessment registration page is available across the whole organization.
3. They then invite anyone to have a go. And the results have been surprising.
4. SkillsTX automatically calculates the percentage match between the applicants and their skill requirements, generating precise and very relevant shortlists for them.
5. They then use the shortlists and data captured to conduct interviews and check cultural fit.
6. AND until the candidates have been accepted, and joined the technology team, there is NO license cost.

Interested to find out how your organization can recognize its digital potential? Get in touch with our team to learn more.