Building the Skills-Based Organization

A Blueprint for Transformation

Koreen Pagano

$69.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

ASTD Press
07 January 2026

Business strategy; Personnel & human resources management; Organisational theory & behaviour; Office & workplace

Make Employee Skills the Currency Within Your Organization

In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, organizations are recognizing the critical importance of employees' skills as a catalyst for organizational success. This is a fundamental change from focusing on job titles, position credentials, org charts, and reporting hierarchies when considering organizational talent. Meanwhile, workers and job seekers desire better opportunities to showcase their unique abilities and greater career mobility. Now, organizations have the opportunity to meet their business and employee needs by tapping into the existing skills of their workforce and developing the skills their employees need to remain agile and competitive.

While the transformation process to a skills-based organization is complex and may seem overwhelming, skills expert and visionary Koreen Pagano offers a blueprint for making the shift and achieving success. She shows how to build over time, emphasizing that you do not have to overhaul every HR, learning and development, and management process and program to see the benefits of skills. Start small and wherever it makes the most sense for your organization to begin the skills journey.

In this book, explore the different components of a skills-based organization-hiring and recruitment, organizational culture, performance management, and career development-as well as strategies for continuous improvement at the people, process, and system levels. Learn to understand the current potential for skills, what is needed to overcome resistance to change, and how to secure buy-in from your organization's decision makers. Examine how to plan for the collection, analysis, and governance of your skills data.

This book is perfect for HR and talent strategists who want to go beyond the theoretical and see real results, regardless of where they may be on their path to building a skills-based organization. Case studies of companies at different stages in the journey prove this isn't just an aspirational goal-it's one that actual companies are achieving.

By: Koreen Pagano
Imprint: ASTD Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 228mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781960231741
ISBN 10: 196023174X
Pages: 300
Publication Date: 07 January 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Foreword by Kelly Palmer Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Part 1. Laying the Groundwork Chapter 1. Making the Case for Skills Chapter 2. Understanding the Current Landscape Chapter 3. Deciding How to Start Part 2. Planning and Strategizing for Skills Chapter 4. Assessing Organizational Readiness Chapter 5. Defining Skill Data Chapter 6. Planning for Skill Data Collection and Analysis Chapter 7. Preparing Your Skills Infrastructure Part 3. Developing Your Blueprint Chapter 8. Transforming Hiring Practices Chapter 9. Cultivating a Learning Culture Chapter 10. Implementing Skills-Based Talent Management Chapter 11. Empowering Employees Chapter 12. Measuring Impact and Sustaining Your Skills-Based Organization Chapter 13. A Skills-Based Future: What’s to Come Appendix References

Koreen Pagano, CEO of Isanno, is a globally recognized product executive with deep expertise in learning technologies, skills strategy, AI, analytics, and immersive experiences. Pagano has held product leadership roles at Lynda.com, LinkedIn, D2L, Degreed, and Wiley. She previously founded Tandem Learning, where she pioneered immersive learning through virtual worlds, games, and simulations. She currently serves as an executive advisor to a range of companies including product strategy and team advisory and skills transformation consulting. Pagano is a seasoned international speaker and author of two books, Immersive Learning and Building the Skills-Based Organization. She lives in Carpinteria, California.

Reviews for Building the Skills-Based Organization: A Blueprint for Transformation

“Koreen Pagano cuts through the buzzwords and delivers a smart, grounded guide that helps organizations actually do the work of becoming skills-based. This book is a must-read—it’s full of clarity, examples, and actionable steps.” —David Kelly, Former Chairman and CEO, the Learning Guild “Koreen’s blueprint illuminates the path for L&D leaders navigating the workforce transformation driven by AI augmentation and agents. It’s essential reading for understanding the landscape of skills data, harnessing task intelligence, and building a future-ready, skills-based organization that fosters human-machine collaboration.” —Josh Cavalier, Founder and CEO, JoshCavalier.ai “This book is a blueprint for leaders serious about building a future-ready workforce.” —David Blake, Founder and Co-CEO, Degreed “The growing influence of skills is necessary but confusing. In this book, Koreen Pagano leverages her extensive experience to provide a thorough and cogent look at the what, why, and how to make the journey comprehensible and compelling. Highly recommended!” —Clark Quinn, Executive Director, Quinnovation “For anyone navigating the shift to a skills-based organization, this is the guide. It’s written in a beautifully clear way and is full of invaluable case studies from the organizations already on the path.” —Julie Dirksen, Author, Design for How People Learn “If you are struggling with how to build a skills-based organization, then I strongly urge you to read this book as it provides not only the blueprint, but the broader context and influence you’ll need. Invaluable to any transformational leader.” —Helen Marshall, Chief Learning Officer, Thrive “This is an era in which shifting the skills of people, and not just machines, is the key for unlocking for strategic agility. Pagano delivers a pragmatic guide that captures the imperative, context, and tactical requirements of skills transformation as a competitive advantage for building tomorrow’s workforce today.” —Vidya Krishnan, former Global Chief Learning Officer, Ericsson