Holistic measurement of potential a solution to inequality in the workplace

On the rise of 2021, one would expect that incidents of unfair treatment in the workplace and discriminatory hiring practices would have diminished. However, the current reality not only keeps inequality alive but also perpetuates this phenomenon.

Sounds surprising but overviewing the societal system behind the modern principles of labour yields a familiar story. Next generations are moving towards the hyper-specialization. More and more vacancies require a narrow scope of skills and competencies, creating a vicious circle between demand and supply which is only speeding up.

Hence, you see inequality at its very roots. People from low socioeconomic status or underdeveloped areas lack opportunity due to less impressive school names or professional titles. Older people lack opportunity for the same reasons plus digitalization biases from employers. Women lack opportunity as still some societies prevent them from catching up with years lost due to unfair structures and societal stigmatizing. And finally, young people miss opportunities because they are deeply confused. Increasing professional demands, business environment conditions changing at the speed of light, the institution of higher education questioned widely and a massive case of loneliness, decaying in-person communication abilities topped with a recent year of isolation. These groups, even after getting their foot in the door, are discriminated against in terms of responsibility assignment or salary.

And it’s not a small, or rather, a cheap problem.

$8.5Tn skills gap is forecasted to represent 85m unfilled jobs globally, by 2030, due to a lack of skilled labour. An interesting statistic found in a report by WEC, that 113m job roles that don’t exist today will emerge only by 2022! While leaders are increasingly acknowledging the importance of upskilling and reskilling, company structures often paralyze this ambition. The focus in the current approach to talent assessment and development is universally misplaced.

We preach collaboration is our key value, but we reward individual statistics, hindering the development of trust and group learning. We have proof soft skills like perseverance, confidence or skill of impactful communication are developed majorly over personal experiences and trauma impacts them as well, but we judge someone’s potential by their last official professional title. We hire outside talent to innovate but then let them get burnt by politics and demotivated saying ‘’it’s not how we do things here’’.

Already now, 60% of new managers not only underperform in their first 24 months but develop poor career-long habits during the same time period, report The Ken Blanchard Companies. Chief Learning Officers lack hard evidence and data on the impact of their work and investments on the bottom line especially when approaches such as coaching are involved. And now, with the pandemic budget cuts, it’s even harder to choose between cheaper generic programs and personalized purpose-driven learning.

Let’s change the system from within.

We need to go holistic. That means perceiving the person as a whole, obviously. Our title on LinkedIn is not the whole story. Apart from employees and employers, we are also humans with experiences, emotions, biases, and perspectives that differ vastly. All of these are contributing to our purpose, work performance and simple happiness. Maybe even more than our titles. Why not use it to our benefit and build on it?

Holistic assessment of potential battles inequality by providing a framework that utilizes all of our individual qualities. It looks past professional titles; a high-level degree does not guarantee excellent performance, but adaptability and impactful communication do. By adopting a holistic approach to the workplace, people get opportunities and companies get the right match for the right position.    

Not sure how to implement a holistic assessment concept in your company? Reach out in a direct message to me or @Maria Ampatzidou (a Co-author of this article) for an initial consultation and a detailed explanation of our approach to holistic development.

You can also join our #FutureofTalent Conference this February! See the tickets here: https://bit.ly/3nOCeXH

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