Closing the Digital Skills Gap – Why SFIA is the Smart Choice

Andy Andrews

A recent study by McKinsey revealed that 87% of executives say they are facing massive skill gaps. According to a Deloitte report, there is a 30% difference in revenue growth between digitally progressed companies and those that have not made much progress with their digital skill initiatives.

A comprehensive digital skills program will provide your organization with what it needs to ensure that your workforce can continue to operate and thrive throughout recruitment, unexpected departures, workforce movements, and planning for the future.

Knowing which skills are critical to the smooth running of the organization, which ones are at risk, and how the organization would most effectively bridge them if the unexpected occurred, is integral to your digital skills strategy. A coherent approach to capturing and measuring workforce skills requires a consistent language to define the skills. This is something that only a well-defined digital skills framework can provide.

What is SFIA and Why Should We Use it?

Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) is a global industry standard for defining professional digital skills. The framework’s wide acceptance makes it ideal for talent management, as skill definitions are consistent in whichever country, region, or organization it is deployed.

1. The wide acceptance of the SFIA skills framework makes it ideal for assessment purposes, as the skills are consistently defined in any country, region, or organization where it has been deployed.
2. The framework structure itself is consistent. Each skill includes a name, a code, a simple description, and levels of attainment. The skill level definitions are demonstrable, action-verb statements that serve as evidence indicators—essential for subjective assessment purposes.
3. Each skill also includes generic level descriptors with consistent attributes, including Autonomy, Influence, Complexity, Knowledge, and, from SFIA version 9.0, business skills and behavioral factors. These attributes are easily understood not only by people working in technology functions, but also by HR professionals who may use them to provide cohesion to their talent management processes.
4. The recruitment industry uses the SFIA framework to develop clear and well-articulated job postings and descriptions, and learning providers use it to map their training catalogs. Organizations using SFIA can enhance their internal and external recruitment processes and identify learning solutions for employee development, making the framework a highly valuable resource.

Utilizing technology platforms such as Lexonis TalentScape will enable your organization optimize its use of SFIA.

The Practical Benefits of Digital Skills Transformation

Before starting a digital skills journey, identifying and clearly articulating the business objectives is critical. Ensuring that the purpose is articulated will help to sustain sponsorship and buy-in for the skills project at an individual and organizational level. It will help to determine whether the purpose of your skills project has been met.

The following list isn’t exhaustive! Here are some of the most common client needs that we come across at Lexonis:

Understanding the Digital Skills That Your Organisation Needs

• Use SFIA to understand which skills the business needs
• Use SFIA to describe the skills of new and future projects
• Incorporate SFIA into resource plans and role descriptions

Identify Critical Recruitment Requirements

• Establish skill requirements for ‘new hires’
• Match candidates to positions based on key skills and required proficiency levels
• Use SFIA to create interview guides so that all parties use the same language to describe skills

 Build the Right Learning Programs for Your Organisation

• Help employees assess their skills and identify their skill gaps
• Map learning assets to SFIA to help employees develop their digital skills
• Show employees their opportunities for growth and development

Develop and Promote From Within the Organization

• Organise SFIA-based job profiles into career streams
• Use SFIA to describe the skills of new and future projects
• Match internal candidates to those future requirements

Conclusion

Building SFIA-based role profiles and job descriptions – including skills that are essential for the job and the level that describes success in the job – will help reduce business risk and increase the chances of attracting, recruiting, developing, and retaining individuals with the optimum mix of skills at the right level.

Getting Started with SFIA

Lexonis’ founders developed the first accredited software for this industry-recognized digital skills framework and have continued to deliver successful SFIA solutions ever since. We are happy to discuss your SFIA requirements, so have a chat with one of our SFIA Accredited Consultants.

Blog Posts

Unleash SFIA Version 9 and Transform Your Digital Skills Management Strategy

Migrating To SFIA Version 9 – Why Bother?

Successful SFIA 9 Implementation: 5 Key Change Management Tips

Webinars

How to Protect Your Organization Against Cyber Attacks by Using SFIA 9 and CIISec

SFIA Foundation Website

SFIA and Skills Management