Latest news with #organizationaltransformation
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Focusing On Skills Isn't An HR Strategy. It's A Business One.
Skills-based strategies are the future, but getting there can be complex. Hear from Josh Tarr, Director, Skills-Based Organization at Workday, about why and how the leading tech company has made the shift. Getty getty Skills-based models are gaining traction across industries—and for good reason. Workday's recent State of Skills report shows that 81% of global leaders say skills-based strategies drive growth. Over half of organizations have already begun making the shift, and another 23% say they plan to start within the next year. A growing number of employers are recognizing that the skills-based approach is no longer a theoretical response to questions about the future of work—it's an outcomes-centered business strategy. For many leaders, the next question is how to translate that strategy into practice. At Workday, we made a deliberate shift three years ago to become a skills-based organization, and treated that change as an organizational transformation—designed and executed like any major business strategy. By reframing the conversation from 'why skills?' to 'what problems can skills help us solve?' we were able to focus on outcomes like improved mobility, retention, and time-to-hire—moving faster, gaining traction, and delivering measurable results. Unlocking Potential: The Power of Skills at Workday Three years in, we now have a clear view of the skills across our organization. We used AI, manager feedback, and executive approval to identify the top 10-12 critical skills for jobs at Workday and leveraged Workday Skills Cloud—Workday's AI-driven skills ontology—to understand the skills of our entire workforce. Our teams are using that same data to hire faster, develop smarter, and plan ahead with more confidence: 100% of jobs are mapped to job-critical skills, and 90% of employee profiles have verified, updated skills. One powerful example of this transformation is our internal gig program—short-term opportunities employees can participate in to grow their skills and build connections. Through Career Hub, employees access AI-enabled personalized learning content, mentors, gigs, and job opportunities. The engagement speaks for itself: over two-thirds of employees have found new opportunities through Career Hub, and more than 5,000 have participated in a gig. The impact is clear—our gig program has led to a 42% higher internal transfer rate and a 33% decrease in attrition among participating employees. The gig program isn't just a perk—it's a proof point. This skills mapping approach also informed our broader skills-based hiring practice, which began with a pilot in our Sales organization and has since scaled across all open roles at Workday. By identifying the job-critical skills necessary for each role – such as business acumen and account planning for sales roles – and using them to guide our recruiting and interviewing process, we've driven greater consistency and precision in how we evaluate talent. As part of this effort, we standardized our interview stages and launched a required skills-based hiring certification in Workday Learning for all interviewers. We use the job-critical skills to drive consistency and precision in our hiring process, which over the last 6 months has led to a 15% decrease in time to fill and an 8% increase in offer acceptance across almost 900 hires. How did we get here? Four core elements made the difference: 1. A shift in mindset. We moved from 'skills are important' to 'what can skills help us solve?' That framing helped us connect the work to real use cases across the business. We approached our skills-based transformation with a product management mindset—testing, learning, and iterating quickly. We launched pilots to find what worked. We scaled the successful efforts and stopped what didn't. That progress-over-perfection approach helped us move faster and build buy-in. 2. High-quality data. To act on skills, we had to first define them. We leveraged AI to curate high-quality, relevant skills, and then managers and senior leaders confirmed and selected the 10–12 critical skills for the jobs on their teams. This data now powers our people strategy and is used in hiring, internal mobility, and upskilling. Reliable data is what allows managers and employees to make informed, smart, timely decisions with confidence. It is the foundation of any robust skills-based strategy. 3. Cross-functional leadership. In 2022, we created a governance group that included leaders from Product, Engineering, Tech, Sales, CX, and People & Purpose (HR). That structure allowed us to connect our skills work to core business priorities, not just HR goals. It also helped us decide how to sequence our initiatives, who needed to be at the table, and how to resource the work. Broad ownership helped drive adoption, clarity, and accountability. 4. AI as both catalyst and engine. Skills data gives us a foundation — but AI is the accelerator that makes that skills data actionable. Workday's Skills Cloud, powered by AI, enables us to align skills with business goals, promote internal mobility, and support upskilling initiatives to close skills gaps and improve employee engagement. Our experience – and that of many others – shows that skills-based hiring isn't just a compelling idea: when implemented thoughtfully and strategically, it's a proven driver of business performance. Becoming a skills-based organization doesn't happen overnight, but for many employers it's well within reach. The companies leading the way aren't waiting for perfect conditions—they're aligning with business goals, investing in better data, and building as they go. The time for skills is now. Start small, learn fast, and build momentum, because in the age of AI, a skills-based strategy isn't a 'nice-to-have'; it's a competitive advantage.
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
The Poling Group Celebrates Over 25 Years of Excellence and Enduring Commitment to Leadership Impact
05/21/2025, Asheville, North Carolina // PRODIGY: Feature Story // The Poling Group, Inc., celebrates a significant milestone, serving the business community for over 25 years. Led by President Terry L. Poling with over three decades of consulting experience, including more than 20 years dedicated to executive coaching, the company shows no signs of slowing down. It continues to serve as a trusted advisor to companies across sectors. The Poling Group, Inc. The North Carolina-based firm was built on the belief that leadership is a responsibility to influence systems, people, and outcomes with clarity and purpose. Since Poling's background includes decades of experience in corporate strategy, leadership development, and international consulting, the firm's vision has always remained focused on enabling clients to lead with greater awareness, intentionality, and impact. The Poling Group has become known for blending executive coaching, strategic advisory, and organizational transformation work. Clients turn to the firm during periods of transition, expansion, or cultural change, when leadership alignment and clarity are most critical. Its tailored approach helps organizations shift from reactive management to proactive, purpose-driven leadership. The 'Integral Leadership' model is integral to the company's methodology. It involves developing the whole leader and not only their skill set or performance metrics. The firm partners with executives and leadership teams to create new definitions of success, strengthen organizational capacity, and generate meaningful, sustained change across sectors. This work is supported by the firm's proprietary 5 C's model. The first three C's represent the foundational 'what' of change leadership. Context refers to the vision and rationale for change. Conditions pertain to the environment and resources necessary for success, and Capacities revolve around the skills, knowledge, and experiences required. Meanwhile, the final two, Consciously and Collectively, represent the 'how.' Changes must be implemented with mindfulness and intention, and they must engage stakeholders at every level. Poling aims to extend The Poling Group's impact with his long-anticipated personal development book, a product of years of thought leadership, field experience, and journaled insights. It will expand on the 5 C's Model, and potentially introduce new frameworks that reflect his evolving philosophy and the lessons drawn from his global coaching practice, all of which are embedded within the company's operations. The Poling Group's impact stems from a profound understanding of how leadership shapes organizational ecosystems. It stands as a partner and catalyst for meaningful, measurable change, whether through advising an executive team on strategic alignment, coaching a new CEO through a high-stakes transition, or supporting a cultural reset following a merger or acquisition. Poling brought a global perspective and cross-industry expertise to the launch of The Poling Group in 2007. Since then, the company has grown, drawing on its founder's earlier experience in Fortune 100 environments and complex systems consulting. After closing his earlier firm in 2022, Poling dedicated himself fully to The Poling Group's mission, returning to more hands-on executive engagements that remain at the core of the business today. Poling's motivation behind this venture stems from his desire to catalyze change that ripples outward. He was influenced by the saying 'Be the change you wish to see in the world,' associated with Mahatma Gandhi. 'Leadership isn't a mere function of business,' says Poling. 'It's a conduit for societal betterment. I built my coaching style around conscious leadership because I believe that by helping leaders grow in awareness and intentionality, they are empowered to positively influence hundreds, even thousands of people within their organizations and communities.' Terry L. Poling As The Poling Group celebrates over 25 years in elevating leadership, Poling remains dedicated to his mission. In fact, Poling states that, 'My aim is to continue helping leaders achieve greater wisdom, effectiveness, integrity and fulfillment for themselves, their organizations, and the world-at-large.' Media Contact Name: Terry L. Poling Email: [email protected] Source published by Submit Press Release >> The Poling Group Celebrates Over 25 Years of Excellence and Enduring Commitment to Leadership Impact
