We Keep Hiring for Skills We Could Be Developing

Are we facing a talent shortage, or are we overlooking the talent already within our organizations? 

SHRM’s 2026 Talent Trends research found that 41% of HR professionals train existing employees for hard-to-fill roles. At the same time, 68% reported difficulty recruiting for full-time positions. 
 
These findings raise an important question: when organizations struggle to find the talent they need, are they making full use of the capabilities and potential of the people they already employ? 

When a position becomes vacant, why is our first instinct often to look outside the organization rather than ask who within it could grow into the role? 

We update the job description, define the qualifications, advertise the vacancy, and begin searching for the right candidate. Meanwhile, there may be employees within the organization who already possess some of the capabilities we are looking for, or who have the potential to develop them. 

Of course, external recruitment remains important. Organizations need fresh perspectives, new experiences, and specialized expertise that may not always be available internally. But when recruitment becomes our default response to every talent need, we may be overlooking another important opportunity: developing the people we already have. 

Do We Really Know What Our People Are Capable Of? 

Most organizations know what their employees do. But how well do they know what their employees could do? 

Job descriptions tell us what people are responsible for. Performance evaluations generally assess how well they fulfill those responsibilities. Yet neither necessarily reveals the full range of someone’s skills, interests, experiences, or potential. 

An employee working in administration may have strong analytical capabilities. Someone in operations may demonstrate the communication and problem-solving skills needed for a leadership role. Others may have acquired valuable knowledge through previous work, education, or personal initiatives that the organization has never explored. 

If we only look at employees through the lens of their current positions, we risk limiting how we see their potential. 

SHRM’s June 2026 article, Mapping Skill Adjacency to Prepare Your Workforce for Future Demands, highlights the importance of identifying employees’ existing skills and recognizing how those capabilities can be applied to different roles. Understanding these connections can help organizations identify development opportunities and prepare their workforce for changing needs. 

This raises an important question: Are our talent management practices helping us discover potential, or are they keeping people defined by the jobs they currently hold? 

Having Talent Is Not the Same as Creating Opportunity 

Recognizing potential is only part of the equation. Employees also need opportunities to demonstrate and develop their capabilities. 

An organization may encourage continuous learning while offering limited possibilities to apply new skills, take on different responsibilities, or explore career paths. 

Sometimes, opportunities are simply not visible. Employees may not know which positions are becoming available, what capabilities the organization will need in the future, or what it would take to prepare themselves for a different role. 

Other times, the barriers are less obvious. 

A manager may be reluctant to release a high-performing employee because the team depends on that person’s contribution. An employee may hesitate to express interest in another department for fear of appearing disloyal. Or leadership may already have certain people in mind when development opportunities arise, unintentionally overlooking others. 

These are not necessarily problems of talent availability. They may be problems of organizational culture, leadership practices, and how opportunities are created and communicated. 

The underlying challenge is worth considering: How can we expect people to grow if our organizational practices do not create room for that growth? 

Development Should Lead Somewhere 

Employee development is often associated with training programs, workshops, and certifications. These have value, but attending training does not automatically translate into greater capability or career progression. 

Development becomes more meaningful when people have opportunities to put learning into practice, receive feedback, take on new challenges, and gradually expand their responsibilities. 

Lifelong Learning Is an Organizational Responsibility 

It also requires organizations to think ahead. 

Instead of waiting until a vacancy becomes urgent, what if we identified the capabilities, we would need in the coming years and started preparing employees today? 

What if succession planning went beyond senior management positions? What if career conversations included not only current performance but also future interests, transferable skills, and readiness for new responsibilities? 

LinkedIn’s 2025 Workplace Learning Report, The Rise of Career Champions, found that organizations identified as career development champions were more confident in their ability to retain talent. The difference was 17 percentage points: 67% compared with 50% among other organizations. 

While development alone cannot guarantee retention, the connection deserves attention. Employees want to know that their contributions are valued, but they also want to see possibilities for their future. 

When those possibilities remain unclear, they may eventually look elsewhere to find them. 

A Different Conversation About Talent 

For organizations in Aruba, this conversation is particularly relevant. In a relatively small labor market, finding candidates with the exact combination of experience, qualifications, and skills can be challenging. 

That makes it even more important to consider how we identify, develop, and retain capabilities within our existing workforce. 

This does not mean every employee can or should be prepared for every role. Some positions require specialized qualifications, experience, or competencies that cannot be developed within the time available. 

But between someone who is fully ready today and someone who is not yet capable lies an important group of employees: people who could become ready with the right guidance, experience, and opportunity. 

Recognizing that potential requires a shift in how we approach workforce planning. Recruitment, employee development, succession planning, and organizational strategy cannot operate as separate conversations. They need to inform one another. 

And responsibility cannot sit with HR alone. Leaders and managers have an equally important role in identifying potential, supporting development, and making opportunities accessible. 

One Question Worth Asking 

The next time a vacancy arises, perhaps the conversation should not begin and end with, “Where can we find someone who already has everything we need?” 

Perhaps we should also ask: 

“Who within our organization could grow into this opportunity, and what would it take to help them get there?” 

The answer may not always lead to an internal appointment. But asking the question could help us recognize capabilities we have overlooked, identify development needs earlier, and create more intentional career opportunities. 

Because building a future-ready workforce is not only about attracting the talent we need. 

It is also about recognizing and developing the potential of the people who are already part of our organization.