6 questions HR should be asking
Question 1 / 6
Are you developing the skills your business needs, or the skills people ask for?
The skills reality 
We use cookies
Cookie Settings
Cookies necessary for the correct operation of the site are always enabled.
Other cookies are configurable.
Other cookies are configurable.
Are you developing the skills your business needs, or the skills people ask for?
In most L&D teams, nobody sets out to build the wrong things. The queue decides. Here is how to take that decision back, and a 30-minute discussion to run with your team.
Requests arrive faster than a small team can handle, and whatever is asked loudest or first gets built. Nobody chose that rule. It just happens when the backlog outgrows the team.
“Some tasks we don’t even consider… the backlogs are already big.”
Head of Assessment and Development, retail group
When a team has to turn work away, the real question is which work. Usually it isn’t the skill the business needs most. It’s the one with the most persistent sponsor.
“Some tasks we don’t even consider… the backlogs are already big.”
Head of Assessment and Development, retail group
When a team has to turn work away, the real question is which work. Usually it isn’t the skill the business needs most. It’s the one with the most persistent sponsor.
THE INSIGHT
Prioritise by business impact, not by the order of requests. And free up capacity so the critical work isn’t the first thing to be dropped.
Discuss with your team
- 01What is in our backlog right now, and which items link to a business goal we can name?
- 02For one critical role, can we list the 3 to 5 capabilities that separate strong performers from the rest?
- 03What have we turned down this year, and was it the right call?
What to do next
- Sort your backlog by impact.
Tag each request by the business goal it supports. Anything that can’t be tagged moves to the back. - Define what good looks like for one critical role,
together with the business leader, with clear criteria for each capability. - Assess before you build.
Find out where people actually are, so you build for the real gap, not the assumed one. - Cut production time on routine requests,
so they stop crowding out the important work.
Where Evolve fits
Build what matters, and still clear the queue.
Evolve assesses people against the competencies a role needs, using open questions scored on weighted criteria and realistic AI simulations, so you can see who needs which skill. Then it turns your existing documents into a polished, on-brand course in minutes and exports it to the LMS you already use.
More questions HR should be asking
All 6 questions02 · Beyond course completion
If everyone completes the training but nothing changes, was it successful?
03 · The human factor
What should technology take off HR's plate, so people can focus on people?
04 · The missing piece
What is the biggest capability gap your organization isn't talking about?
05 · The rethink
If you could redesign workplace learning from scratch, what would you stop doing?
06 · The next challenge
Which skills will become essential before your current training plan catches up?