Knowledge over product as a source of competitiveness has been in play for some time now. With this there has been a change from providing an off the shelf solution, to understanding the client need and developing an informed solution. The base of this is knowledge. Knowledge of the client, their industry and a cross set of information and skills outside the typical skill set of the service provider.
For a lawyer, you were considered an expert in your area of law and approached by clients to provide advice in this area. Now there are online tools and information to assist clients to a point that wasn’t previously easily available. Knowledge in areas such as project management, market analysis and information technology for process automation are now separating you from your competitors.
Here are my four key reasons for developing non-core skills in your staff.
Knowledge
Online research and tools provide our clients and potential clients with ease of access to more information. This means that clients and potential clients are, to an extent, able to self-service rather than seek out an expert. Relying purely on your industry specific expertise without other supporting skill sets limits your competitive advantage against publicly available resources.
Innovation
With innovation being a key driver in developing the competitive landscape, the knowledge required to nurture and drive innovation to fruition and delivery should be a priority for managers to develop across all of their staff. We are seeing this with key industry players creating online resources, driving internal automation and expanding into related service areas as a point of differentiation.
Agility
Many industries are going through rapid change in response to technological advancements as well as other changes in their competitive landscape. In order for a service provider to survive changes in their competitive landscape, they need to be able to foresee and adapt to the need of their clients quickly with the skill set to do this readily available.
Generation Shift
The generation of new graduates and future managers coming through are more eager to advance quickly in their career. Whilst that hunger is there, it is important that they are well rounded in their knowledge so that they can deliver on the requirements of their roles as they advance. The areas above of knowledge, innovation and agility require a skill set separate from their base area of specialty and are key in not only senior management but in all levels across an organisation. These areas will continue to be a point of competitive advantage across many markets.
Getting your business from A to B
ABY Consulting gets you from A to B through understanding the ‘why’. If you would like advice and support on training needs for your business and staff, please contact us now.