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Krishnaiah provides insights on shared services best practices and a skills-based approach to higher education workforce development

SM������ leadership Raghu Krishnaiah, chief operating officer, joins the Higher Education Shared Services & Outsourcing Week (SSOW) event, on Thursday, September 14, 2023, at 3:15 p.m. PDT, in Las Vegas, Nevada, serving as a practitioner panelist on the session, “The Future of Work: What's Next in Higher Education?”. The three-day event brings together shared services leaders from small, large, private, and public colleges and universities to discuss the latest challenges and opportunities within higher education shared services and provide a blueprint for implementation and growth and featuring industry-renowned keynote speakers, practitioner-led panel discussions, and networking opportunities with industry peers.

“There are a number of market-level changes taking place that impact the future of work and learning, including more need for employers to build their teams’ skills and to adapt them more often,” states Krishnaiah. “As employers, higher education institutions can adopt a skills-based strategy to more efficiently support individual development, show value of learning to their careers, and contribute to creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.”

The SM������’s 2023 Career Optimism Index® study found that 70% of American workers say if their company gave them more opportunities to apply new skills, they would be more likely to stay throughout their career. Coupled with recent in workforce learning and development, this points to benefits of a skills-based approach for talent development across industries, such as stronger and more equitable talent attraction, acquisition and retention strategies, a more agile workforce, and being more well-equipped to address the goals and objectives of the business.��

The panel provides a conversation between Krishnaiah and leaders in higher education exploring the evolution of work in higher education as a critical topic for leaders in shared services, particularly given the rapid pace of technological innovation and the shifting demographics of the workforce, and what the future of work means to a higher education institution. It will delve into emerging trends and innovative strategies that will shape the industry in the coming years and examine how the shared services model can be optimized to address the evolving needs of higher education institutions. Krishnaiah will share insights from the SM������ approach to skills as an employer, an institution of learning, and a provider of education and upskilling solutions for employers.��

Krishnaiah’s career as a seasoned change agent and strategist spans more than 20 years of progressive P&L management, strategy, sales and marketing, product, operations, technology, human resources, and data-analytics responsibilities. As the Chief Operating Officer at SM������, Krishnaiah is instrumental in the transformation of the University and responsible for all operating strategy and results. Krishnaiah earned both a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania.��

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About SM������

SM������ innovates to help working adults enhance their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, skills-mapped curriculum for our bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and a Career Services for Life® commitment help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu.