ServiceNow's Approach to Skills and Workforce Readiness: Jayney Howson

The rapid transformation of work, driven by technological acceleration and evolving business needs, is leaving organizations scrambling to keep their employees future ready. ServiceNow’s Chief Learning Officer Jayney joins me to share her thoughts on how organizations can move beyond traditional skilling to focus on comprehensive readiness, including the unique human abilities that set people apart from machines. Jayney discusses ServiceNow’s model of a "talent signature"—a multidimensional skill profile that brings together AI fluency, functional expertise, and the elusive but critical human advantage. You'll hear how ServiceNow is transforming learning into a personalized, playful, and data-driven experience, why curiosity can’t be taught but can be learned, and how measuring what makes us uniquely human is key.   You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... • 03:46 Measuring uniquely human skills • 13:08 Assessing employee skill readiness • 15:03 Emerging AI skills and demand • 18:56 Creating conditions for curiosity • 27:26 Workforce readiness and skills gap • 32:32 Focus on customer-centric strategy • 35:43 Debating centralized vs. federated learning • 37:33 Introducing SimStudio for training • 47:04 Creating a unique learning environment • 48:12 Solving the learning experience puzzle • 56:09 How the Lead Boldly model works The Shift from Skilling to Workforce Readiness Workforce readiness has become the new clarion call for organizations. Between 30 and 100% of skills are going to change in the workforce over the next 3 years. This volatility demands a seismic shift in how we think about people development: not as one-off, reactive upskilling, but as continuous preparation for evolving roles and technologies. At ServiceNow, readiness means aligning workforce capabilities with both current role requirements and the unpredictable demands of tomorrow’s jobs. Readiness isn’t about checking boxes on completed learning modules—it’s about ensuring employees can confidently perform in their roles now and adapt to what’s next. Rethinking Skills: The Talent Signature Model Central to ServiceNow’s approach is the concept of the “talent signature”—a model that assesses employees across three dimensions: • AI Fluency: The understanding and leverage of AI, scaled according to job requirements. • Functional Skills: Core competencies needed for specific roles (e.g., technical, sales, marketing). • Human Skills: The human advantage—skills that remain when AI takes over routine work, such as critical thinking, judgment, curiosity, courage, and interpersonal connection. This framework recognizes that the interplay between these domains is dynamic and context-dependent. An AI skill alone, without a human skill, is actually a skill that AI could do on its own. The difference is the foundational human layer. The model leverages nearly 200 signals—from learning completions and assessments to project work and interpersonal feedback—to generate a unique skill profile for each employee. This data-rich fingerprint enables more precise, personalized development paths and better workforce planning. Can Curiosity Be Learned? We discuss whether qualities like curiosity and courage are innate or can be developed. While training modules for curiosity might fall short, Jayney’s perspective is that these attributes can’t be taught, but they can be learned. The distinction matters: it's about creating the right conditions for growth rather than direct instruction. By fostering environments where it’s safe to experiment and fail, organizations can unlock these human traits.  The Power of Safe Experimentation To build a culture of learning, ServiceNow draws on the “science of play.” Drawing inspiration from educational theorists like Johan Huizinga, Jayney advocates for “magic circles”—playgrounds within the organization where different rules apply, and the risk of failure is reduced. In these environments, employees are more willing to try, iterate, and improve. The shift from passive consumption (read-and-test courses) to hands-on, playful approaches is evidenced in their adoption of AI-driven roleplay. Strikingly, 93% of participants returned to repeat these immersive simulations, a testament to the draw and efficacy of playful, experiential learning. Leading Boldly in Times of Uncertainty In a climate of rampant change and declining organizational trust, leadership takes center stage. ServiceNow’s “Lead Boldly” model encourages leaders to trust boldly, communicate clearly (even without certainty), and champion change—a people-centered approach that recognizes leaders as the primary catalysts for psychological safety, resilience, and adaptive learning.  Resources & People Mentioned • Bill McDermott CEO of ServiceNow (  / billrmcdermott  ) • Rachel Botsman on LinkedIn (  / rachel-botsman  ) • Homo Ludens: ...