Workplace Learning Report

LinkedIn research shows that only 19% of employees are encouraged by their organizations to explore internal role changes. What is often getting in the way is leaders’ fear of losing their top talent without the ability to backfill. Imagine a future where leaders are considered talent builders and they are rewarded for exporting talent to other departments in their organization. Imagine a future where not just managers, but executives sponsor and model internal movement themselves. By unlocking doors for our in-house talent, there’s no limit to the innovation that becomes possible for both our employees and our organizations.

Internal mobility is a great idea for individual companies, but what if we think even bigger? A cross-company (or even cross-industry) talent exchange program with temporary position swaps among employees with comparable functions and tenure levels would accelerate skill-building for all. This initiative, spanning vendor-customer partnerships and collaborations across various sectors, would introduce fresh perspectives, promote an exchange of best practices, and enrich skill sets. Employees would gain a deeper understanding of diverse business environments, contributing to a more dynamic, adaptable workforce.

We need to demolish artificial silos between pipeline development, talent acquisition, learning, and workforce planning. Let’s build one continuous talent-curation cycle with human-centered, market-aligned pathways connecting middle school, high school, and post-secondary learners to quality jobs. Take United Airlines, who faced a pilot shortage; they created Aviate, a training academy with scholarships and hands-on learning intended to diversify their historically white male pilot pipeline. Corporations can — and should — build the talent they need. We all have the power to create something new if we can question and rebuild traditional structures.

Leveraging relationships, identifying strengths and interests, and tapping into personal curiosity are all things that can help employees grow their careers — and fuel retention within your organization. Finding ways to teach employees the skills and capabilities that can help them navigate their career in a self-sustaining way, outside of formal learning moments, will unlock growth for them and growth for your organization.

The org chart has been the way we organize work for over 100 years. What if, instead, we organized the people around the work? Knowing the skills that people have allows organizations to bring in-house talent in as advisors, leaders, or specialists with the skills that are exactly right for a project. With a skills-first mindset, organizations help employees develop skills that are crucial to the organization’s success and interesting and fulfilling to the employees themselves. Internal talent pools become much more adaptable, mobility increases, and there is a natural incentive to develop new skills.