Skills Ontology Frameworks in Healthcare: Why They’re Essential for Workforce Planning

Getting the right people into the right roles where their skills can be effectively leveraged is a big ask for a lot of employers, especially in the healthcare industry. Staff shortages, widespread burnout, and waves of aging professionals reaching retirement are just a few of the challenges facing hiring managers. Another major obstacle is the prevalence of skills gaps in the workplace. In fact, a recent study shows that 43% of employers are already in a skills deficit, with another 44% anticipating that they will be in the next 2-5 years.

Talent shortages combined with skills gaps add up to an ominous and uncertain future for many industries, especially healthcare. One of the ways hiring teams are meeting the uncertainty head-on? Skills ontology frameworks. Here, we’ll take a closer look at what a skills ontology framework is, how it helps close competency gaps, and how you can put one in place for your healthcare organization.

What Is a Skills Ontology Framework?

A skills ontology framework is a sort of roadmap that classifies the different skills your employees possess and shows you how they relate to their roles and each other. It’s a skills taxonomy that helps identify gaps and missing competencies within your team. This system is used by HR professionals and hiring managers in various industries to make sure they look for all the right skills for each position in the hiring process.

A skills ontology is much more than a standard competency framework or skills list. It maps out and organizes skills by categories and highlights relationships, making workforce planning, skills management, and talent acquisition easier and more effective. It’s one of the best ways to ensure your employee ecosystem has what it takes to thrive, all while you future-proof your organization.

How Skills Ontologies Work in Healthcare

Developing skills within your nursing team is essential for addressing competency gaps and guiding the next generation of nurse leaders down the right career path. However, with a declining talent pool and high turnover rates, it can be challenging to close skill gaps and improve workforce capabilities. However, in the healthcare sector, it is especially crucial to get this process right. Here’s how skills ontologies can help:

Mapping Employee Skills to Different Roles

Skills ontology frameworks illustrate how specific skills and competencies are associated with particular roles. This is valuable for workforce planning and talent management because it provides a broad overview of the competencies you’ve currently got covered and which ones still need support. Moreover, it will also help you identify roles that are in jeopardy or overstaffed. This can help with talent redeployment, as you can be sure high-priority duties are covered.

Integrating Skill Development with Learning

Using a skills ontology gives you insight into which workforce skills your team already has covered, but it can also support career development and continuing education for your employees. The ontology framework helps you identify knowledge that can be transferred and shared between roles and departments. It can also help you see where there’s a need for training and learning opportunities.

Adapting to Technological Changes

You already know that technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and at times, it’s hard to keep up. New innovations in AI, machine learning, and automation mean that the programs and platforms you use today may not be the same ones your nurses use tomorrow. They have to be ready for change and willing to adapt to it. A skills ontology framework will help you identify which roles and employees have competencies that lend themselves toward technology adoption and training. It will also show any major gaps, so you have time to prepare and backfill before new technology is adopted.

Benefits of Skills Ontology Frameworks for Healthcare Organizations and HR Leaders

How can a skills ontology positively impact your organization? The benefits are noticeable in several key areas, including:

Improved Workforce Planning and Talent Management

You work hard to get the right people into the right jobs, but people change, and so do job descriptions. A skills ontology will show you if there are opportunities for talent management and talent redeployment or if there’s a need for skills assessments and benchmarking. You may also uncover unexpected relationships between roles and find ways to cross-train and share knowledge.

Enhanced Learning and Employee Development Programs

Using a skills ontology framework can help you find gaps in your team’s skill sets that can be filled by reorganizing your current workforce. It can also show you where your employees need training or skill development. You can use the framework to look for training and development options and then provide these opportunities to the right roles in your workforce.

Better Recruitment and Skills-Based Talent Acquisition

It’s tough to fill a role if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for. Write better, more engaging job descriptions based on the competency gaps highlighted in your skills ontology to attract the right talent. Using a skills ontology framework also lets prospective employees know that you’re working to ensure their skills are put to good use and that you’re willing to help them nurture and grow the competencies they need to succeed.

Increased Employee Engagement and Retention

When you have the right talent in the right roles, your employees are more likely to be happy and satisfied. Happy employees contribute positively to workplace culture and tend to stick around longer. When employees feel their skills are valued and utilized properly, they feel more connected to their role, their peers, and the organization.

Support for Regulatory Compliance and Quality Improvement

A skills ontology framework aids in meeting regulatory requirements by creating a structured taxonomy that generates extensive, organized data. This data can then be leveraged for accurate reporting, compliance tracking, and quality improvement, reducing errors and ensuring that standards are consistently met.

How Skills Ontology Frameworks Compare to Other Skills Taxonomies

As we mentioned, a skills ontology is not a skills taxonomy or a skills list. So, what are the noticeable differences between these terms? Here’s how you can tell the difference between them:

How to Implement a Skills Ontology Framework in 6 Steps

If you’re ready to implement a skills ontology framework in your healthcare organization, here are the steps you can take to get started right away:

1. Conduct a Critical Skills Audit

Start with skills assessments and set a benchmark for all roles in the organization. This will help establish a baseline you can then use to measure progress and see how changes evolve in real time.

2. Define Organizational Goals, Job Roles, and Objectives

A skills ontology is a great way to see if you’re reaching your goals as an organization — but you have to have them in place before you can start tracking. Set your objectives and use your ontology to show how your workforce adapts to get you closer to achieving them.

3. Develop or Adopt a Skills Ontology Framework

It’s possible to create your own proprietary skills ontology framework, but it takes time and budget. If you don’t have a development team, it might be best to look for an existing software or platform so you can get started right away. Expect to spend some time training and onboarding with the new program, and look for platforms with excellent reviews and customer service in case you need support.

4. Integrate the Framework with Existing Systems

It’s critical that your skills ontology integrates with the existing technology you already use. If it doesn’t, it will only cause headaches down the road. Make sure your framework platform is compatible with current software, or look for a software suite that provides multiple solutions, including an ontology framework.

5. Train Leaders, Stakeholders, and Staff

New technology adoption starts from the top down, so it’s imperative to make sure you have stakeholder buy-in right from the start. Make sure leaders and staff all know how to use the ontology framework, and set aside time to train and onboard them.

6. Monitor Skills Data, Evaluate, and Refine

Don’t expect to get it right from the get-go. Like most tools, you have to develop the knowledge, practice, and confidence to use it properly. Your skills ontology framework will take time to hone and refine. Remember that it is an organic framework that is always growing and changing. If you’re ready to evolve with it, you’ll be able to reap bigger rewards.

The Role of Technology in Skills Ontology Frameworks

Unlike simple skills lists, which rarely use any technology, or skills taxonomies, which may only use some, a skills ontology framework relies heavily on technology. Here’s how:

AI and Machine Learning

Many skills ontologies rely on artificial intelligence to create relationships between competencies and roles. As skills change, the relationships change as well. This ensures that your ontology is a living database that is completely unique to your organization and highlights your skills, strengths, and competency gaps.

Datasets, Skills Insights, and Analytics

The ontology framework collects a vast amount of data based on your employees and their competencies. You can then examine this data to make informed decisions for the future of your organization. You can also use predictive analytics to better plan your workforce and your overall skills strategy.

Integration with HR and LMS Systems

Integration can make or break your skills ontology framework. Look for a platform that seamlessly connects with your existing HR and LMS systems, or consider comprehensive software that includes a built-in skills ontology. When your skills ontology is integrated with your LMS, it enables tailored training and upskilling opportunities. Providing evidence-based point-of-care resources for nurses that align with your competency framework will help them develop and hone important skills, while also assisting you in filling gaps.

How HealthStream Can Offer Skills Ontology Help, Improve Your Skills Strategy, and Ramp Up Your Competencies

If you’re looking for a platform that can help you identify skills gaps, develop new skills, and create a framework that delivers measurable results, HealthStream has you covered. Our Competency Suite utilizes AI to assess and define benchmarks, and then it provides you with learning opportunities designed to empower individualized competency development. We can walk you through the training and onboarding process so you can start workforce planning and talent management that makes an impact on your organization.

To learn more about how HealthStream helps you build a strong skills ontology framework, request a free quote.