What is upskilling?
Upskilling is the process of employees at your company learning new skills to advance their careers and pursue new internal opportunities. The idea is to develop employee skillsets and evolve accordingly, especially as new technology arrives to the workplace. In such a competitive market, upskilling keeps your organization innovative, tech-savvy, and most, importantly, adaptable to changes.
Forbes mentions, “Upskilling entails learning new skills, but it also involves a cultural shift and change management. To be competitive in the digital age, individuals and corporations require a learning-for-life mindset, collaboration—with humans and machines– and a willingness to embrace new ways of doing things.
Benefits of upskilling
There are many benefits to embracing upskilling at your organization. Most notably, it helps to close the skill gap. Many companies struggle to find candidates with a solid blend of relevant skills, leaving job openings up for weeks at a time. Providing resources and trainings for current employees allows your teams to grow actively and keep up with in-demand skills.
Upskilling can also help attract new talent and boost employee retention. Any true commitment to the growth and wellbeing of your employees will reflect a level of respect and admiration. Many professionals in the younger generations are looking for growth opportunities and development programs when applying for jobs. Upskilling reduces turnover rates and allows current employees to make lateral moves and improve their overall work culture.
How to take advantage of upskilling
- Determine company needs. Knowing both short- and long-term goals will help to match the type of skills you’ll need in order to succeed. Additionally, once you know which skillsets are most necessary, you’ll be able to decide which employees pair best with specific programs and growth opportunities.
- Create a plan. This is the most crucial step, as it is where you will build career paths for specific employees, as well as developmental plans and trainings. Both soft and hard skills should be considered, as well as generational differences when it comes to learning.
- Consider the ROI and reward employees. Any type of change in business should require a reflection or measurement of its success. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, you should be able to determine the effectiveness of implementing upskilling into your workforce. It is additionally important to reward any employees who contributed to the success. Be sure to acknowledge their efforts and contributions, whether its through a raise, promotion, or title change.
Green Key is a proud, innovative recruiting firm, always prepared to adapt to technological changes and advance when needed. If you’re looking to work for an organization that considers upskilling a crucial part of business development, browse our internal roles or connect with us on LinkedIn!
