Workforcepotential
Workforce potential is defined as the availability of key skills, knowledge, competency and experience across the workforce. The terms 'competency' and ‘competencies’ focus on the personal attributes or inputs of an individual. They can be defined as the behaviours (and technical attributes where appropriate) that individuals must have, or must acquire, to perform effectively at work.
Common measures
Distribution of qualifications in the workforce: This measure takes into account which employees hold qualifications and where in the organisation these are distributed such as the number of employees with graduate level qualifications.
For example, the number (N) of employees with graduate degree qualification or above.
Technical qualifications: This is a measure of the technical capability available to the organisation for mobilisation.
For example, the ratio of project management trained managers to total number of managers
Further research
Research suggests that 1 in 2 organisations are reporting that skills shortages are having a medium to high impact on meeting clients’ needs. Read the ManPower talent shortage survey 2015 to find out where talent shortages are more sever and what companies are doing (or not doing) to cope with the shortages.
Find the full report here: 2015 Talent Shortage Survey
Resources description
Understanding the competencies held within your organisation is important for planning future talent and leadership requirements and avoid skills shortages that could impact on productivity and business performance. For more information on competencies and implementing competency frameworks, see the CIPD factsheet.
Competence and competency frameworks
For a practical guide on conducting a skills audit to understand your current capabilities, download the CMI checklist.
Conducting a skills audit