Skill Capture opens doors to the talent Scania needs
18 MAY 2022
Scania’s Skill Capture programme puts a diversity and inclusion mindset at the heart of the company’s recruitment process, so that it can attract the right people and skills for its transformation journey. “Skill Capture opens doors to the talent we need for the future,” says Lisa Sundelin, Talent Specialist, P&C Global People Services.
As Scania continues to develop itself as a provider of sustainable transport solutions, the company’s leadership has identified diversity and inclusion as a strategic necessity. For, if Scania is to thrive in the future transport industry, it will need a global workforce that is truly diverse, with a broad range of skills, knowledge, backgrounds, and experiences.
It’s no easy task, but Scania’s People & Culture organisation have established two vitally important tools to drive diversity and inclusion: the Skill Capture programme and the global internal initiative, Cross Talent Network.
Skill Capture and Cross Talent Network
“Skill Capture is the perfect platform to start from, as it is Scania’s way of working with diversity and inclusion strategically,” says Nicole Barbeau, a Skill Capture Specialist at Scania. “We have been training managers and employees on diversity and inclusion since 2016 to ensure there is great awareness throughout Scania of how valuable it is.”
Scania has Skill Capture ‘ambassadors’ across the entire organisation. It’s their job to support management teams in realising our efforts to become a more diverse and inclusive company.
As another Skill Capture Specialist, Jean Jönsson, explains: “The ambassadors support management with implementing the local action plans on diversity and inclusion and collect best practices, which they then share throughout the organisation to drive continuous improvement.”
Last year, building on the Skill Capture concept, Scania established Cross Talent Network, a new internal career path that is open to all of the company’s employees.
“All Scania employees – regardless of background, age, position, and profession – can apply to the Cross Talent Network. The important thing is that the applicant matches the profile we are looking for: natural leaders who embrace transformation,” explains Lisa Sundelin, Talent Specialist, P&C Global People Services.
A concept that also works well in daily operations
The application process to join Cross Talent Network is designed to be transparent and objective, to ensure there is a fair identification and selection process. The first step towards achieving this is a digital assessment, supported by Scania’s new supplier Alva Labs.
“This is an effective way to find the most suitable match for the specific Cross Talent profile when it comes to personal and logical abilities,” explains Lisa Sundelin. She adds that the web-based tool for assessments is now being rolled out worldwide.
Open application process
The open approach and the methods from Cross Talent Network also work well in Scania’s everyday recruitment process.
“There is one thing that is crucial to do before we start assessing candidates and that is to carefully think through which profile we are looking for,” says Sandra Gustavsson, a Talent Acquisition manager for Scania’s Swedish operations.
“Generally, we need to open up to and evaluate more potential candidates that perhaps don’t have exactly what we are looking for in terms of previous working experience or education. It’s important not to restrict ourselves.”
Lisa Sundelin, Sandra Gustavsson, Nicole Barbeau and Jean Jönsson all agree that an open approach is the way for Scania to target the skills the company will need in the years ahead.
Or, as Lisa puts it:
“We also need to find talent from industries and backgrounds other than the transport sector. After all, it wasn’t the taxi business that created the Uber model, and it wasn’t the music industry that came up with the idea of streaming music instead of buying an album.”