The workforce is evolving, with more companies turning to skills-based talent strategies to meet the demands of a competitive landscape. Moving away from traditional credential-based hiring and career development, organizations are now focusing on the practical skills employees bring to the table. This shift enhances productivity while also creating a more inclusive work environment by providing opportunities for candidates who may have been overlooked under old models.
For HR leaders, the challenge lies in developing skills frameworks that align with business objectives and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals. Creating an inclusive framework requires ensuring that opportunities for development and progression are equitable across the workforce.
In this post, we’ll provide a step-by-step guide to building an inclusive skills framework that helps your organization meet its talent and DEI goals.
Step 1: Define the Purpose of Your Skills Framework
Before you build a skills framework, it’s essential to clarify its purpose. A skills framework serves as a foundational structure that identifies the competencies and abilities necessary for employees to succeed in their roles. This clarity helps ensure that hiring, development, and promotions are based on actual skills rather than subjective judgments or irrelevant credentials.
To create an inclusive framework, consider the following questions:
- What skills are critical for success across various roles in your organization?
- How can this framework support current business needs and future organizational goals?
- How will this framework align with the company’s DEI objectives, such as increasing representation or reducing bias in hiring and development?
Step 2: Engage Diverse Stakeholders in the Development Process
One key to building an inclusive skills framework is ensuring that it reflects different perspectives within your organization. This involves engaging stakeholders from across multiple departments, job levels, and employee backgrounds. When different perspectives are considered in the design process, the resulting framework is more likely to be inclusive and equitable.
Here’s how to involve stakeholders:
- Include representatives from HR, DEI, various departments, and employee resource groups (ERGs) to contribute to the framework.
- Hold focus groups or one-on-one interviews with employees across different roles to understand their experiences with current hiring, development, and promotion processes.
- Gather data on skills gaps, employee progression, and representation within the organization to identify areas where your framework can improve inclusion.
By involving a broad range of voices, you ensure that your framework doesn’t unintentionally reinforce existing inequities.
Step 3: Identify and Define Core Skills and Competencies
Once you’ve gathered input from your stakeholders, the next step is to identify the core skills and competencies necessary for success in different roles within your organization. These competencies should be clearly defined, measurable, and relevant to each position’s responsibilities.
To ensure inclusivity, consider the following:
- Include skills that can be gained through various experiences, not just formal education. This opens up opportunities for individuals from non-traditional backgrounds.
- Avoid overly specific criteria. Overly rigid or narrowly defined skills can exclude candidates who have the potential to excel. For example, requiring proficiency in a particular software might exclude people who have the capability to learn quickly on the job.
- Skills like communication, adaptability, and problem-solving are critical in today’s workplace and can be developed outside of traditional career paths. Recognizing these abilities can help identify high-potential candidates who might otherwise be overlooked.
Step 4: Build Flexibility into the Framework
An inclusive skills framework needs to accommodate a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. Rigid frameworks that only recognize formal education or specific job titles can unintentionally exclude individuals with the skills needed to succeed.
Here are some ways to build flexibility into your framework:
- Allow for varied learning experiences. Recognize skills gained through non-traditional education, such as online courses, apprenticeships, community involvement, or previous life experiences.
- Develop multiple career pathways that allow employees to progress based on their skills and competencies, rather than just their tenure or prior roles.
- Ensure the framework acknowledges employees’ potential to grow and develop new skills. This encourages hiring managers to look beyond the current skillset and consider how a candidate might contribute in the future.
Step 5: Link the Framework to Learning and Development Opportunities
A skills framework should also serve as a foundation for learning and development (L&D) initiatives. Providing employees with the resources and opportunities to develop their skills is essential for both personal growth and organizational success.
To support inclusion, L&D programs should:
- Ensure that all employees, especially those from underrepresented groups, have access to training and development opportunities that align with the skills framework.
- Personalize development plans. Work with employees to create personalized development plans based on the skills they want to build and the career paths they are interested in pursuing.
- Provide mentorship and coaching. Establish mentorship programs that connect employees with leaders who can help guide their development, particularly for individuals from underrepresented groups who may face additional barriers to career progression.
Step 6: Regularly Review and Update the Framework
An inclusive skills framework should evolve as your organization and the external business environment change. Regularly reviewing and updating the framework ensures it remains relevant and inclusive.
Key actions to take include:
- Conducting regular audits. Periodically review your skills framework to ensure it’s still aligned with both business needs and DEI goals. This might involve gathering employee feedback or analyzing promotion and retention data to identify gaps.
- Adjusting for emerging skills. As industries evolve, so do the skills needed to succeed. Stay ahead of trends by incorporating new skills related to technology, management, or industry-specific innovations.
- Ensuring continuous stakeholder engagement. Maintain ongoing dialogue with your stakeholders to ensure their perspectives continue to inform updates to the framework.
Step 7: Communicate and Promote the Framework Across the Organization
The final step in building an inclusive skills framework is making sure it’s well-understood and used across the organization. Transparent communication helps ensure that all employees know how the framework affects their roles, development, and opportunities for advancement.
Key communication strategies include:
- Providing clear guidelines. Make sure managers and employees understand how the skills framework will be used in hiring, performance reviews, and promotions.
- Training managers. Provide training to ensure managers are equipped to use the skills framework in an inclusive and equitable way, free from bias or favoritism.
- Promoting a culture of continuous learning. Encourage employees to view the skills framework as a tool for growth, and emphasize that skill development is an ongoing process that benefits both the individual and the organization.
Building an inclusive skills framework takes time, effort, and thoughtful consideration, but the rewards are substantial. By focusing on skills and competencies rather than traditional credentials, your organization can create more equitable opportunities for all candidates and employees. The end result is a more inclusive, innovative, and high-performing workforce—one where everyone has the chance to succeed based on what they can do, not just where they come from.