Uncovering Untapped Talent: How to Spot Skills and Abilities

The skills and abilities most companies need may already exist within their current workforce. Employees are multi-dimensional - their skills, experiences, and motivations extend far beyond their job titles or current duties.

With keen eyes and open minds, managers can find unexpected strengths, leadership qualities, and people skills that open new doors. The key is knowing how and where to spot these untapped skills and abilities.

Looking in the right places and asking the right questions reveals a gold mine of potential. There are gifted communicators, born analytical people, and effective motivators in every company. The challenge is bringing their key skills and abilities to the surface. Companies can reveal a wealth of unused skills and abilities left unnoticed with simple strategies. 

Knowing the Difference: Skills vs Abilities

The distinctions between skills and abilities are often unclear. Understand each term to know their differences well.

Skills

Skills refer to proficiencies or expertise that employees learn over time. They allow employees to perform a task effectively. A person acquires skills through practice and experience over time. Some examples of skills include:

• Technical skills such as coding, graphic design, or equipment operation
• Soft skills such as communication, critical thinking, or problem solving
• Job-specific skills required for a particular role

Employees improve and boost their skills through constant learning and practice.

Abilities

Abilities are innate traits or talents that make it possible to perform certain physical or mental tasks. They are natural and tend to come easily to a person. Some examples of abilities include:

• Cognitive abilities such as reasoning, problem solving or spatial perception
• Physical abilities such as strength, coordination, or dexterity
• Sensory abilities related to the five senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste)

Employees improve their abilities through repetition and experience. These are more difficult to improve compared to skills or knowledge. 

Skills and abilities are not interchangeable. Skills refer to learned capacities to perform a task with a high degree of competence. Abilities refer to natural talents.

Identifying a person’s skills and abilities is key to deciding a good job and role fit. The ideal candidate will have a mix of relevant skills. They also have natural abilities that make them well suited to the work.

For roles requiring specific or technical skills, focus on a candidate’s training, credentials, and work experience. Look for people with strengths in communication, critical thinking, and relationship-building for positions relying more heavily on soft skills. The most capable people show a blend of key skills and abilities.

HR professionals and hiring managers reveal candidates’ untapped key skills and abilities with careful assessment. They also effectively match them to roles where they will thrive. The key is distinguishing skills from abilities.

Finding the right balance of skills and abilities helps create good job fits and fosters an engaged and productive workforce.

Assessing Skills and Abilities in the Hiring Process

During the hiring process, properly assessing a candidates’ key skills and abilities is crucial. HR professionals and hiring managers must go beyond a basic skills checklist and carefully probe to reveal hidden talents. 

Evaluating Soft Skills

Soft skills such as communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving are hard to verify from a standard resume. They are vital for success in most roles. Asking open-ended questions in the interview about how the candidate demonstrated these skills in previous positions reveals their level of ability.

Testing Job-Specific Skills

For technical roles, hands-on skill assessments are ideal. When hiring a designer, give a mock brief and have them walk through their creative process. For developers, ask them to code a basic solution to a problem. These exercises show their thought process and abilities in a real-world context. 

Looking at Potential and Growth

Relevant experience is vital and the candidate’s potential for growth is equally important. Discuss their career ambitions and how they stay progressive in their field. Ask about side projects or professional development activities they do to improve their craft. Strong potential indicates they will thrive as duties expand in the role.

Evaluating key skills and abilities thoroughly leads to better long-term hiring decisions. With the investment of time to assess candidates properly, HR professionals and hiring managers will find the talent to drive their company forward.

Developing Skills and Abilities Through Training and Coaching

Developing key skills and abilities in employees requires progressive training and coaching. Companies that invest in employee growth find more engaged and productive teams that are likely to stay with them long-term.

Provide Learning Opportunities

Giving employees chances to boost their key skills and abilities through coursework, mentorship, and project work helps them gain valuable experience. This includes:

• Tuition reimbursement for job-related degrees or certifications.
• In-house training on recent technologies, software, or equipment.
• Leadership or management workshops for high-potential employees.
• Assigning employees to new projects outside their typical scope of work to build key skills and abilities.
• Pairing new hires with mentors who can offer guidance and advice.

Offer Regular Feedback and Guidance

Managers and supervisors must meet with employees regularly to assess their performance, set new goals, and determine areas for improvement. This includes:

• Weekly or biweekly one-on-one meetings to check in on projects and give feedback.
• Conduct monthly or quarterly performance reviews to assess progress and make plans for the coming months.
• Set specific, measurable goals and key performance indicators to work toward developing key skills and abilities.
• Discuss career paths and opportunities for growth within the company. 

Make Coaching a Priority

Effective coaching helps employees boost their key skills and abilities through guided practice and support. Managers must aim to coach employees through challenges, not just assess them. This means:

• Observing employees in action and giving helpful feedback.
• Asking open-ended questions to help employees think through issues themselves.
• Giving employees space to try, fail, and learn from their mistakes.
• Praising employees for their efforts and wins, both big and small.
• Modeling the types of skills and behaviors managers want to see.

Employees can grow their talents and reach their full potential with learning resources, regular feedback, and helpful coaching. This benefits employees and the company.

Skills and abilities are everywhere. Employees have a variety of potential that is often hidden. Companies must develop a keen eye for spotting talent to create an environment where people feel comfortable sharing their strengths.

This gives opportunities for growth where they can tap into a wellspring of untapped key skills and abilities. There are hardworking people in every role and at every level. The key is making the effort to discover them. With an open mind, companies can find skills and abilities just within their reach.