How a skills ontology elevates your company's talent strategy

How do you map the skills of your workforce? You may be using an old-fashioned taxonomy that organizes critical skills in a straight line and keeps them that way over time. The problem with that approach is that your talent strategies are also static, so you are not aware of new or hidden skills gaps that your workforce may possess. Worse, you’re wasting time and effort manually reviewing job profiles and resumes. What if a skills ontology helps you find, organize, and take action on skills gaps?

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In this blog post, you’ll learn about skills ontology, a way to easily understand your organization's skills mapping and how skills relate to one another to achieve your business goals. With the power of AI, you just need to gather data and put it into a platform that processes it quickly and gives you a structured map with actionable insights, so you have more time to focus on what really matters: the people. 

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What is a skills ontology? 

A skills ontology is a structured approach to categorizing and organizing workforce skills to understand their definitions and the relationships and hierarchies between them. To achieve this, skills ontologies use data from internal and external sources. Internal talent data involves employee profiles, job applications, training certifications, and talent reviews. External data sources include, for example, government labor statistics and job advertisements.

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AI-powered talent management platforms that use a skills ontology can process vast amounts of data and recognize patterns. The result is identifying how skills are organized across the company, forecasting the skills required for any project or role within the organization and recognizing the skill gaps that need to be filled; faster and more accurately than filling out an Excel spreadsheet. 

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When it comes to skills, a skills ontology gives you three types of data relationships: 

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• Skill-to-skill relationships: specify how each skill is connected to the others. 

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• Skill-to-role relationships: emphasize how skills connect to specific job titles. 

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• Role-to-role relationships: Map out how each position relates to other roles. 

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Now, maybe you wonder, How do I complement my baseline data with industry-specific insights? How do I stay updated? Well, AI platforms like Adepti can help you with this. Its skills ontology contains more than 5,000 unique jobs and 15,000 unique skills and is continuously updated with the latest labor market data, so you can map the right skills according to industry trends. That looks like this:

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Why use a skills ontology instead of a traditional skills taxonomy?

As we outlined above, a skills taxonomy is just a hierarchical system that organizes skills into groups or clusters. It doesn’t provide data about how skills are related to each other or where there can be skill gaps. Besides, skills taxonomy doesn’t update regularly, making it impossible to connect your organization with industry trends. This is critical if we consider the insights from the Future of Jobs Report 2023, which found that 44% of businesses foresee skills disruption in the next five years. Thus, to stay competitive, companies must use a skills ontology that allows them to focus on recognizing the value of soft skills, employees' aspirations, and virtual positions. 

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Only a skills ontology can define the links between skills and the attributes they contain. It is also a great tool for all employees, not just HR specialists. A skills ontology may assist employees in understanding what skills they have, how those abilities relate to corporate requirements, and what they should acquire next. 

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Other benefits of a skills ontology are:

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Shows which skills are required for a role or project

A skills ontology helps organizations clearly identify and define the skills required for specific roles or projects. This approach helps to identify existing skills gaps within the organization and provides a roadmap for targeted talent development initiatives. As a result, organizations can focus on building critical skills that are essential for their strategic objectives, ensuring a more capable and adaptable workforce.

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Defines and measures relationships between skills, jobs, and people

A skills ontology provides a structured way to define and measure the relationships between skills, jobs, and people within an organization. This mapping of skills relationships helps to understand how different skills relate to various job roles and the proficiency levels required. For instance, by using skill ontologies, an organization can determine the critical skills necessary for a data scientist and how they overlap with those required for a machine learning engineer.

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Additionally, skill ontologies can help in visualizing the skills map within an organization. This visualization makes it easier to see how skills are distributed across different departments and roles, helping to identify potential areas for improvement.

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Creates a common understanding of skills within the organization

A skills ontology creates a standardized language for describing and categorizing skills, which helps in aligning the entire workforce towards common goals. This common framework ensures that everyone, from HR to team leaders, understands what skills are relevant and how they contribute to the organization's success.

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This detailed categorization helps in creating more effective employee development programs by focusing on the most critical areas for improvement. It also facilitates better communication and collaboration across teams, as everyone shares a common understanding of the skills required for various roles and projects.

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Cuts talent acquisition costs

This proactive approach to talent development ensures that employees are equipped with the relevant skills needed for current and future roles. As a result, companies can retain and promote from within, reducing the need to hire externally and the associated costs.

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Moreover, a well-maintained skills ontology helps in creating a comprehensive skill taxonomy that categorizes and tracks the skills of all employees. This detailed insight into the workforce's skills allows for better planning and utilization of internal talent. By focusing on developing and leveraging existing skills, organizations can achieve their strategic goals more cost-effectively, ensuring long-term sustainability and growth.

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Helps with upskilling and reskilling

The use of a skills ontology can provide clear insight into current skills shortages and the skills that will be needed in the future. This ongoing assessment helps in identifying skills that are becoming obsolete and those that are increasingly in demand. As a result, companies can proactively develop upskilling and reskilling programs to ensure their employees remain competitive.

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Furthermore, skills ontologies facilitate the creation of personalized learning paths for employees, enhancing employee engagement and motivation, as they can see a clear path for their career development.

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How to use skills ontology in your organization 

Introducing a skill-driven talent management approach in your company goes beyond just using a skills framework. It's about adopting a comprehensive method that not only spots and organizes skills but also connects employees to different growth opportunities tailored to their individual talents. This approach offers companies precise ideas on the best ways to enhance and broaden the skills of their teams, adding significant value.

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Align your strategy

Start by making sure your talent management strategy is focused on skills. This means carefully considering if moving towards a skill-focused way of working fits with your company's big picture aims. It's important to understand that switching to a skill-driven approach is key to getting the most out of a talent management system.

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Find the right tech partner

Your next move is to search for a technology partner who can deliver software solutions that match your specific requirements. This is crucial to sidestep the challenges and resources needed to build a system from scratch. The right partner will offer a platform that not only contains your skills framework but also fits perfectly with your talent management operations.

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Software setup

The third step is all about carefully setting up and tailoring the chosen software. During this phase, you'll adjust the platform to meet your company's specific requirements, processes, and goals for managing talent.

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Creating value 

The heart of this effort is to generate value by developing skills. By using the platform, you're able to pair employees with development opportunities that suit their skills and career goals. This approach enables focused upskilling and reskilling and gives management useful data on the team's abilities and training requirements. It's a forward-thinking method of talent development that offers advantages for both the staff and the company as a whole.

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Shifting culture

Lastly, it's critical to nurture a workplace culture that values skill-focused tasks and ongoing education. This cultural transformation is a broad aim that influences every step of the setup process. You're aiming to build a setting where team members feel inspired and driven to enhance their abilities, seek out new learning opportunities and add to a dynamic, flexible team.

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Shaping talent with Adepti

By implementing a skills-driven talent management platform like Adepti, you're embracing a forward-thinking approach that aligns your workforce's abilities with the shifting demands of today's marketplace. Adepti doesn't just offer a way to categorize skills; it serves as a key to unlocking a comprehensive map of your team's capabilities, guiding precise training paths, revealing undiscovered talents, and staying adaptive to industry trends as they evolve. It cultivates an environment where continuous growth and skill advancement are at the forefront, ensuring your organization is not just ready for the future but poised to lead with innovation and agility.