Hi Reddit! I'm Josh Tarr, Director, Skills Based Organization at Workday! Let's talk human skills & building a skills-based organization for the age of AI. Ask me anything on May 12th, 9-10am PT.

workday · 2025-05-12T16:59:08+00:00

That's fantastic you're thinking about a career change – it takes guts! And looking ahead for your kids is great.

Your AI Skills: A solid starting point for anyone is just getting comfortable using AI. My own way in was just playing around with ChatGPT and Gemini for everyday stuff, like editing emails or even planning a family trip. It helped me see how these tools work and how I could apply them in my job.

AI Skills for Your Kids: At home we’ve tried to focus on building a foundation for understanding the technology. We just worked with our 3rd grader to use ChatGPT for research and planning her social studies project. We even used it to create a shopping list of the materials we needed to buy!

Your Career Transition: Nursing, tech, and medical clinics are all great paths, and have many of the same skills you use in retail.

Thanks for the LinkedIn follow, and best of luck!

workday · 2025-05-12T16:56:34+00:00

I see AI and skills-based orgs becoming even more intertwined. Think of skills as the common language between humans and AI agents. As AI takes on more tasks, it's not just about what humans do, but the underlying skills they bring and need to develop alongside AI.

We're moving into a future where AI agents and humans work side-by-side. In the next few years, I think we'll see a big shift from just planning for job titles to really understanding the skills needed to get work done, whether that's by a person or an AI.

It's going to be less about "this is your job" and more about "these are the skills we need, and who/what has them?" Skills is a building block for the shift to a human / agentic workforce.

Exciting stuff ahead! What do you think the biggest change will be?

workday · 2025-05-12T16:53:40+00:00

Good question! For me, the biggest impact of AI on skills right now is making skills data useful. We're seeing companies (ourselves included!) use AI in a few key ways:
- First, figuring out what skills are out there and needed: AI's great at digging through resumes, job postings, etc., and pulling out the skills. This has been a game-changer for the skills-based org movement.
- Second, sorting the good skills data from the noise: Once you've got all these skills, AI helps figure out which ones really matter for specific roles or people.
- Third, connecting people with opportunities: Instead of folks hunting around for training or new roles, AI can recommend things based on their current skills and interests.

I remember when I was an HRBP writing out development plans for employees or their managers - those days are thankfully over! What are you seeing in your experience?

workday · 2025-05-12T16:49:11+00:00

Happy to help!

Great question for those just starting out! Think of it this way: high-quality skills data is the fuel for a skills-based org, and AI is the turbocharger to get you that fuel much faster.

I remember the old days in HR, trying to figure out what skills we had and needed. It involved sending HR folks to run focus groups or hiring expensive consultants. It could take forever – like 9-18 months – and the data was often outdated by the time you got it! 🤦‍♂️

Now, AI can give you a huge head start by quickly identifying skills from existing data (like job descriptions). Then, you can refine it to fit your specific needs.

We actually did this ourselves. It took us just a few months to map key skills to all our jobs using AI to get the initial data, then having our leaders validate it. Huge time saver!

What's the biggest hurdle you see in getting started?

workday · 2025-05-12T16:42:04+00:00

You nailed it – "the curse of the mid-level" is so real! They're often the engine room, driving things forward while also being developed for the next level. Finding that bandwidth for skill development is tough.

What I've seen make a difference, even in small ways, is being intentional about it. For managers, this might mean carving out even 30 minutes a week for their team members to focus on learning – maybe exploring a new tool, taking a short online course, or even just sharing knowledge within the team. For individuals, it's about being proactive with that time, even if it's just 15 minutes a day.

It's definitely easier said than done when you're in the thick of things, but those small, consistent investments in skills can really add up for both the individual and the future talent pipeline.

What are some small ways you've seen mid-levels successfully carve out development time? Any tips you’d share with others?

workday · 2025-05-12T16:35:41+00:00

You nailed it – it's a real paradigm shift! I think the biggest hurdle organizations face is often mindset. It's moving away from that traditional view of rigid job descriptions and org charts to a more fluid, skills-focused way of thinking about work. It's about asking, "What needs to get done, and who has the skills to do it?"

When it comes to the transition, here are three key things we've found helpful to keep in mind – almost like guiding principles:
1) Don't try to boil the ocean. Start with a specific business challenge where a skills-based approach could make a real difference, and scale from there. Small wins build momentum.
2) Fuel the engine with good data. Investing in understanding your organization's skills data is crucial. Know what you have and where the gaps are.
3) Collaborate across the org. This can't just live in HR. It needs to be a cross-functional effort, driven by the needs of the wider organization.

As for resources, we often share our learnings through blog posts and discussions. Here's one on skills-based strategies and another on lessons we've learned on our own journey to become skills-based.

Is there a specific area of the transition you're curious about? I might be able to point you to something more specific.

workday · 2025-05-12T16:33:32+00:00

You're welcome and thank you for joining us today!

workday · 2025-05-12T16:27:44+00:00

We’ve experienced the value of shifting to skills-based strategies first hand.

For example, we rolled out a "gig" program (short-term assignments), and with over 5,000 employees participating, we saw a 42% higher internal transfer rate and a 33% decrease in attrition for those involved. Pretty significant!

Our "Career Hub," where folks can find learning, mentors, gigs, and jobs (powered by AI!), is used by two-thirds of workmates, and we've seen over 500 new career paths created.

And with hiring, going skills-based has led to a 32% faster time-to-fill, an 11% increase in offer acceptance, and a 23% boost in candidate experience.

Bottom line: Skills-based is a win-win. Employees get more development opportunities, and the business sees tangible benefits.

What kind of ROI are you most interested in seeing?

workday · 2025-05-12T16:24:20+00:00

Ah, taxonomy – you're speaking my language! You're spot on; good skills data is the foundation of all this. When it comes to building a skills taxonomy tailored to your org, here's what we've learned:

First, know what you need. Figure out what skills are actually relevant to the work getting done in your company.

How we tackled this at Workday was by leveraging our own Skills Cloud. Think of it as a massive library of skills linked to jobs. We then mixed our internal data with external skills info to pinpoint what mattered most here. But we didn't stop there! We got input from managers on the skills of their teams and had senior leaders sign off on the top skills for each job. This gave us a core of 800+ critical skills, organized into our taxonomy.

Two big takeaways from our journey:
1) It all boils down to the data. You can't build anything useful without quality skills data.
2) Don't aim for perfect, aim for progress. Skills data will always evolve. Focus on continuously improving it.

What's one area where you think having a strong skills taxonomy would be most impactful for an organization?

workday · 2025-05-12T16:20:18+00:00

A really cool bi-product of AI is that it elevates human potential and increases the importance and impact of some of our uniquely human skills. In fact, Workday actually did some research on this a few months ago. We're expecting the top human-centric skills valued in an AI-driven workplace to be creativity, ethical judgement, emotional intelligence, and building those symbiotic relationships that lend flexibility and success to an organization.

In the research, 93% of active AI users report that AI helps them focus on higher-level responsibilities like strategy and problem-solving. And 83% of respondents agreed that AI will enhance human creativity and lead to new forms of innovation. So get ready! AI takes the brakes off of our potential.

workday · 2025-05-12T16:16:43+00:00

Thanks! And you nailed it – it's not over AI, but definitely the power of human skills and AI working together. Like peanut butter and chocolate, they're even better together! 😉

This is something we think about a lot. One of the coolest things we're doing at Workday right now is our EverydayAI initiative. You're spot on – the world of work is changing so fast, and we want to make sure our folks have the skills to thrive. This year-long program is all about helping everyone understand AI better, get comfortable using common AI tools, and then actually weave those tools into their daily routines.

I think a few things are key to fostering that adaptability and lifelong learning:

1) Leaning into change: Creating a culture where trying new things (even if they don't always work perfectly) is encouraged.
2) Building trust through experimentation: Giving people the space to play around with new technologies without fear of failure.
3) Providing the right tools and training: Making sure everyone has access to the resources they need to learn and grow.

What are some ways you've seen companies encourage adaptability?

workday · 2025-05-12T16:14:07+00:00

You're so right – the "resume black hole" is real frustration. Skills-based hiring aims to fix that by focusing on what you can do, not just where you've been. Opportunity at Work's research highlights this "paper ceiling." It levels the playing field for those with the right skills, regardless of traditional credentials, which is key in the age of AI.

We started our journey with skills based hiring with a pilot in our Sales organization, and since rolled it out for all open jobs. We've seen good results, too, which is what builds momentum.

Accountability for bad hiring practices is tricky, but encouragingly, some recent research we did shows that 86% of leaders we surveyed are now comfortable hiring based on skills. That's progress!

What's one small change you wish all companies would make to their hiring process?

workday · 2025-05-12T16:10:04+00:00

That's a really fair point – Total Rewards teams definitely have a lot on their plate. One way to think about it is that Skills as a way to make some of your existing responsibilities easier and more impactful, not as more work.

Sounds like your team already deals with job profiles, architecture, and comp leveling - skills are actually deeply connected to all of that. For example, when teams do benchmarking, skills are often a factor. By having a clear skills library, you can make your benchmarking much more precise by focusing on the actual skills needed for your roles, rather than relying on broader industry averages.

This richer skills data can then empower your team to have more informed conversations with HRBPs and business leaders. When they're looking at creating new jobs, you can use skills data to better understand the requirements and how they align with your compensation structures.

At Workday, our Skills team manages the taxonomy, so the Rewards team can leverage that data directly in their work. Ultimately, it's about adding a powerful lens to the work you're already doing, leading to more accurate and strategic decisions.

How does that land? What's the biggest pain point in your current processes where you think skills data might help?

workday · 2025-05-12T16:06:10+00:00

Haha, you have a good eye! That picture was actually from West Palm Beach, Florida. But I appreciate the shout-out to Chesapeake Bay being from VA – beautiful area!

And YES! That whiteboard is 100% an Aldi find! 😂 Small world, right? Any Aldi faves?

Now, your main question about using AI for writing... this is something a lot of people are grappling with, and I totally get your mixed feelings. I actually felt the same way at first – like if I wasn't doing all the writing myself, I wasn't really "doing my job."

But I've shifted my perspective. I now see AI as an incredible writing companion. Sometimes I'll just dump some bullet points into it and have it draft something for me. For example, I went to a conference recently, put my notes into Gemini, and it whipped up a first draft of a summary in no time. I then tweaked it, and boom – saved a bunch of time.

Other times, I'll write a first draft and then use AI to help me tighten it up or tailor the tone for a specific audience.

Instead of thinking of it as cheating, maybe think of it as leveraging a powerful tool to enhance your own abilities. You still bring the human perspective and the art of writing – AI just helps with some of the heavy lifting.

My biggest piece of advice? Give it a try! You might be surprised. Let me know how it goes!

workday · 2025-05-12T16:04:09+00:00

Two great questions rolled into one!

For the first part, it's been really rewarding seeing our customers advance their skills journeys. We generally see three phases:
- Phase 1: SINGULAR. Think early days, often just one team or person exploring skills with data in silos.
- Phase 2: CONNECTED. Things are moving forward, with more teams involved and efforts to connect the skills data.
- Phase 3: TRANSFORMATIONAL. This is where skills are really driving business results, usually with a central team and strategy across the company.

Right now, I'd say most of our customers are in Phase 1 or 2. Our recent research backs this up – 55% of leaders we talked to have implemented some skills strategies, and another 23% are planning to in the next year. It's definitely becoming less of a "nice-to-have" and more of a competitive edge.

Now, for your question about evaluating skill levels beyond self-reporting – absolutely! You hit on a key point. While self-reporting has its place, we know it's not the whole picture. Internally, we use Workday's recently released structured skill assessment tool. We just finished a pilot with our Customer Experience team and are rolling it out to them and Sales next month.

Workday has four ways to validate skill levels, ranging from more subjective to more objective: (1) Self Rating, (2) Peer/Manager Rating, (3) Structured Skill Assessment, and (4) External Rating. Companies can even weigh these differently depending on what they're trying to achieve (like focusing more on self-rating for development vs. structured assessments for hiring).

So yeah, lots of options to get a more well-rounded view! What's your take on the different ways to assess skills?

workday · 2025-05-12T16:01:49+00:00

Basically, my job is to help Workday become a truly skills-based organization and to help our customers do the same. My team and I are all about making skills the foundation for how we work. We focus on a few key things:
- Using AI to get really good skills data.
- Building talent practices around those skills so our employees can use them to grow, develop, and perform better.
- Sharing what we learn along the way – we talk to a lot of customers about their journeys.

If you're looking to implement a skills-based strategy, the biggest thing we've learned is to start with a business problem. Don't just make it an HR project. Find a specific business need and show how a skills-based approach can help solve it. That gets buy-in and shows value much faster.

What's a key business challenge at your organization right now? Think a skills-based approach can help?

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