Need ROI on Org’s Training Investments? Digital Assessment Tools Can Be A Game-Changer

For organisations keen on selecting and nurturing the right set of people, an effective talent assessment strategy with the right digital tools can make all the difference. Here’s how.

2021 saw a somewhat unique event that came to be known as the Great Resignation. It didn’t start with the pandemic, but its origins can be traced back to the unprecedented changes in the way work happens that started during the pandemic. 

Extended periods of working from home, redundancy of certain job roles, and mass layoffs, all prompted a tectonic shift in the way people approached jobs. While some found the time to pursue their passion, others rediscovered their passion. Many, though, found a disconnect between their current work and what they want for themselves in the larger scheme of things.

Also read: 72% Indians Actively Learning Digital Skills; Here’s How Salesforce India Plans To Utilise It

The Hiring Race

2022 saw a fresh start in hiring. One could describe it as one of the most intense talent hunts to date. Recruiters across the board were snapping up talent that matched the roles they would have carved out to meet the enterprises’ business goals. 

Professionals who had taken the time to reorient themselves, reskill themselves, or in any way find what they’re passionate about, found work that moves them, values them, and to which they can add value every day. 

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Work report said that 50% of employed professionals across the world would need reskilling by 2025. That’s a staggering figure considering the impact on industries lacking skilled workers as needed. 

The Skills Gap

This brings us to the very real problem of the skills gap that enterprises across the world are facing. The impact of the skills gap when left unaddressed creates hurdles for organisations to go to market fast, innovate effectively, and capture market opportunities in a timely manner.

The rise in people and operation costs, coupled with the impact on the customer experience is yet another challenge that businesses face when the skills of the workforce do not match the needs of the enterprise.  

Before arriving at a strategy to address the skills gap through reskilling or upskilling initiatives, it is imperative that organisations look at an assessment strategy that identifies the right talent to start with. When an organisation adopts trial and error methods to set standards, it helps assess dynamic talent who are ready to explore and innovate, to understand how they can help the business grow. 

Why Current Assessment Models Fall Short

The fundamental premise for assessments is that selecting and nurturing the right set of people can help

organisations win. The changing nature of work demands matching skills to tasks. 

To achieve this, there is a medley of tools available to talent acquisition professionals and HR business partners, but not all of them are effective. 

Most training models and assessment tools are unable to produce job-ready skills, primarily due to: 

1. Lack of industry-validated role-skill-competency maps in training programs
2. Inadequate practice-oriented learning
3. Lack of comprehensive and integrated assessment frameworks to measure the job-readiness quotient

In the era of digitisation, there’s a dire need for assessments to go digital too. We have come a long way from hand-filled questionnaires, panel interviews, and asking about the hobbies and interests of a professional to ascertain how good of a fit they are for the organisation. 

Also read: How Skills Inventory Created Through Assessment Tools Can Help Win the ‘Build vs Buy Talent’ Argument

Future of Assessments

Learning experience platforms like KnowledgeHut’s PRISM, catering to the learning and assessments space, help learners to take diagnostic, module-level, and final assessments which are auto-graded. 

Since learners range from complete newbies to professionals who already have some experience with the subject, a baseline is set against which the knowledge and skills progression is mapped. 

These assessments provide learners with valuable insights about their strengths and learning challenges with recommendations on how to improve in these areas. Analytics and insights feed into role-skill-competency maps built to industry standards and incorporated throughout the course or program—a game-changer for enterprises concerned about the ROI on their training investments.

“Before arriving at a strategy to address the skills gap through reskilling or upskilling initiatives, it is imperative that organisations look at an assessment strategy that identifies the right talent to start with.”

Looking Ahead

For organisations keen on reskilling their workforce, an effective talent assessment strategy with the right tools to manage this can make all the difference.

Teams must constantly evaluate which skills of the future will be necessary and which roles may require new skills to remain relevant. Learning programs designed to enable enterprises to upskill and reskill their workforce effectively is the need of the hour.

In an era where developments go beyond Big Data, AI/ML, robotics, and more, talent assessments are due for their share of the limelight. The changes are big, and they’re here to stay. It’s up to both HR and L&D to maximise the value and ROI of the tools they deploy.