If you ask most business leaders today whether their organization is “digital,” you’ll likely get a resounding yes. Being digital is as fundamental, and expected, as having electricity. But if you probe a bit deeper and ask, “How digitally savvy is your workforce?” the answer will likely be less confident. Does your workforce have the digital skills required or desired? And to play the devil’s advocate, how would you know? In this blog post, we’ll look into some of the facts related to digital skills, give insights to some of the leading frameworks for measuring digital skills, and invite you to join us in an open dialog as we dive deeper into this pivotal question.
The business case for digital skills has never been clearer. According to McKinsey, organizations with leading digital and AI capabilities outperform their peers by two to six times in total shareholder returns. The difference isn’t just about having the latest tools or platforms - it’s about how people use them. Companies that invest in digital skills see greater flexibility, faster innovation, and higher productivity across the board. As Elizabeth Marsh shares in her publication, The Digital Workplace Skills Framework, the ability to relate well digitally is important not only for productivity and effectiveness but also for wellbeing and inclusion in the digital workplace, especially where employees work remotely.
Yet, despite the clear benefits, the digital skills gap remains a stubborn challenge. The European Commission reports that only 56% of adults in the EU have at least basic digital skills, far short of the 80% target for 2030. Meanwhile, 92% of EU workers now use digital technologies in their jobs, and 30% are already interacting with AI systems at work. Despite this, 42% of workers report an AI skills gap, and only 15% have participated in AI skills training.
As digital transformation picked up speed across organizations and societies, it became clear that simply having access to technology wasn’t enough. There was a growing need to clearly define, measure, and develop the digital skills people need to leverage the technology. To address this, leading organizations like the European Commission, UNESCO, the OECD, and various industry groups joined forces with researchers and practitioners to create frameworks to help unify efforts and provide a common language for building digital skills. Over the past decade, the following “tool-agnostic” models have been published:
With the insights of the above, ask yourself the following:
At Storyals, we have developed a 10-point digital leadership self-assessment that we include in our Digital Leadership Program. You can access the complementary tool via our website, “Storyals Digital Leadership Assessment”.
Digital skills frameworks like DigComp and DQ Global Standards provide valuable models, but in our experience, they often remain theoretical and are seldom integrated into daily work. Because these frameworks are tool-agnostic, they offer limited practical guidance for organizations aiming to build skills in the specific platforms and applications they’ve invested in - such as Microsoft 365. At Storyals, we’re actively exploring how to leverage these frameworks to create practical assessments that enable targeted upskilling and deliver measurable impact. The real opportunity lies in using these frameworks to personalize learning - aligning training with each employee’s needs and roles to maximize the return on investment in both technology and training initiatives.
At Storyals, our mission is to inspire, motivate and educate users for organizations to accelerate their digital transformation. We’re currently conducting research into digital workplace skills frameworks and assessments that can be used for more personalized digital upskilling in the age of AI. If you’re interested in benchmarking your organization, sharing your experiences, or collaborating on our research, we’d love to hear from you. Please reach out to us at hello@storyals.com or via any of our social channels.
Investing in digital upskilling is no longer a “nice to have” - it’s a strategic imperative for organizations that want to thrive in today’s fast-evolving landscape. By prioritizing continuous learning and equipping employees with the skills needed for today and tomorrow, organizations can drive innovation, boost productivity, and foster a more inclusive and resilient workforce. Now is the time to make digital upskilling a strategic priority - because those who invest in their people’s digital capabilities will lead the way in the digital era.