HR Doesn’t Own Work: Here’s Your Game Plan

Too many organizations underestimate the importance of understanding the full scope of work being done. This crucial oversight stems from a fundamental gap: HR doesn’t own the work; this responsibility lies within the business. Traditionally, there has been no way to see what work is actually being done at scale.

Attempts to solve this with job architectures and skills ontologies miss the mark. They overlook the fact that understanding tasks is crucial, as tasks form the core of the work being done and their outcomes. We’ve focused too much on getting visibility of talent without truly understanding the work.

From my personal experience, last year when I was reinventing my workforce, I struggled with just a view of skills. Skills alone did not reveal the work being done, making it difficult to reorganize my workforce or adopt AI. Skills signal that someone could perform a task, but they don’t show what work is being done. Without this insight, it was hard to strategically reorganize the workforce or embrace AI.

People have skills > work has tasks > A Task is a Skill in action

That’s why we updated our Skills Ontology to a Work Ontology, and why it won Product of the Year 2023 by HR Executive. Now, every customer can see their work at a deeper level, including:

• Tasks
• AI or automation potential of the task
• Tasks duplicated in other jobs
• Skills
• Requirements like education or certification
• Time – Fixed/Flex/Gig

It’s crucial that workforces have this intelligence about their business, as it solves workforce challenges and improves the match quality of work to workers. We’ve been so focused on "talent intelligence" that we’ve missed solving the actual problem: getting the work to the right worker.

How do you know what work is getting done in your company?

Siobhan 💜

Resource Roundup

1. The state of AI in early 2024 by McKinsey & Company

💡 Resource Type: Survey

🧠 What You'll Find Inside: The McKinsey report on "The State of AI" provides an in-depth analysis of the current landscape of artificial intelligence. It covers advancements, trends, and applications across industries, highlights how companies are leveraging AI for competitive advantage, and discusses challenges and opportunities in the AI ecosystem.

🔗 Link to Resource

2. How to Build a Talent Strategy That Drives Business Results

💡 Type: Guide

🧠 What You'll Find Inside: Siobhan Savage and Jason Averbook, renowned leaders in workforce optimization and digital transformation, share invaluable knowledge and actionable strategies to unlock the full potential of your talent to achieve your organization's goals.

🔗 Link to Resource

3. Building a Skills-First Organization: The Path to Zero Wasted Potential

💡 Type: Webinar

🧠 What You'll Find Inside: Watch the replay of UNLEASH and workforce futurist and Reejig CEO, Siobhan Savage, to discover realistic pathways that will help you transform your talent and strategic workforce planning from aspirations, spreadsheets and siloed data to a finely tuned AI-powered engine.

🔗 Link to Resource