With the ongoing transformation of the workforce in today’s digital world, human resource leaders are continuously seeking opportunities to modify and evolve their workforce planning practices. The development and implementation of skills taxonomy tools is among the significant driving forces for the change. They help organizations align workforce skills with objectives, ensuring the right skills are available at the right time.
In 2025, the requirement for sophisticated workforce planning solutions is greater than ever. According to a Gartner report, 70% of organizations plan to escalate their use of AI and machine learning in HR practices. Given this scenario, five edge-of-the-art skills taxonomy tools are extraordinary in their ability to reshape the way organizations manage and develop talent.
Learning and Talent Management
Degreed has led the way in skills taxonomy integration with workforce planning. Degreed Skills Framework allows organizations to map some skills to roles and track skill building across teams. In Degreed’s 2024 Skills Index, nearly 60% of organizations reported that talent-based management improved their ability to identify talent gaps. The framework also allows employees to create personalized learning pathways, which assist in filling skill gaps efficiently.
Brenna Hughes, Talent Development Director at a top tech firm, states, “Degreed’s platform has changed the way we do learning and talent development. We can now visualize specifically what skills our teams need to build, and the platform assists in spearheading their growth.”
Data-Driven Insights for Workforce Planning
Gartner’s TalentNeuron solution is also a powerful driver of workforce planning strategy. With the use of labor market information, TalentNeuron provides organizations with actionable insights into demand for skills and skill gaps in real time, allowing them to better understand where skills are deficient. The tool integrates outside data with inside HR numbers, giving companies a larger perspective of the talent pool.
Latest research by Gartner indicates that 45% of HR professionals use external labor market information in order to make more impactful workforce planning. By doing so, organizations are assured they are adequately prepared for future skill demands and prepare for upcoming gaps in advance before it is a critical issue.
Connecting Skills Data Across the Organization
Workday’s Skills Cloud is transforming how companies manage skills data. With its advanced AI capabilities, the cloud provides real-time visibility into skill sets across the entire workforce. This data can then be used for succession planning, internal mobility, and strategic talent development.
75% of companies that employ AI-based skill management tools have seen a 30% increase in internal mobility, according to Workday’s 2025 Workforce Trends report. “Skills Cloud enables companies to connect employees with the proper opportunities and provide them with an opportunity to grow without considering outside resources”, according to Chad Buck, Workday VP of Global Talent Management.
Applying Social Data to Talent Strategy
LinkedIn Talent Insights includes a proprietary skills taxonomy that makes use of professional networks and social data. It aggregates data from millions of LinkedIn members to provide a real-time picture of trends in skills.. This allows HR leaders to tune their workforce planning and identify emerging skills before they become mainstream.
With over 900 million members across the globe, LinkedIn’s enormous database provides us with unparalleled insights. LinkedIn’s 2024 Workforce Report emphasized that companies that leveraged its insights saw a 23% rise in talent retention due to the fact that they applied more targeted recruitment strategies.
Caroline Williams, Talent Strategy Head at an international consulting company, states, “Utilizing LinkedIn Talent Insights has revolutionized our capacity to predict skill demands and strategize our workforce strategy. We don’t merely respond to talent deficits anymore, we anticipate them.”
AI-Powered Skills Mapping for the Future of Work
Machine-learning platforms like Eightfold.ai are breaking open the skills taxonomy front. Eightfold uses deep learning technology to encode and break down employee capacities on a minute-grained basis. This tool is beyond average job descriptions by looking at the potential and unarticulated talents of employees. The platform makes it possible to map internal abilities onto external prospects and thereby strengthen retention and output.
A research by Eightfold.ai showed that companies using their AI-driven skills mapping platform saw a 50% increase in employee retention. According to Ashutosh Garg, CEO of Eightfold.ai, “AI is essential to see the actual potential of a workforce. With our platform, organizations can forecast future talent requirements and upskill employees before skills expire.”
Role of Workforce Planning in 2025
Workforce planning is no longer simply a question of filling empty seats, it’s about building a future-proof workforce. As business landscapes shift quickly due to technology, geopolitics, and changing consumer behavior, organizations must remain agile to address emerging skill needs.
The 2025 workforce will be skills-based, rather than job-based. According to a McKinsey & Company report, 75% of global organizations are moving to skills-based talent management by 2025, prioritizing learning, flexibility, and responsiveness over formal education qualifications.
These skills taxonomy tools are needed in this new world. They provide evidence-based support for smart decision-making, be it for hiring, learning, or development. Organizations that embrace them will be better placed to build a culture of continuous learning, retain their top talent, and build more diverse, high-performing teams.
Embracing Skills Taxonomy for Sustainable Success
As we look in the direction of 2025 and beyond, the world of work is careening toward skills-first at lightspeed. Workforce planning is no longer about filling jobs, it’s about building the right employee capabilities to compete and succeed against an increasingly changing landscape. The product of skills taxonomy tools drives this change, addressing current talent needs and anticipating future capability demands.
By adopting innovative platforms like Degreed, TalentNeuron, Workday Skills Cloud, LinkedIn Talent Insights, and Eightfold.ai, organizations can foster a culture of continuous learning, fuel agility, and build diverse, high-performing teams. These platforms allow organizations to link their talent strategy to long-term business goals so that they remain competitive and resilient in a more uncertain world.
The firms that make these groundbreaking tools their own today are the ones that will create the workforce of the future, one that is skills-oriented, innovative, and responsive. It’s time to make the jump, and the future looks brighter for those prepared to place a bet on the power of skills taxonomy.
FAQs
- What is a skills taxonomy tool, and why is it critical to workforce planning?
A skills taxonomy tool is a platform that organizes and categorizes the skills required for specific jobs within an organization. It assists companies in mapping the skills they possess, determining gaps, and monitoring skill development among their employees.
- How do skills taxonomy tools help employees and not merely employers?
Skills taxonomy tools benefit workers by offering a clearer view of the skills needed to advance in their roles and careers. These platforms offer tailored learning paths, helping employees master in-demand skills and align career development with organizational goals. Further, they enhance internal mobility, providing employees with the chance to move into new positions within the organization.
- How do AI-based skills taxonomy solutions enhance workforce planning?
AI-based skills taxonomy solutions, like those from Eightfold.ai, use deep learning algorithms to map and quantify employee skills in greater detail than other methods. AI-based skills taxonomy solutions monitor current skills and predict future skill needs based on emerging trends and business goals.
- What is the role of external data sources in skills taxonomy tools for workforce planning?
External data sources, such as labor market trends and benchmarking against competitors, are important for maximizing the performance of skills taxonomy tools. Applications like Gartner’s TalentNeuron combine external data with internal HR metrics to provide a comprehensive view of the talent landscape.
- What are the benefits of small and mid-sized companies adopting skills taxonomy tools?
Small and mid-sized companies (SMBs) can benefit greatly by enhancing their talent management practices without having a big HR team. These solutions enable SMBs to determine key skills, automate recruitment processes, and execute more effective learning and development initiatives.
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