As a modern HR leader, your role goes beyond managing employee performance or planning training sessions. You stand at the forefront of shaping the future workforce by aligning skills growth with business strategy — a crucial task in today’s rapidly changing environment.
We invited David Perring, chief insights officer at Fosway Group, and Yasar Ahmad, global vice president of people at HelloFresh, to join us for a webinar, The Future of HR: Merging Skills Growth With Performance Excellence, facilitated by Betterworks’ head of growth in EMEA, Amy Culverhouse. David and Yasar shared how they see skills development transforming organizations and driving performance.
Their insights offer a practical roadmap for HR leaders who are ready to evolve their approach to talent and performance management — to foster a culture where skills development is woven into daily work, empowering managers and employees alike to grow and adapt as they build toward the future of work.
Pursue a skills-based approach to reinvention
Today’s business environment is less predictable and more volatile than ever before. The rapid rise of technologies like AI, evolving consumer expectations, and new ways of working, such as remote and hybrid models, put more and more pressure on businesses to continuously adapt.
“Organizations increasingly need to reinvent themselves to survive and thrive in the modern environment,” David said. To navigate the constant reinvention your business faces today, you need to prioritize skill development. Investing in skills prepares your employees to drive innovation and growth in an ever-shifting landscape.
For HR leaders, this means starting with clear milestones and mapping out the skills your organization currently has and those you’ll need. At the outset, this process can seem overwhelming. “You have to present it as milestones,” Yasar said. “What is my end goal? Walk backward and understand what the milestones are.”
Rather than overloading your teams with a massive overhaul, break the process into manageable steps, identifying gaps in talent and aligning job families with your long-term goals. “Reinvention isn’t a one-time effort,” Yasar said. “It’s a constant effort — and skills are the building blocks of reinvention.”
Empower managers to take the lead in skills development
Managers play a critical role in fostering a skills-based culture, yet many organizations still rely too heavily on employees to drive their own learning — something that Yasar believes simply isn’t working. “Employee-led learning, for me, is a bit lazy,” Yasar said. “And so how do you get managers to help that, and how do you make them architects of skills-building?”
Instead of pressuring employees to identify where and how they need to grow, give managers the tools and time they need to take responsibility for their team’s growth. Regular performance check-ins between managers and employees provide the perfect opportunity to open up conversations about skills. “Put the onus on managers to energize their people and excite them about the future and the skills they need to develop,” David said, “as part of that performance conversation.”
At HelloFresh, Yasar and his team have implemented a manager-led model that emphasizes structured learning through internal “academies.” This approach allows managers to guide employees in developing skills aligned with future business goals. Consider developing similar frameworks within your organization where managers act as architects of learning, ensuring the workforce is prepared for both current and future challenges.
Future-proof your organization with skills data
To future-proof your organization, it’s crucial to align skills development with both immediate and long-term business goals. Yasar emphasizes the role of managers in this process: “We want to empower the manager to build the skills for tomorrow, but they also need to have a very invested interest in the growth of the company,” he said.
This means managers can’t just focus on their immediate tasks. “Just as a manager, you should understand the business consequences of our strategy so that you can then plan for that, not just [stay] in your little bubble,” Yasar said.
This alignment between skills and strategy benefits not only the organization but also individual employees. “It’s almost future-proofing the individual as much as it is future-proofing the organization,” David said.
In today’s dynamic environment, building skills is about more than just career progression — it’s about staying relevant and effective. “We always talk about employability more than career paths,” David said, “because in this dynamic environment, it’s hard to guarantee a career path — but you can help people build their employability.”
By focusing on skills data, you create a win-win: a workforce that’s ready for whatever the future brings and employees who are adaptable and resilient.
Want to learn more? Watch the full webinar on demand and download our research on the state of skills today.
Merge Skills Growth With Performance Excellence
