In 2021, HSBC, a leading global financial services organization operating in over 60 countries and territories, embarked on a transformative journey to align workforce skills with its long-term strategic goals. The company focused on identifying and nurturing the critical skills needed for future success. With strong support from senior leadership, HSBC has positioned skills as a core focus of personal and professional growth, ensuring its workforce is prepared for future challenges.

Approach and Actions

The alignment of workforce skills with strategic objectives allowed HSBC to take a proactive approach to workforce development. HSBC began its journey by using the Global Skills Taxonomy as the basis of their taxonomy. This common language is enabling HSBC to gain clearer visibility into critical skills, making it easier to map existing capabilities, identify gaps, and prioritize development. Over time, HSBC refined this taxonomy with added specificity to meet unique business needs.

Using skills data, HSBC can monitor skill shifts and proficiency levels across various businesses and markets. These insights allowed the company to personalise learning opportunities, ensuring employees could adapt to changing market demands. This data-driven approach enhances HSBC’s ability to forecast future skill needs, supporting more informed talent and development decisions.

This holistic skills-based approach has prepared HSBC to remain agile and competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Key Lessons Learned

HSBC’s move towards a skills-based approach can be attributed to several critical drivers:

• Executive Buy-In: Senior leadership played an essential role defining future state workforce requirements in the medium-term, providing direction and ensuring alignment with HSBC’s strategic vision.
• Signal the Skills that Matter the Most: Signaling skills that are most important in driving business strategy helps focus development across all levels, driving participation and understanding. Clear communication on upskilling and reskilling opportunities motivates employees to actively engage.
• Data Integration: Multiple data sources are inevitable, and integration is key to leveraging multiple data sources to develop a comprehensive view of workforce capabilities.