38 min listen
21. Muriel Clauson — Skills versus Jobs — Talent Mapping, Mobility, and Management in the Future of Work
21. Muriel Clauson — Skills versus Jobs — Talent Mapping, Mobility, and Management in the Future of Work
ratings:
Length:
54 minutes
Released:
Mar 26, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Muriel Clauson brings a rich background in industrial and organizational psychology and psychometrics to the discussion about the importance of reorienting our employment focus from ‘jobs’ to ‘skills’. As co-Founder of Anthill—which enables adaptive talent management with employee buy-in using talent-mapping software—Muriel explains how we can emphasize people and skills, since talent, not technology, will ultimately determine competitive advantage. KEY TAKEAWAYS [03:32] Muriel started in finance, but soon realized it wasn’t for her. What next? [03:50] With a mentor and determination, she got a job, then did a PhD in industrial and organizational psychology. [04:48] On a NASA program, looking at humanities’ challenges, she missed the connection to work. [05:57] Muriel was asked to fill a keynote spot at short notice. Without experience, she stepped up! [06:45] If you’re passionate about something, tell everyone! [07:27] - How we have typically been cataloguing and defining different occupations—by KSAOs: knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics. [08:40] Instead of thinking about how people can keep their jobs as automation comes to the forefront, what are people bringing to a work experience, starting with skills? [09:40] Using a relationship database with a more understanding of people’s skills and their jobs, the projections on job replacement went down dramatically. [11:25] Muriel wanted to change databases so technologies being created to navigate Future-of-Work changes would be built on top of data organized around skills. [12:29] How executives need to help employees navigate work changes as technology won't be a real differentiator in the future, it will be people. [12:42] Employers over-correct for a gap in skills, training everyone on that skill. [13:50] The perfect world? Where each person understands all they bring to the table, what next steps they could take, where each could lead them, and what their priorities might be [14:32] The 30 year linear “one” career is gone. [15:08] How can companies best track and manage employees’ new non-linear careers? [16:20] Public school systems still use the Strobe Test to assess what job someone should do, although it is most correlated to their parents’ socioeconomic status. [17:51] Muriel helps companies think about the skills their people can bring to the table and develop a strategy and jobs around them. [19:18] People leave companies not because they're disengaged or overworked, but because they don’t see a progression and a future. [20:44] More enterprises are adopting a people-first approach, realizing treating people well is aligned with incentives. [21:03] After a necessary mental shift, how can employers individualize skills’-based solutions at scale? [22:56] What are YOUR skills today? [24:20] Muriel digs into psychometrics to help people identify what their skills are. [26:10] Context for different tests is important in order to understand what they are assessing. [28:28] Using a relational database and much historical data, answering a few questions can generate a good hypothesis which is then refined. [29:29] Sharing test results with employees so they also benefit from insights. [30:59] The importance of establishing a culture of trust at organizations. [32:28] The benefit of asking employees: What skills and interests are you not bringing to the table now that you’d like to use more of? [37:01] The pandemic catalyzed many leaders to change their mindsets, strategies and thinking about work. [39:06] Muriel has been surprised by the shift in executives’ approach to internal talent mobility. [41:10] We do robust modeling for resources and companies, but not talent. [41:55] Employers began to have more empathy—helping employees get the most out of work. [43:00] Imagine employees feeling comfortable enough to say “Hey, I’m not feeling fully leveraged” so they can be moved to a ne
Released:
Mar 26, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
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