There are things the company needs to do. Those things are activities. Those activities convert to tasks. Previously, those tasks probably were grouped together into a set of responsibilities. We called that a role and drew a box around it. Now, we’re questioning all the tasks and asking what skills we need to feel confident that a person can accomplish the task. That’s matching task to skill. That’s the first design choice.
Then, we ask questions: Are we being too conservative? Are we being thoughtful enough about alternative skills, adjacent skills? Can we train for those? What part do we have to bring in, and what part can they learn on the job? This exploration gives us the opportunity to really broaden out. We need to question our assumptions. Many organizations don’t do that.
Author: Bill Schaninger
Source: McKinsey Quarterly
Subjects: Human Resources, Organizational Behavior
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