- If you’re still focusing on gut instincts, outdated job descriptions, or scattered spreadsheets, your talent strategy isn’t just behind the curve — it’s entirely missing the point.
- You don’t need perfection — you need momentum. Becoming a skills-based organization is about taking practical, calculated steps that build clarity and capability over time.
- Standing still is the biggest risk of all. The market, your employees, and AI won’t wait. The path forward starts with making a move from wherever you are.
Here’s my spicy take: if you’re saying you aren’t ready to focus on skills or assuming your job descriptions are accurate reflections of reality, you’re already behind.
The workforce is shifting fast. Skills are evolving faster. And the biggest risk to your talent strategy isn’t making the wrong move — it’s standing still.
We’re past the point where gut instincts, guesswork, and static, siloed spreadsheets just won’t cut it. Not when employees are demanding growth, leaders are asking for agility, and business strategies hinge on workforce capabilities.
If you don’t have a handle on the skills your people have or need, then you’re not just behind the curve — you’re behind
Here’s the good news: you don’t need to leap from total chaos to curated brilliance in an instant. You just need to move — starting from wherever you are.
That’s where the “from chaos to curate” journey that I’ve created comes in. It’s a practical, momentum-building path to get your organization from scattered and reactive to skills-savvy and strategic.
Let’s break it down, including actions to take at each step and signals to watch out for along the way.
In a recent Talent Table conversation, TalentLign CEO and Co-founder Pramukh Jeyathilak shares a key to reframing the skills conversation as a business imperative.
Chaos: Everything’s fuzzy or reactive — a hot mess
This is where many organizations start. No shame — just don’t stay here.
You’re in chaos if:
- You don’t know what skills your employees have or need.
- You’re relying on gut instincts to identify skill gaps.
- Job descriptions, performance expectations, and learning programs all speak different languages.
Your moves:
- Audit what you’ve got. Review job descriptions, development plans, and performance frameworks.
- Ask your people directly about their skills. Surveys, self-assessments, or simple manager conversations are better than silence.
- Inventory your systems. Where does skills data currently live? LMS? ATS? Your ops lead’s memory?
A talent intelligence platform can help you decode this chaos faster by inferring skills from structured and unstructured data. That means pulling insights not just from clean, organized sources in your HCM like employee history, learning data, or your job architecture, but also from messier, harder-to-parse inputs like résumés, project descriptions, performance reviews, or retention reports. Instead of drowning in spreadsheets and text fields, you get a unified, data-driven view of your workforce that updates in real time.
Catalog: Naming the things, consistently
This is where you ditch the guesswork. The goal here is clarity — getting everyone to speak the same language as to what skills actually are.
You’re in catalog if:
- You’ve started using a consistent language to describe skills.
- There’s a competency framework that reflects shared values and expectations.
- Some teams have mapped their key roles to skills, even if it’s on the back of a napkin.
Your moves:
- Define your taxonomy. Choose or build a skills library that aligns with your actual business — not a bunch of generic HR bingo terms.
- Layer in proficiency levels. “Project management” doesn’t mean the same thing for an intern and a director. Spell out the depth and breadth.
- Validate it. Pressure-test your definitions with managers and employees. If it’s not usable in the real world, it’s just noise.
With the help of an agentic AI-powered platform, you get a dynamic skills library that evolves as your business does — no more outdated spreadsheets or static frameworks.
The future is skills-first and HR takes center stage. Here, I set the stage for this full Talent Table conversation, which is available on demand.
Connect: Finding the throughlines, even if they’re blurry
Now we’re weaving it together. This is where you begin to connect roles, skills, and development in a way that actually drives motion — not just more models.
You’re in connect if:
- You’ve been mapping which roles require which skills.
- You’re exploring internal mobility based on transferable skills.
- Enablement programs are starting to reflect role-specific needs.
Your moves:
- Map skills to roles. Use a function, team, or business unit as your pilot — don’t wait for enterprise perfection.
- Tie development to roles. Build learning journeys, mentorship, and stretch assignments around skills building, not just job titles.
Start shifting the culture. Normalize talking about careers in terms of skills — not promotions, ladders, or tenure.
Talent intelligence helps here by revealing the hidden connections between roles and surfacing adjacent opportunities based on skills so people can move forward without getting stuck in old job structures.
Context: Using skill insights to make smart moves
At this point, skills aren’t just tracked — these are actionable.
You’re in context if:
- Skills data is influencing hiring, development, and workforce planning.
- Learning investments are prioritized based on business needs.
- When new strategies launch, skills needs are part of the conversation from day one.
Your moves:
- Create talent marketplaces. Let employees opt into projects or gigs that match their skills goals.
- Integrate skills with growth. Make career paths and promotion conversations skills-based, not tenure-based.
Use skills in workforce planning. Treat talent as capability, not just head count.
AI-powered talent intelligence makes this real by giving you a dynamic, real-time view of skills supply and demand across your organization.
Curate: You’re not just reacting to change — you’re anticipating it
This is the good stuff. Skills are treated as living, breathing assets.
You’re in curate if:
- Skills data is regularly updated based on real-world performance and market shifts.
- Internal mobility, succession, and workforce planning are built on skill intelligence.
- You have visibility into where your skill gaps are — and how to close them.
Your Moves:
- Review your skills maps quarterly. This isn’t a one-and-done exercise.
- Fuel career and mobility conversations with skills insights. Move people before they disengage or exit.
- Forecast future needs. Use industry trend data and internal growth plans to anticipate the next wave of critical skills, and start closing those gaps now.
AI can do the heavy lifting through always-on learning and updating; it also recommends new skills and paths forward for every employee. It meets you where you are and grows with you as your strategy matures.
Final thought: Move, don’t wait.
Here’s the deal: the market won’t pause while you get your skills act together. Employees are watching, executives are asking, and AI isn’t slowing down.
The path from chaos to curated isn’t about perfection — it’s about momentum. Take the next right step, lean into intelligence over instinct, and find a platform that can flex and scale with your goals.
Because standing still? That’s the only move you truly can’t afford.
Ready to learn more about how talent intelligence can help you start moving? Book a demo to learn more.
Rebecca Warren is a Director with our Talent-centered Transformation Team. Before joining Eightfold, she held multiple talent leadership roles with large CPG, agri-biz, restaurant and retail organizations.