--- title: How to ensure competencies and goals fit with future business needs description: Learn how to ensure you are developing the workforce competencies needed in the future and helping employees to understand their own career paths. image: https://blog.head-light.co.uk/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pexels-fauxels-3182826-2.jpg --- [![HeadLight-logo-from LF for website](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/hubfs/HeadLight_Sep2016/HeadLight-logo-from%20LF%20for%20website.png)](https://head-light.co.uk/) - [About Us](https://head-light.co.uk/what-makes-head-light-different/) ### [Our Clients Our clients come from industry, justice, government and not for profit sectors.](https://head-light.co.uk/our-clients/) ### [Case Studies Find out what people have said about Head Light and how we have helped.](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/case-studies) ### [Client Charter We like to be clear and upfront in how we work – and how we won’t work. Our Client Charter sets this out.](https://head-light.co.uk/client-charter/) ### [Consulting Partners When you partner with another organisation to deliver services to your clients, your reputation and future business success rests on your Partner’s ability and commitment to make it happen.](https://head-light.co.uk/consulting-partners/) ### [Our Location Head Light is based in Ascot, if you visit us with an electric vehicle, then you can have a free charge on us!](https://head-light.co.uk/contact-us/) ### [About Head Light Head Light helps public sector and regulated organisations turn workforce signals into intelligence about capability, readiness and risk. We are recognised in the Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent & People Success and have supported customers for 20 years.](https://head-light.co.uk/what-makes-head-light-different/) - [Workforce Capability Intelligence](https://head-light.co.uk/workforce-intelligence-platform/) ### [Workforce Signals Surfacing the evidence layer that turns workforce data into intelligence.  ](https://head-light.co.uk/workforce-intelligence-platform/) ### [Capability Intelligence Understanding workforce capability across your organisation.](https://head-light.co.uk/workforce-intelligence-platform/capability-intelligence/) ### [Workforce Readiness Tracking organisational readiness in real time.](https://head-light.co.uk/workforce-intelligence-platform/workforce-readiness/) ### [Succession Intelligence Understanding leadership continuity and succession risk.](https://head-light.co.uk/workforce-intelligence-platform/succession-intelligence/) ### [Workforce Risk Identifying workforce capability risk before it becomes operational risk.](https://head-light.co.uk/workforce-intelligence-platform/workforce-risk/) ### [Organisational Insight Understanding workforce sentiment and organisational confidence.](https://head-light.co.uk/workforce-intelligence-platform/organisational-insight/) - [Products](https://head-light.co.uk/products-overview/) ### [Talent 360 360-degree feedback software - spot potential, pinpoint development focus, embed recognition.](https://head-light.co.uk/products-overview/talent-360/) ### [Talent Performance Embedding a culture of performance conversation and recognition.](https://head-light.co.uk/products-overview/talent-performance/) ### [Talent Navigator Individual career ownership through career path mapping.](https://head-light.co.uk/products-overview/talent-navigator/) ### [Talent Successor Succession planning software: providing a strategic line of sight.](https://head-light.co.uk/products-overview/talent-successor/) ### [Talent SafeGuard Skills management: by the individual and for the individual.](https://head-light.co.uk/products-overview/talent-safeguard/) ### [Talent En-Gauge Plan and take action to strengthen employee engagement.](https://head-light.co.uk/products-overview/talent-en-gauge/) ### [Talent Advance Keep track of goal planning.](https://head-light.co.uk/products-overview/talent-advance/) - [Consultancy & Training](https://head-light.co.uk/consultancy-training/) ### [Design a Skills or Competency Framework Get a skills or competency framework right for your organisation and your talent management practices make a real and lasting contribution.](https://head-light.co.uk/designing-your-competency-framework/) ### [360 and Performance Assessment Design We develop, test and validate bespoke assessments across all sectors, at every level of talent and every stage of talent management.](https://head-light.co.uk/assessment-design/) ### [Designing a Talent Management Strategy Do you have a Talent Management strategy? Do all your talent activities integrate, utilise the same language and align with your organisational strategy?](https://head-light.co.uk/talent-management-strategy/) ### [Talent Management for Managers Talent Management is not the sole domain of the HR or Learning & Development team. delivering your organisation’s people a strategy.](https://head-light.co.uk/talent-management-for-managers/) ### [Feedback Facilitator Training Investing in 360-degree feedback delivers little benefit if the review and feedback conversation is not handled properly.](https://head-light.co.uk/facilitator-training/) ### [Administrator Training Deploying a talent management software system successfully is not about luck. It requires robust and secure software, solid processes and great administrators.](https://head-light.co.uk/administrator-training/) - [Our Blog](https://blog.head-light.co.uk) - [Blue Light Services](https://head-light.co.uk/blue-light-services/) ### [Blue Light User Group Sharing talent management best practice and collaborating on new features to the Talent platform.](https://head-light.co.uk/blue-light-user-group/) ### [Talent Management for Police 360, PDR and talent and succession planning for police officers and staff.](https://head-light.co.uk/talent-management-for-police-forces/) ### [Talent Management for Fire and Rescue Services 360, PDR and succession planning for fire and rescue services.](https://head-light.co.uk/talent-management-for-fire-and-rescue-services/) [TELL ME MORE](https://head-light.co.uk/contact-us/) # How to ensure competencies and goals fit with future business needs --- ![pexels-fauxels-3182826](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pexels-fauxels-3182826-2.jpg?width=6000&name=pexels-fauxels-3182826-2.jpg)The skills, behaviours and competencies needed for future roles are different to those needed today. How can you future-proof your workforce so you retain and yet develop talent for the future? With the [World Economic Forum](https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf) reporting back in 2020 that 94% of business leaders expect employees to pick up new skills on the job (a sharp uptick from 65% in 2018), it is clear that today’s (and the future’s) workforce requires the ability to reskill and learn new competencies and to be self-sufficient in this. And yet, despite this, too often in our own conversations with talent teams, the focus is on developing the competencies required in the near term, with limited attention being paid to those behaviours needed in the future. Understandably, immediate business pressure focuses the attention. This works well to inform development action plans needed for a current role, but what of those the organisation needs in two years, or those the individual wants to develop for their future career? --- ## Understanding The Skills Gap Between Now And The Future – Using 360 ![hand drawn air balloons with crumpled paper ball as leadership concept](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/hand%20drawn%20air%20balloons%20with%20crumpled%20paper%20ball%20as%20leadership%20concept-1.jpg?width=600&name=hand%20drawn%20air%20balloons%20with%20crumpled%20paper%20ball%20as%20leadership%20concept-1.jpg) Roles will change. New skills will be needed. Competency frameworks require updating. To design your upskill, reskill and competency roadmap, you need to know where you are now – and where you are heading. You need a snapshot of current individual competencies and what are needed in the future. Of course, to do this, you need to define what these future competencies are that your organisation needs. Perhaps you already know these or perhaps you need support in reshaping a competency framework. If you need a partner to work through defining those, we can help. We will support you as you think about the long term and which competencies will be needed and then design a new framework around which you can update your talent management activities. You will be able to plan and decide whether you hire in those competencies as new employees or develop them through specific L&D initiatives. ### Establishing The Baseline – And Looking To The Future 360-degree feedback can help you measure the baseline of current competencies. You know that. For decades, 360-degree feedback has helped managers, individual team members and L&D leaders understand the extent to which the competencies required in a role are held by the individual. The results inform development conversations, action plans and L&D initiatives. Typically, the competencies being rated in a 360 are those of the current role – or an aspirational leadership role or a role into which the individual wants to be promoted. We are seeing an increasing use of 360 as part of promotional boards and assessment centres. However, with a configurable 360 system – [and not all 360s will do this](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/blog/2018/10/360s-are-different) – you have the choice of including an alternative questionnaire with a more future-focused set of competencies. These are ideal if you or the individual wants to understand how they currently fare alongside such requirements.  Watch this three-minute video to see how this works.[![Talent 360 Screen Shot](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Talent%20360%20Screen%20Shot-1.png?width=450&name=Talent%20360%20Screen%20Shot-1.png)](https://youtu.be/kl8Aw-4mXJ4) If you’re already using 360-degree feedback, you may want to check how it stacks up against our [Talent 360](https://head-light.co.uk/products/talent-360/). If you are not yet using a 360 questionnaire to help you spot the gaps for development, then perhaps it’s something to explore. We can tailor a demo just for you that reflects what your organisation’s needs. --- ## Enable Individuals To Understand The Demands Of Future Roles ![compass---for-web](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/compass---for-web-1.jpg?width=600&name=compass---for-web-1.jpg) We know that the straight-upwards climb of the career ladder is a thing of the past. Careers tend now to resemble a climbing wall with sideways moves being seen as important for overall progress. The challenge for employees is understanding where their current role can take them. How can their current competencies be deployed in other roles? Which of these may need to be further developed to move into a role of interest? Career pathing tools, such as [Talent Navigator](https://head-light.co.uk/products/talent-navigator/), can help in this. You can populate this software with details of the roles currently included within your job architecture and, if needed, new roles for which you have a clear job description and competency outline (even if no one is yet in post). The individual is then able to log into Talent Navigator, include 360 review feedback from Talent 360 and understand their current competency profile and level. They can then search for roles either in which they are interested or which match (or could match with some development) their skill areas. This means individuals can plan their future career with you, understanding in which areas they need to develop or consolidate skills in order to move into future roles. *Watch this three-minute video to see how this works.*[*![Career-Pathways-w](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Career-Pathways-w-2.jpg?width=450&name=Career-Pathways-w-2.jpg)*](https://youtu.be/XbjWv8jBJeQ) If you’re not yet offering your employees a career pathing tool, [get in touch](https://head-light.co.uk/contact-us/) as we can show you what Talent Navigator can do. --- ## Making Sure Employees Know Where The Business Is Heading ![web-team](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/web-team-3.jpg?width=600&name=web-team-3.jpg) Business strategies and plans need to be agile and adaptable. Similarly, departments, teams and individuals need to keep abreast of changes to plans and goals and make sure their actions stay true to overarching objectives. **How can managers help individuals keep on track and see the direct link between their role and the goals of the team and the wider firm?** One way is to cascade organisational goals down and across the company, with individual objectives rolling up into team aims and team aims all connecting to deliver department and organisational plans. As the strategic goals change, so do those of the individual. And individuals can track this through an always-available system, such as [Talent Performance](https://head-light.co.uk/products/talent-performance/). Individual users can log in and see how their objectives align with the bigger picture – and view their own progress towards those objectives.   *Watch this two-minute video to see how this works.* [![PM---cascading-objectives-w](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/PM---cascading-objectives-w-1.jpg?width=450&name=PM---cascading-objectives-w-1.jpg)](https://youtu.be/EGau14qrvVg) Check out your current performance management system to see if you can currently achieve this. If not, perhaps now is the time to switch and future-proof your objective setting and review process. --- ## The Next Step There is no doubt that talent managers have to manage the performance of the workforce for today’s business, making sure employees have access to the right tools, support and development in order to deliver this. However, they also need to keep one eye firmly on the organisation of the future.  They need to know what will be needed in the roles of the future and how they can identify and develop those employees to meet these demands. Your talent management software should be capable of supporting you now and help make the transition. It’s probably one of the areas you know you need to look more at – and yet you are not sure where to start. Perhaps a call with us will help give you a signpost to the next steps. [Get in touch to talk about how we could support you](https://head-light.co.uk/contact-us/). [Continuous Performance Management](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/topic/continuous-performance-management) [Developing Competencies](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/topic/developing-competencies) [360 degree feedback](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/topic/360-degree-feedback) [Succession Planning](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/topic/succession-planning) [Trends in Talent Management](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/topic/trends-in-talent-management) [Career Path Mapping](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/topic/career-path-mapping) [building skills](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/topic/building-skills) [future competencies](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/topic/future-competencies) ## Related posts ### [The Police Leadership Commission Report: What It Means for Your Force](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/police-leadership-commission-report-what-it-means-for-your-force) The Police Leadership Commission report sets a clear direction for policing - and it has immediate i... 23 Jul 2026 ### [Organisational Insight: evidence that organisations fail to use](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/organisational-insight-evidence-not-used) Organisational insight is one of the most underestimated assets available to HR and business leaders... 13 Jul 2026 ### [How your Workforce Intelligence platform turns data into signals](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/workforce-intelligence-platform-turns-data-into-signals) Every organisation generates data about its people continuously. Performance ratings, development ac... 13 Jul 2026 [![HeadLight-logo-from LF for website](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/hubfs/HeadLight_Sep2016/HeadLight-logo-from%20LF%20for%20website.png)](https://head-light.co.uk/) [![Fosway-2025](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Fosway-2025-150x150.jpg?width=150&height=150&name=Fosway-2025-150x150.jpg)](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/news/head-light-fosway-grid-2025)   ### Useful Links - [Home](https://head-light.co.uk/) - [About](https://head-light.co.uk/what-makes-head-light-different/) - [Workforce Signals](https://head-light.co.uk/workforce-intelligence-platform/) - [Products](https://head-light.co.uk/products-overview/) - [Blue Light Services](https://head-light.co.uk/blue-light-services/) ### Workforce Signals - [Capability Intelligence](https://head-light.co.uk/workforce-intelligence-platform/workforce-mobility/) - [Organisational Insight](https://head-light.co.uk/workforce-intelligence-platform/organisational-insight/) - [Succession Intelligence](https://head-light.co.uk/workforce-intelligence-platform/organisational-insight/) - [View All](https://head-light.co.uk/workforce-intelligence-platform/) ### Our Products - [Talent 360](https://head-light.co.uk/products-overview/talent-360/) - [Talent Performance](https://head-light.co.uk/products-overview/talent-performance/) - [Talent Navigator](https://head-light.co.uk/products-overview/talent-navigator/) - [View All](https://head-light.co.uk/products-overview/) ### Consultancy & Training - [Consultancy & Training Services](https://head-light.co.uk/consultancy-training/) - [Designing your competency framework](https://head-light.co.uk/designing-your-competency-framework/) - [360 and performance assessment design](https://head-light.co.uk/assessment-design/) ### Support - [Contact](https://head-light.co.uk/contact-us/) - [Blog](https://blog.head-light.co.uk) - [FAQs](https://head-light.co.uk/faqs/) - [Resources](https://head-light.co.uk/resources/) - [News](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/news)   Copyright © Head Light Ltd. All rights reserved. Company Number 05087004. **[ISMS Statement](https://blog.head-light.co.uk/news/head-light-retains-iso-27001-certification-audit-for-2025)** | [**Privacy Policy**](https://head-light.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/PV01-HL-Privacy-Policy-v4.5-Website.pdf) | **[Terms](https://head-light.co.uk/stage/?page_id=253)** | [**ISMS Policy**](https://head-light.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ISMS-SIgned-2020.pdf)   Search Head Light This is a search field with an autosuggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Head Light", "url" : "https://blog.head-light.co.uk/author/head-light" }, "dateModified" : "2025-12-03T10:08:27.612Z", "datePublished" : "2022-06-06T23:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "How to ensure competencies and goals fit with future business needs", "image" : [ "https://blog.head-light.co.uk/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pexels-fauxels-3182826-2.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.head-light.co.uk/future-skills-and-competencies", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.head-light.co.uk/hubfs/Version%202%20(text%20without%20shadow)-%203x%20300.png" }, "name" : "Head Light" } } ```