In a previous blog post, we have seen the meaning and importance of
upskilling and reskilling. In today’s post let see how an organization can upskill
and reskill their employees.
Before creating an upskilling strategy, conduct a discovery phase to see what skills you will need from your employee base down the road. The goal must be to stay ahead of your industry’s future demands to get an edge on your competitors.
Identify Gaps in Skills
Look at current and future business requirements and
determine what a future workforce may need for your particular industry. Assess
the capabilities of your current workforce and identify gaps in skills or
mismatched roles.
Build a plan to deal with the skills gaps by reviewing
current upskilling strategies and improving the effectiveness of your learning
systems.
Create a cultural shift around upskilling and reskilling
that makes learning, career development, and hiring from within a priority.
Develop an Upskilling and Reskilling Plan
Create individualized learning plans and make sure your
training is effective and engaging. Make training and development opportunities
readily available and affordable for everyone. Accommodate different learning
styles. Some employees might do best in a traditional classroom setting with a
teacher. And a completely different segment might prefer walking through
courses online. Others might prefer microlearning—watching 15-minute videos
that cover topics in small increments. Providing something for all learning
styles ensures the maximum amount of employees will want to participate.
Empower employees to choose their path. Put them in charge
of their personal development plan, and help them make their own decisions around
their career progression. When employees feel they have the freedom to choose
what areas they develop, they take more ownership over their personal and
professional development.
Ensure that employees have dedicated learning and training
time and set up a reward and incentive program for completion. Ensure that
employees have dedicated learning and training time and set up a reward and incentive
program for completion.
Evaluate Your ROI
There’s no doubt about it—upskilling and reskilling are
investments. But, tracking your employees’ engagement and measuring how
improved skill sets have impacted your bottom line can make clear how worthwhile
the investment is.
Building Skills for the Future
By investing in the upskilling and reskilling of your
workforce, you’ll be reinforcing to your staff that even in these challenging
times, their development is a priority to you. And once your company has
figured out its new normal post-pandemic, you’ll be able to quickly scale up
with a strong, resilient, adaptable team.
Final Thoughts
Each business must align their methods with their business
objectives and requirements. Also, remember to consider different learning
styles and balance these against individual employee needs.
Continued learning and development in the workplace have
always been vital for businesses to grow and succeed. A stagnant workforce that
does not move with the times will inevitably find itself lacking in the skills
necessary to advance in the marketplace.
