One of the speakers was Emma Connolly, Talent and Organisational Development Director at the Confederation of British Industry. CBI has been using Greenbeam to build a clearer understanding of the capabilities its organisation requires, the capability of its people today, and the priorities, programs and people processes needed to support future growth.
Here are some of Emma’s top insights from the discussion.
We are seeing a clear shift towards skills and capabilities as the foundation for workforce planning in the UK. Skills England’s latest data suggests demand for key occupations could grow by nearly 25% over the next decade. We also have a clear direction of travel laid out by the UK government through the Industrial Strategy, which sets out the priority sectors for skills growth and the scale of future skills gaps.
I would assess the pace of change at the moment as uneven. Larger organisations are further ahead, while many are still building the capability to tackle this. We do have robust data on current skills, and where to reskill, so this no longer feels like a theoretical exercise.
That said, the decision to go down the skills and capability route depends very much on individual circumstances, your level of executive sponsorship, and the resources available to deliver a program of change.
As a membership and advocacy organisation, we are very active at the CBI in the national debate on skills, so it felt important that we apply the same thinking internally.
For us, implementing a strategic skills framework is not just a “people” initiative. It was driven by our broader three-year organisational transformation program.
We needed to answer three very practical questions.
First, what skills do we need as AI and technology reshape how we operate, and as new competitors enter the marketplace using AI in ways we have not even considered yet?
Second, do we have the right mix of capabilities to deliver more innovative products and services, create greater impact for our members, and amplify our voice?
Third, how do we move away from defining roles by tasks, and instead define roles and assess individuals based on capability and development?
So for us, skills are not just about workforce planning. They are becoming the backbone of how we define roles, performance and growth.
I mentioned earlier some of the strategic drivers, but the business case for us was much broader than that.
We are anticipating creating value not just at an organisational level, but very directly for our people.
It is a priority for me, and my ExCo colleagues, that this creates a better experience for our employees.
That means not only building a clearer picture of people’s current skills and potential, but using that insight to meaningfully improve how our core people processes work.
In practice, this means we are linking the capability framework to three key areas.
First, progression and promotion decisions. Are individuals meeting or exceeding the skills capability level for their role? Are they ready to progress?
Second, career pathways and internal mobility. What skills do we have that are transferable, and where can colleagues move between teams? Our most successful Directors have grown up through the CBI and done a breadth of roles.
Third, how we make investment decisions in learning and development, both for role-specific capability and future strategic skills.
The diagnostic and framework will give us a more granular view of our skills. It is also dynamic, and can be refreshed and updated regularly. This will help drive continuous improvement of our employee experience.
The framework will also strengthen line manager capability, giving managers much better tools to have high-quality performance and development conversations.
We have never had really strong data and quantitative evidence to inform our people strategy, so this will be transformational for us.
Firstly, an emphatic yes. Just do it.
We are only just coming to the end of our pilot, but what I have already learned about our organisation, and about the broader skills agenda, is genuinely transformative.
But I would offer three practical reflections for anyone starting this journey.
First, do not underestimate the scale.
This is a significant piece of work. It requires time, resource, and really strong upfront planning, particularly to understand your current roles, structures, and where capability sits today.
Second, expect challenge.
You will need a clear rationale for what you are doing and why. I have been surprised by the level of scrutiny and pushback, even at senior levels.
Some of that comes from genuine concern, with people worrying about hidden agendas around cost or role changes, so you have to invest time in building understanding and trust.
Third, stay open and curious.
One of the biggest insights for me has been how easy it is to default to the obvious when defining skills.
But when you really interrogate what roles need to do now, and in the future, you often land somewhere quite different.
So overall: absolutely do it. But go in with clarity, resilience, and a real willingness to challenge your own assumptions.
Want to build a clearer picture of workforce capability and future skills needs? Explore how Greenbeam's capability framework can help organisations align skills, workforce planning and talent development.
