Whatever the situation, developing employee skills is of crucial importance for all organizations. And even more in a context of reorganization and economic, technological and environmental developments! A properly defined and well-targeted training policy will enable the company to improve its performance. But also to maintain the motivation of its employees! The challenge then lies in a precise assessment of skills needs to direct employees towards the training that will be most beneficial to them.
No more ordering X days of training in English or office automation for an entire department. At least, not without a precise assessment of the skills development needs within the company. Training must today be precisely adapted to the needs of organizations and each employee. Which requires method.
Training, a performance issue for the company
For HR and training managers, it is therefore a question ofcorrectly assess needs to meet the company's strategic ambitions.
To know :
- mastery of new tools/materials
- new management method
- quality issue
- international development
- transmission of know-how to new generations
- adoption of Agile methods
- development of behavioral skills (soft skills)…
This training policy also allows the company to meet its legal obligations. The labor code provides that the employer must ensure the adaptation of employees to their workstation. It must also ensure that their ability to hold a job is maintained, particularly with regard to the evolution of jobs, technologies and organizations. Without forgetting, of course, the mandatory regulatory training (those aimed at members of the CSE, For example).
It is also necessary to distinguish between what concerns, on the one hand, collective needs and, on the other hand, individual needs. Remember that on an individual level the personal training account (CPF) can be activated at the initiative of the employee. A contribution from the employer is possible.
Ensure skill development
Building a relevant training policy means above all thinking in terms of “skills”. A term that has become, over the years, the key word in training and employment policies. More precisely, it is about measure the gap between current skills and those expected.
In the absence of a precise legal definition, competence is generally assimilated to a combination of knowledge, know-how and interpersonal skills that an employee mobilizes to carry out a task. The training action is now defined as “ an educational path allowingachieve a professional goal ".
Three main tools for targeting skills and training needs
The forward-looking management of jobs and skills (GPEC) and the professional interview make it possible to collect a large part of the collective and individual training needs which will feed into the skills development plan. Details.
1/ Prepare for the future with GPEC
GPEC or GEPP? There management of jobs and career paths (GEPP) has discreetly replaced the notion of GPEC since the Macron orders of 2017. But GPEC has not disappeared. It's even the 1er obligatory theme of the negotiation on the GEPP! Indeed, companies with at least 300 employees, as well as those with a community dimension employing at least 150 employees in France, are required to initiate negotiations on the GEPP every three years. Which must notably relate to the establishment of a GPEC system.
A prospective approach to human resources management
Certainly, a large number of structures are not obliged to open such negotiations. But in an increasingly changing environment, the GEPP/GPEC approach can actually be of interest to all companies. It is in fact a prospective approach to human resources management. The idea is to adapt, in the short and medium term, jobs, staff and skills in order to anticipate and support strategic, economic, technical, organizational developments, etc. that the company must face.
In other words, this HR management tool provides business leaders of all sizes with answers to a major issue:
“How to position the right skills in the right place at the right time
to implement my business strategy? »
Pay particular attention to emerging and risky professions
Preparing well for the future of the company also and above all means paying particular attention to emerging and risky professions. This is the whole point of the diagnosis, an essential prerequisite for the negotiation phase itself. On this occasion, we can classify these professions.
Example of classification
Emerging professions or new professions
Non-existent, in insufficient number or being created within the company
Identified as necessary for the company's strategy and/or the evolution of the context in the more or less long term
Jobs under pressure
Which translates:
- by a particular skill lacking
- by their scarcity on the job market
Jobs in transformation
Concerned by an evolution of skills to adapt:
- to the company's new strategic directions
- to market developments
Sensitive or weakened professions, in decline or even qualified as “threatened professions”
For which the prospects of economic, organizational or technological developments will lead to a probable reduction in staff numbers which may be combined with a significant change in the scope of skills
Based on this diagnosis, the negotiation can lead to a GPEC system which will:
- detail the approaches and actions envisaged to develop employment and skills according to the foreseeable needs of the company;
- capitalize on existing recruitment, training and mobility practices and policies in the company;
- determine priority actions and audiences.
In practice : it is useful to create a GPEC commission (excluding CSE). She will be responsible for designing GPEC action plans and managing their implementation.
[To note]
Companies wishing to develop a forward-looking jobs and skills management plan can benefit from state aid.
In particular, those who voluntarily engage in negotiation (less than 300 employees) can benefit from aid covering 50 % of the costs of designing and developing the GPEC plan (€15,000 maximum).
Ensure the effectiveness of your GPEC system
The success of a GPEC system depends largely on the capacity of the actors, in particular employees and managers, to mobilize it. This is why it is useful to combine the negotiation of incentive support measures, among which training plays a key role.
With regard to training, negotiation can for example define the methods of informing employees and managers about training rights and existing training systems, support systems for employees in their choice of training or the construction of their professional career or even reinforced measures for priority audiences. Concretely, we can agree on team meetings bringing together managers and HR managers. The objective? Discuss the development needs of a team's employees, taking into account anticipated changes in the company's job and skills needs. Such meetings can also be offered to the employees concerned to identify training options with them.
Other possible support measures: CPF contribution, validation of acquired experience (VAE), skills assessment or even measures to support the professional and geographical mobility of employees.
2/ Identify individual needs through professional interviews
Organized at least every two years, theprofessional meeting is a key moment of exchange between the employee and his employer, in the person of the local manager, the N+2, the HR manager or the business manager himself.
On the professional interview program
- Discuss the employee's professional project and their prospects for development, particularly in terms of qualifications and employment.
- Inform the employee about the activation of their CPF and the possibilities for topping up this account.
- Inform the employee about VAE.
This is therefore an opportunity to determine your support and/or training needs, reconciling, as much as possible, the company's strategy and your own aspirations, while ensuring that your employability is maintained. The professional interview results in the drafting of a document, a copy of which is given to the employee.
[To note] This meeting – which must be distinguished from the annual assessment interview – is obligatory in all companies and for all employees. And this, regardless of their employment contract.
3/ Manage training with the skills development plan
Le skills development plan – ex-training plan – constitutes the “dashboard” which brings together all the training actions that an employer wants to implement over a given period. In other words: all training actions aimed at supporting its activity, accompanying its development projects and its strategic orientations. This includes mandatory training necessary for the exercise of an activity or function as well as training actions aimed at adapting to the job, maintaining employability, increasing skills or qualifications. , the transmission of know-how, the fight against illiteracy, etc.
It is established annually based on the orientations and priorities defined by the company, as well as the training needs collected in the field from managers and employees themselves via professional interviews. Not obligatory, it is nevertheless highly beneficial for all businesses. It is an essential factor of performance since it brings consistency between economic strategy and human resources employed.
What implications for HR and training managers?
It is useful, even necessary, to formalize an action plan. Its content may vary depending on the size of the company. The following elements can be included in an action plan.
– Have job descriptions and skills frameworks
Although not obligatory, job descriptions and skills repositories enable qualitative management of human resources and anticipate training needs. They are indeed a valuable aid in assessing the level of skills of employees and taking the necessary measures to adjust it to the needs of the company's strategy. They also make it possible to establish versatility grids with managers to have an overall vision of the level of expertise of different employees.
– Monitor both market developments and possible regulatory changes
– Communicate regularly with management and operational managers on upcoming projects
– Equip yourself with tools to identify needs
Interview management applications make it possible to centralize information relating to employees' training wishes, validated or not by their superiors. Failing this, it will be necessary to work on developing an in-house tool (on a spreadsheet). Apart from professional interviews, it is also possible toconduct internal surveys and, why not, team brainstorming to assess collective training needs in the short term.
– Prioritize training actions
That is to say, establishing priorities based on emergencies, company objectives or even available financing (mutualized funds, among others). It is also interesting tointegrate the CPF into the reflection.
– Establish a retroplan for the skills development plan which will be presented to social partnersx
– Mobilize available aid
SMEs can be supported by their skills operator (OPCO) in analyzing and defining their training needs.
They can also benefit from a human resources consulting service (PCRH), largely covered by public funds. This support, provided by a specialized external service provider, can relate to the forward-looking management of jobs and skills. For example: diagnosis of the company's situation in terms of GPEC, audit of the skills necessary for digital and ecological transitions, development of an employee skills development plan.
To find out more, SMEs can contact their OPCO.
