Exacerbated by COVID-19, the war for talent is more intense than ever. According to Everest Group, the only way enterprises can build the necessary skill base to remain competitive is to realign employee skills with emerging business needs and provide employees with opportunities for personal growth.
Easier said than done, but Everest Group has identified five best-in-class Global Business Services (GBS) organizations that are leading the way.
These Pinnacle GBS organizations have generated three times more cost savings and return on investment (ROI) through their skilling initiatives compared to other GBS organizations.
Everest Group defines skilling efforts as post-onboarding interventions focused on improving employees’ skills and competencies to better deliver existing work and/or to deliver more complex or new work. The mode of intervention can range from self-learning to classroom-based training and beyond, including job rotation and cross-functional assignments.
Pinnacle GBS organizations have been able to achieve significant business impact by effectively driving their skilling initiatives, as differentiated by capabilities and characteristics such as the following:
- A dedicated skilling team focused on GBS skilling.
- Commitment and participation from the GBS organization and enterprise senior leadership.
- Active collaboration with business units on all aspects of the skilling journey (such as funding, program design, skill gap assessment, and content creation and delivery).
- Periodic assessments of the existing skill inventory and gaps against a standardized skill taxonomy. The study also reveals key skill gaps that GBS organizations are facing.
- Incentives and career-developing motivators for employees, such as accelerated career paths and internal mobility.
- Use of technology and ecosystem partners as accelerators for skilling programs and to improve the employee experience.
Among those GBS organizations that track cost reduction impacts of skilling initiatives, the contrast among outcomes is significant:
- ROI on skilling spend: 15-20% for Pinnacle GBS organizations compared to 3-5% for others
- Reduction in operating costs: 13-18% for Pinnacle GBS organizations compared to 4-6% for others
- Reduction in hiring costs: 9-13% for Pinnacle GBS organizations compared to 4-6% for others
“The firms we’ve identified as Pinnacle GBS organizations have created unique positions and developed scaled skilling programs to help the overall enterprise. They are developing their GBS organizations into global talent hubs,” said Sakshi Garg, vice president at Everest Group.
She added that in the current Pinnacle Model analysis, Everest looked at skilling strategies that GBS organizations have adopted and highlight those organizations that have achieved superior business outcomes.
“The journeys of these best-of-the-best companies provide insights into the key enablers needed to achieve desired outcomes and point to the investments required for the greatest speed to impact. Whether companies want to make incremental changes or achieve major transformations, Pinnacle GBS organizations exemplify the way to success,” she concluded.
