Bridging the Capability Gap: Employee Journeys That Drive Growth

Why defining archetypes and redesigning journeys is the missing link in your people strategy

In a market shaped by continuous disruption, transformation fatigue, and rising performance pressure, organizations are starting to ask:

Do we have the right people to get where we want to go?

At YK Consulting, our answer is simple — not yet.But you can — if you bridge the capability gap strategically.

This white paper presents a practical framework for doing just that. By aligning strategy, structure, and people, we help organizations move from vague talent goals to real, measurable development. Let’s dive into 2 core concepts:

T-Shaped & V-Shaped Employees: A Model for Versatile Talent

Skill development can’t be one-dimensional. Modern business challenges demand employees who combine deep expertise with the ability to collaborate across disciplines.

We explore the evolution from:

• I-shaped employees (deep but narrow)

• To T-shaped employees (deep in one area, broad in others)

• To V-shaped employees who grow multiple spikes of depth in adjacent areas over time

This model is core to our “employee archetype” approach — helping you build employees who aren’t just good today, but adaptive tomorrow.

Employee Archetypes Across Industries

Every business needs a different mix of people. That's why practical employee archetype are important, to know what is fundamentally required in your company and business. Here’s a look at a sample of archetypes in retail banking, with variances in service, banking knowledge, cash/liquidity management, and overall governance.

Why This Matters, and What to Do

With increasing AI adoption, evolving workforce demographics, and rising pressure on performance, many companies are being forced to transform faster than ever. This white paper is our contribution to that conversation — a practical guide to help you rethink how your people strategy supports your business strategy.

Our paper dives more deeply into the three key steps into bridging the capability gap:

1. Employee Archetypes & Capability Gaps

   Begin by defining the “ideal employee” — not as a mythical perfection, but as an archetype tailored to your business goals. Learn how understanding archetypes can serve as a foundation for workforce planning.

2. Employee Journey Mapping

   Next, Explore how employee journeys — from entry-level to executive — can be designed to develop capabilities over time, build engagement through key experiences and prepare your people for leadership and change. Shape meaningful, skill-building milestones — not just tick-box programs.

3. Making It Work: Strategy Meets Structure

   Connect the dots. Having a clear vision of talent means little without systems to support it.Operationalize your capability strategy with competency models to guide skill development, organizational design to support mobility and collaboration, and performance frameworks (KPIs/OKRs) that align with your goals. This is where capability building becomes sustainable.

   
   

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Whether you’re a CEO, HR leader, or transformation head, we hope this resource helps you take the first step to creating long lasting and sustainable impact.

Access the white paper PDF here

If you are interested in having a conversation to discuss your management and people needs, get in touch with our team at support@yongkurniawan.com.