1.
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WEBINAR | Feb 2020
SKILLS
The Currency of the
Future of Work
David Blake
Executive Chairman| Degreed
Coauthor | The Expertise Economy

2.
Imagine a documentary about
what your team is accomplishing
six months from now. What specific
results do you see? How is the work
different from today? Now think
about the skills needed to make the
images in the movie become reality.
NETFLIX former Chief Talent Officer, Patty McCord
Harvard Business Review, How Netflix reinvented HR, 2/20141

3.
USS Gabrielle GiffordsJerry Useem | The Atlantic2

4.
3
Skills vs Titles / Roles

5.
+
4
An Allegory: Trains vs Uber

6.
5

7.
6

8.
7

9.
8
Dozens of standard paths to
billions of unique pathways

10.
PwC, 22nd CEO survey, 2/2019
Lack of skills is already
hurting your business
9
8-in-10CEOs say LACK OF KEY SKILLS
is a serious threat to their
company’s growth. 44%
44%
47%
52%
55% We are not able to
innovate effectively
Our quality or customer
experience are impacted
We are unable to pursue a
market opportunity
Our people costs are rising
more than expected
We are missing our
growth targets

11.
+
General Motors is laying off 14,000 people as it refocuses its business on
autonomous and electric vehicles. CEO Mary Barra says the
restructuring is necessary “to ensure we have the right skill-sets to win
today and in the future.” GM expects restructuring charges of $1B+.
+
10
Do you have the skills to
innovate?

12.
Do you have the skills to
reinvent?
Kraft-Heinz learned to squeeze efficiency
from its operations, but neglected the skills
to appeal to retailers and consumers —
innovation, marketing and merchandising.
Meanwhile, sales are down by $229M+, and
forecasts for future profits dipped 25%.
11 Knowledge@Wharton, Can Kraft-Heinz catch up with its changing market?, 3/209; S&P Capital IQ, Company report, 11/2019

13.
+
SAP is laying off 4,400 people as it repositions for AI, IoT, blockchain and
quantum computing. CEO Bill McDermott says SAP is “getting the
necessary skills on top of the growth opportunities… optimizing our
workforce.” SAP expects restructuring charges of €800M+.
+
Do you have the skills to
seize opportunity?
12

14.
54% of companies have no
programs in place to build the
skills of the future. Only 18%
give employees the ability to
actively develop themselves…
DELOITTE Human Capital Trends
Deloitte, Human Capital Trends 2018: From careers to experiences, 2/201813

15.
Building capabilities is everyone’s job,
not just HR’s or L&D’s
Degreed + Harvard Business Publishing, How the workforce learns, 10/2019
Q: Which of the following did you consult for guidance or recommendations when you needed to learn something for your job or to career last year?
14
18%
26%
37%
33%
44%
45%
62%
53%
65% Specific websites (e.g. YouTube, Harvard Business Review...)
Internet search engines (e.g. Google, Bing…)
My professional network
My manager or mentor
My team or peers inside my company
My company's learning systems or portal
Online social networks or communities (e.g. Twitter, LinkedIn...)
My company's HR, Training or learning team
My company's social or messaging tools (e.g. intranet, Yammer, Slack…)
Individual
workers
Managers
and peers
HR and L&D
teams

16.
Today’s workforce develops
themselves for tomorrow
Degreed + Harvard Business Publishing, How the workforce learns, 10/2019
Who we asked
We surveyed 772 people
in Q1 2019 to understand
their learning habits and
what they value. None
work in L&D, talent or
leadership development.
Where they live
43% work in North
America,31% work in
Europe, the Middle East
or Africa, 20% work in
Asia or Australia, and 6%
work in Latin America.
What they do
21% are front line
workers,34% manage a
team, 36% lead a function
or business unit, and 9%
are C-suite executives.
Where they work
65% work in organizations
with 10,000+ employees, 35%
in ones with 1,000 to 9,999.
None are in organizations
with <1,000 people.
15

17.
People want guidance — but they’re not getting it
Q: What are your biggest obstacles to job-related learning or professional development?
Degreed + Harvard Business Publishing, How the Workforce Learns, 4/201916
0%
11%
14%
19%
20%
22%
30%
30%
43% I don't have (or make) the time to learn
Lack of guidance or direction in learning
My company doesn't recognize or reward learning
My manager doesn't encourage or enable learning
I am overwhelmed by too many choices
The learning at work is not engaging
The learning at work is not relevant
I don't know where to find learning opportunities at work
I am not interested in learning more
16

18.
Managers don’t provide consistent guidance or support
Q: Which of the following did your manager do to support your professional and career development last year?
Degreed + Harvard Business Publishing, How the Workforce Learns, 4/201917
17%
20%
31%
38%
39%
63%Held an annual performance review
Gave regular feedback on performance or skills
Conducted periodic check-ins
Offered projects or other development opportunities
Recommended learning resources or experiences
Helped create a plan or set goals for developing skills
17

19.
Tiffany & Co., Q1 2019 earnings call
The Skills Tiffany & Co.
plans to grow
18
BUILDING BRAND
RELEVANCE
BRING NEWNESS TO THE
PRODUCT RANGE
NEW ONLINE AND IN STORE
SHOPPING EXPERIENCES
BETTER CLIENTELING AND
CUSTOMER SERVICE
FOCUS ON KEY MARKETS
WITH COST DISCIPLINE
CREATE AN AGILE,
ALIGNED ORGANIZATION
social media marketing
rapid prototyping engineering
coaching
data science
experiential marketing
customer focus
supply chain management
process automation store leadershippeople analytics
DO YOU HAVE THE SKILLS YOU NEED?
storytellingcuriosity risk management

20.
Amazon, Upskilling 2025: About our changing workforce, 7/201919
An inventory of how Amazon’s
workforce is evolving highlighted
growing demand for skills in everything
from logistics, robotics, and cloud
technology to user experience design,
marketing, and HR.

21.
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Medium, Scaling Airbnb with Brian Chesky, 11/2015
If you think you know
everything, you can’t scale.
AIRBNB Co-founder and CEO, Brian Chesky
20

22.
every day every week every month every quarter less often
The Consumerization of Enterprise
Degreed + Harvard Business Publishing, How the workforce learns, 10/2019
Q: How often do you undertake the following learning activities? Ranked by weighted averages.
21
Search
Articles
Videos
Books
Podcasts
Mobile apps
Feedback from team or peers
Coaching from managers or mentors
Professional networks or meetings
Online courses (at work)
Online courses (on my own) Live classes (on my own)
Live classes (at work)
Conferences or seminars
Certificate or
certification
programs
Intheflow
ofwork
Outsidethe
flowofwork
50% 90%
used last year to
develop my skills
Social networks Webinars and webcasts

23.
The Future Organization, Unilever’s Chief Learning Officer on how to foster curiosity and a hunger to learn, 7/201822
At Unilever, individuals are
responsible for their own learning,
but line managers are responsible
for supporting them to build the
capabilities they need. Company’s
job is to create the learning culture.

24.
The workforce knows what’s in it for them
Q: How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Degreed + Harvard Business Publishing, How the Workforce Learns, 4/201923
AGREEDISAGREE NEITHER
39%
21%
8%
7%
5%
21%
14%
10%
8%
5%
40%
66%
82%
85%
90%
I know what skills I need to perform
better in my current role
I know where I have skills gaps today
I know what skills I need to advance
my career
My manager knows what skills I have
My manager helps me understand what
skills I need to advance my career
23

25.
The workforce chooses how they learn
Q: Which of the following activities have you undertaken at least once in the past year for learning?
Degreed + Harvard Business Publishing, How the Workforce Learns, 4/201924
86%
79%
63% 59% 58%
53% 52%
47% 45% 44% 43%
36%
31%
25% 25%
24

26.
The workforce wants guidance on what to learn
Q: Which of the following would be most helpful in making your learning more relevant to your job or career goals?
Degreed + Harvard Business Publishing, How the Workforce Learns, 4/201925
3%
3%
8%
14%
17%
17%
18%
33%
42%
48%
61%
None of the above
Aligning learning to my skill gaps
Assessments to find out where I need improvement
Providing opportunities to apply what I've learned
Specifying my interests / building my own profile
My choice of content formats (e.g. courses, videos, articles, podcasts...)
Learning paths or playlists suggested by my company
Recommendations based on my professional network's activity
Recommendations based on my personal activity history
Game mechanics (e.g. competition, leaderboards, rewards or badges)
Remembering where I left off
25

27.
Remove obstacles
Q: What are your biggest obstacles to job-related learning or professional development?
Degreed + Harvard Business Publishing, How the Workforce Learns, 4/201926
-30%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
POTENTIAL“LIFT”
(detractorslesspromoters)
POTENTIAL “IMPACT”
(% citing obstacle to learning)
Lack of guidance or
direction in learning
My company
doesn't recognize or
reward learning
My manager
doesn't encourage
or enable learning
I don't have (or make)
the time to learn

28.
Activate managers
Q: Which of the following did your manager do to support your development last year?
Degreed + Harvard Business Publishing, How the Workforce Learns, 4/2019
27
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
POTENTIAL“LIFT”
(promoterslessdetractors)
POTENTIAL “IMPACT”
(% who did not get…)
Offered projects or
other opportunities to
develop new skills
Helped create a plan or
set goals for developing
specific skills
Recommended
learning resources
or experiences
Conducted periodic check-ins
Gave regular feedback on
your performance or skills

29.
Enhance connections
Q: Which of these did you consult for recommendations for learning in the last 12 months?
Degreed + Harvard Business Publishing, How the Workforce Learns, 4/2019
28
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
POTENTIAL“LIFT”
(promoterslessdetractors)
POTENTIAL “IMPACT”
(% who did not use…)
My company’s intranet,
social or messaging tools
My company's HR
or learning team
My company's learning
systems or portal
My team or peers
My manager or mentor

30.
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Paul Graham, How to be an expert in a changing world, 12/2014
When experts are wrong, it's
often because they're experts on
an earlier version of the world.
Y COMBINATOR CO-FOUNDER, PAUL GRAHAM

31.
30
Questions?