Digital Talent: A Guide to Workforce Transformation

Key takeaways

Your company's digital talent can enhance your workforce capabilities, provide digital leadership, and support digital transformation.

• A robust digital platform can increase customer satisfaction and enhance collaboration between teams.

• Seek out employees who are familiar with digital terms and software and possess strong online research skills. 

• You can streamline your company’s digital transformation by hiring employees who know how to collaborate using digital tools, can adapt to new technology, and can teach others to use digital resources.

Explore digital talent, including its definition, benefits, drawbacks, and essential skills. Then, learn more about Coursera for Business and how our expert-led platform and tailored learning paths can help your employees develop their digital skills and more.

Empower teams with access to world-class content from 350+ top companies and universities

Learn more

What is digital talent?

Digital talent refers to anyone who works in technology, specifically those who work in information technology, digitalization, analytics, and automation, and who help digitally transform an organization. Developers, project managers, and engineers are examples of digital talent who contribute to the digital transformation of your company. 

An important component of digital talent is digital literacy. This involves staying updated on new and existing technologies implemented in your workplace, managing your company’s ideas and vision through an online environment, and communicating digitally with employees or team members. 

Why is digital talent important?

Hiring digital talent is an essential tool for companies, as it is necessary to understand and use technology in the modern workforce. It can create new outlets for digital leadership and improve your workforce’s overall capabilities with technology. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the majority of industries to an online or hybrid workforce, now making digital transformation a necessity in the workplace. As you hire new employees and seek to upskill your current employees, consider whether they can use digital resources or possess new technological capabilities not fully developed within your company.  

Benefits of digital talent

Digital talent provides many benefits that can improve your company’s overall success. By implementing new digital strategies, you can increase customer satisfaction. Customers will find it easier and faster to engage with your company with the added online resources.

Read more: What Is Digital Transformation? Definition, Strategy, and Examples

Having many digital platforms can also improve collaboration within your organization. As employees begin using digital platforms, they will learn how to communicate and share ideas faster, which can increase productivity. Digital talent often utilizes innovative strategies and tools that can transform your company and create new opportunities for success. 

Drawbacks of digital talent

While digital talent offers many benefits for your organization's internal and external processes, it can also pose challenges. Implementing digital resources can create a new set of standards that your employees need to work by. It can be a difficult shift to move everything online, and employees may feel overwhelmed or require training. 

The growing demand for digital talent is creating a narrower hiring pool, which could make it more difficult to find suitable candidates. You need highly skilled and experienced candidates to increase your company’s digital footprint and overall success, as well as provide the benefits digital talent is looking for. According to McKinsey & Company, companies are focusing on upskilling their current workforce to close skills gaps as digital skills become more essential [1].

Build Generative AI skills across your organization

Learn more about Coursera's new Generative AI Academy.

Learn more

Digital talent acquisition and skills

As you prepare to make digital talent a priority for your business, ensure that your employees or potential hires possess the digital skills that will contribute to success. Discover some principles of a digital talent-focused workforce.

1. Familiarity with digital terms and software

Employees should have a basic understanding of the digital terms and resources used in your organization. This is also known as digital literacy, and it is necessary to create an environment of digital talent within a company. Employees should feel comfortable discussing digital terms and using them. Some companies may need employees to be experienced in advanced software, but they should also feel comfortable using basic office applications, such as those offered by Google or Microsoft. 

2. Online research skills

Conducting independent online research is a skill employees should strive for, as exploring new topics can help them adapt to your organization's digital tools and resources. Researching online information proves they can independently expand their skill sets, which is a necessary skill in the digital age. Conducting research is common in almost every industry, but the ability to do so digitally demonstrates your employees’ comfort with using databases and software programs. 

3. Collaboration through digital tools

Digital talent is only useful if employees are able to collaborate and combine their skills. Collaboration is imperative if employees use varying technologies or software that need to merge together cohesively. Cloud-based collaboration tools like Google Drive or Microsoft Teams can help employees connect more efficiently, allowing them to come together digitally and complete projects.

4. Adaptation of new technology

Being well-versed in common technology is highly useful, but employees should also be able to adapt to new and developing technologies. Staying current on the most recent digital tools will ensure a company remains competitive and innovative. Adaptation is a useful skill in a number of ways, as it allows your employees to step outside of their comfort zones and explore new options and resources. 

5. Teaching others how to use digital resources

When employees can teach others how to use different software and online resources, the company can operate at a faster pace and with greater efficiency. When employees teach one another about new digital tools they are comfortable using, it results in a wider network of digitally talented employees. Continuing to impart knowledge to one another can expand digital literacy within a company and promote teamwork skills. 

Train your digital talent team with Coursera

With Coursera for Business, your employees will gain access to content from 350+ leading universities and industry partners, where they can build real-world experience with innovative skills, tools, and technologies while earning globally recognized credentials. Our customizable, scalable learning solutions balance workplace and technical skills training in diverse formats, from video clips to Guided Projects and Professional Certificates.

• Subscribe to The Learning Curve on LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on industry insights.

• Read our Global Skills Report to discover the in-demand skills necessary in today’s changing workforce.

• Watch a demo video to see Coursera for Business in action.

Train teams across your organization in the skills that matter most in today’s digital economy with Coursera.