Cultivating a Culture of Skill Development for MOps Excellence

As marketing budgets for 2025 are finalized, leaders are confronted with an ongoing dilemma: scarcity of resources and an escalating skills gap. In light of the fierce competition for specialized talent, cultivating a culture of training might be the answer. This approach can effectively bridge the essential skills divide and foster sustainable success.

Why talent gaps pose a significant risk to marketing success

Ed Gordon, who penned “Winning the Global Talent Showdown,” noted:

“You can have all the latest technology you want, but if you don’t have the talent behind it, your business is not sustainable.”

According to the 2024 Randstad Enterprise Talent Trends Research report, marketing and creative executives identified their leading obstacles as:

• Heightened competition for elusive skills (34%).
• Increasing shortage of specialized talents (32%).

The skills deficiency poses a significant threat to the viability of organizations globally. The Marketing Week’s 2023 Career and Salary Survey indicates that data analytics presents the largest skills gap within marketing divisions. Additionally, deficiencies in soft skills such as communication and leadership are apparent. The growing skill shortages in marketing reveal that demand is surpassing the supply of qualified professionals.

Explore further: Why your marketing team needs training, not just technology, in the era of AI

Nurturing the right mindset: Cost versus value

Fortunately, skills-based organizations are:

• 79% more likely to deliver a positive work experience for their employees.
• 63% more likely to yield results compared to those lacking a skills-based framework.

Conversely, the inefficiencies caused by having to replace staff members can be substantial. The expense of replacing a single employee can reach up to double their annual salary. On average, a vacant position remains unfilled for over two months. In comparison, investing in training costs around $5,000.

Adopting a skills-based workforce necessitates cooperation throughout the organization—across leadership, management, and staff. Everyone must see that re-skilling and training can lead to successful outcomes. Building a culture centered around skill development is a superior long-term strategy compared to hiring from the limited pool of skilled labor.

Many companies operate on a role-based paradigm, emphasizing job titles and specific duties, with hiring managers favoring qualifications and experience. In contrast, a skills-based approach highlights an individual’s comprehensive skill set, abilities, and aspirations. It assesses how these can be utilized across varying tasks or initiatives to meet the organization’s objectives. By shifting to a skills-first strategy, businesses can prioritize potential over mere qualifications and hard skills.

The advantages of this approach include:

• Increased resilience within the organization.
• Enhanced competitiveness in the industry.
• Improved talent retention rates.
• Boosted profitability and productivity.
• Consolidation of corporate culture.

Nonetheless, breaking through the role-centric mindset often presents the most significant challenge.

Creating a skills-based workforce through upskilling

Currently, only 33% of companies have internal mobility programs. This low figure explains why only 20% of employees feel assured about making lateral moves within their organization, significantly hindering personal development and growth mindset.

Transforming from a role-centric to a skills-centric framework demands considerable effort and resources. Establishing a shared understanding of skills, deploying Learning Management Systems, and offering necessary resources won’t occur instantly. However, there are actions you can take today:

Emphasize on-the-job training

• Allocate time for skill enhancement in annual plans. Clearly define expected training and development time for each role (manager, associate, etc.) and ensure this aligns with your department’s capacity planning.
• Begin with small mentorship initiatives. Offer specialized training opportunities targeting specific skill areas. Focus on a few skills at a time to foster successful change management. Human-machine interaction mechanisms (like prompt engineering training) could serve as effective starting points.
• Investigate budget-friendly personalized learning methods. For instance, LinkedIn Learning has demonstrated positive career advancements for 70% of its users.

Promote a culture of continuous improvement

• Frame skills development as an investment rather than a cost. Cultivate a narrative that highlights the importance of skill development across all organizational tiers.
• Track time dedicated to skill enhancement efforts against planned expectations while sharing progress and achievements with the team.
• Offer employees meaningful opportunities to apply and extend their newly acquired skills. Identify projects or cross-functional teams aligned with the skills they are developing. Encourage them to lead discussions on the skills they’ve gained.
• Evaluate outcomes. Create key performance indicators (KPIs) that demonstrate the impact of new skills on the organization. Metrics such as engagement rates, turnover, skills attained, and promotion rates will aid in future resource planning.

Explore further: Building your generative AI marketing expertise: Training and upskilling

Upskilling: Essential for bridging marketing skills gaps

The harsh truth is that you will seldom receive the staffing levels you request. Even if approvals are granted, the recruitment process may not yield immediate solutions. To achieve objectives, concentrating on nurturing the skills of your existing employees is crucial. The sooner we initiate this support, the faster we will succeed.

It is vital for marketing leaders to engage in identifying the skills you need and evaluating the skills already within your team. Collaborate closely with HR to make sure the unique talent requirements of marketing are recognized and incorporated into retention and recruitment plans.