McLean & Co: HR Must Align Skills Practices with Business Needs

Global HR research and advisory firm McLean & Company explains that organizations exist along a spectrum ranging from job-based to skills-based operating models, with “skills-aware” falling between the two. While a full skills transformation has many advertised benefits, it is not the answer for every organization. The firm’s new Leverage Skills Practices in HR Guide explains the meaning of becoming skills-based and how to incorporate practices to build skills awareness and support the organization’s unique skills journey.

Global HR research and advisory firm McLean & Company reports that as organizations prepare for an unpredictable future by seeking new ways to address internal and external challenges, many HR and organizational leaders are looking to skills practices as an attractive solution. However, the firm explains in a new industry guide that there is ambiguity around how skills practices can be implemented, with the transition to skills-based operating models demanding significant time, resources, and key player buy-in and a fundamental re-imagination of work. To help HR understand where skills practices will have the greatest impact in their organization and guide leaders in scoping and prioritizing skills practices based on their organizational context, McLean & Company has released its Leverage Skills Practices in HR Guide.

“Skills are often marketed as the solution to current and future organizational challenges,” says Grace Ewles, director, HR Research & Advisory Services at McLean & Company. “While a full skills transformation has many advertised benefits, it is not the answer for every organization. Strategically incorporating skills into current practices presents an opportunity to reap the rewards associated with skills while laying the groundwork for the organization’s unique skills journey.”

The firm explains in the recently published resource that while the current buzz around skills practices focuses on the impressive benefits, including increased employee engagement and retention, improved agility and innovation, and expanded talent pools, it can cloud a holistic view of the impacts of becoming a fully skills-based organization. The guide notes that skills-based organizations also experience drawbacks, such as reduced role clarity, innovation fatigue, and unintended bias. McLean & Company further highlights that most organizations are not yet ready for a complete skills-based transformation, indicating that becoming skills-aware may be a better fit.

“Skills-aware organizations leverage skills in some HR practices, while work continues to be defined through jobs, and opportunities are aligned with employees’ skills, potential, and career goals,” explains Rachel Stewart, associate vice president, HR Research & Advisory Services at McLean & Company. “Becoming skills-aware can support organizations in bridging the gap between being job-based, which defines roles with fixed responsibilities and emphasizes previous work experience and educational background, and being skills-based, which uses skills as the foundation to make all talent decisions and completely restructures work without the use of job descriptions.”

HR leaders seeking to roll out skills practices that align with their organizational needs and bridge the gap between being a job-based and skills-based organization can follow the guidance in McLean & Company’s new guide, which is divided into three sections:

1. Assess and uncover. Section one guides HR leaders through the analysis of the strategic direction of the organization, the assessment of external factors and industry trends, and the evaluation of workforce data to identify pain points. The data collected is then used to identify focus areas for skills practices.
2. Scope and prioritize. The second section provides an opportunity to review and shortlist skills practices that relate to focus areas, reflect on the current state of the organization’s culture, skills, data, and technology, and identify and prepare for downstream impacts of implementing skills practices. HR leaders will also conduct an effort and impact assessment to prioritize skills practices, then set goals and secure buy-in from leaders.
3. Plan and implement. Section three shows HR leaders how to create a change management plan for each skills practice being implemented, then evaluate progress toward goals and iterate practices to support the organization’s skills journey.

McLean & Company advises that developing a comprehensive skills taxonomy and inventory is a complex and resource-intensive task. However, it is critical that organizations do not rush through this process. Robust skills data forms the cornerstone of effective decision-making in skills practices, so without accurate and reliable skills data, the entire effort is wasted.

To access the full Leverage Skills Practices in HR Guide resource, please contact ktame@infotech.com.

To learn more about an accessible way to accelerate a learning and development project through McLean & Company’s Build Impactful Leadership Development Programs workshop, please visit the workshop page.

To register for McLean & Company’s free upcoming CHRO panel, Leading the Way: CHRO Perspectives on Emerging HR Trends for 2025, on February 13, 2025, at 1 PM ET | 10 AM PT, please visit the official registration page.

Media interested in connecting with McLean & Company analysts for exclusive, research-backed insights and commentary on HR priorities and trends in 2025, HR’s critical role in digital transformation, the future of work, and more can contact Communications Manager Katie Tame at ktame@infotech.com.