The Importance of Upskilling Employees: What You Should Know

Some companies are dealing with tighter budgets, hiring freezes, and more demanding targets. Not to mention, recruiting new talents is also challenging because the market is becoming more competitive these days. As such, some companies' last resort is upskilling employees.

Upskilling employees provides benefits for both companies and staff. One of the known benefits of upskilling employees is saving on hiring costs. This article will further discuss the other benefits of upskilling employees.

Upskilling Employees Benefits

Hiring fresh and new talents provides many advantages, such as bringing additional fresh perspectives to the table. But do not forget to maintain a balance between having new and tenured talent in the workplace. This means there must be employees with experience in handling the image brand, the process of providing services, and solving common issues.

To achieve the balance of having experienced employees and new talents, upskilling employees is one of the best solutions. In a 2020 report, it shows that over 90% of CEOs who introduced upskilling programs found the following advantages:

• Boosts productivity.
• Helps companies improve talent acquisition and retention.
• Builds a resilient workforce.

The Importance of Upskilling Employees in 2023

In the age of rising innovation in artificial intelligence, some changes and adjustments are inevitable. AI can do some jobs, which only means that some job positions will become redundant.

AI innovation can also create new jobs. To keep up with innovation, upskilling employees will play an essential role in these drastic technological changes.

Upskilling employees involves providing additional training to learn new skills. During the pandemic, upskilling employees has become a strategic imperative for companies across all industries.

Here are some benefits of upskilling employees and their positive impact on individual careers and organizational success:

Boosting Productivity 

Upskilling employees requires effective programs to improve productivity and the quality of work. Before a pandemic hit, a report from the World Economic Forum predicted that 54% of all employees would require significant re- and upskilling by 2022.

Upskilling employees means preparing employees to undertake more complex tasks. Undertaking this also allows them to improve efficiency and contribute to meeting business objectives more effectively.

Employee Retention 

Technically, the main reason for upskilling employees is to boost employee retention. But there are many reasons why it is not easy for most organizations to let go of current employees. Aside from the established relationship, employees with experience have an advantage: knowledge of business and operations.

Companies that invest in upskilling employees allow their staff to improve their skills, which increases job satisfaction and employee retention. According to LinkedIn's 2019 Workforce Learning Report, 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it could provide learning and development programs.

Reducing Skill Gaps 

Technological advancements provide convenience and boost productivity. At the same time, it may create skill gaps, especially for different generations. These gaps may cause hiccups in business continuity and growth.

Upskilling employees can be a strategic way to minimize these gaps without the time and financial investment required for hiring new staff.

Competitive Advantage 

Companies that invest in upskilling employees may build a good brand image. They have a higher chance of attracting top talent and being more competitive in their market.

Upskilling employees may affect the marketing and be a selling point during recruitment. When people learn that a company is upskilling employees, it leaves a good impression.

Adaptability

Adapting to market changes is crucial for modern businesses. Adapting sounds easy, but it takes time for everyone to learn to adapt to the changes, particularly in technology and new skills. An invaluable asset is having a workforce that can evolve alongside technological trends and market demands.

McKinsey & Company revealed that the post-COVID era may force the workforce to acquire new skills as roles evolve due to demands.

Upskilling Employees in 2023

Every organization wants to boost employee retention. The effective solution here is upskilling.

Probably, your company considers upskilling employees. But the next question here is, "How?"

HR professionals must come up with effective strategies for upskilling employees, just like hiring. When developing an effective strategy, here are the things they need to consider:

Identifying Business' Skill Gaps

Skills gaps within the workplace are inevitable. As technology evolves, there are skills and knowledge that need some updates. This is the reason why upskilling employees is necessary to keep up with the changes.

HR professionals use diverse methods when conducting a skill gap analysis. They usually utilize an approach that is designed based on the organization's overall needs. If you’re looking for some ideas to carry out a skill gap analysis, check this out:

• Find out what skills are used to fulfill the company's objectives and business mission.
• Collect all important data, including job titles, career levels, qualifications, and current skill sets.
• Check the business' previous targets and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Answer some critical questions: Did the team hit the target? What are the solutions?
• Save feedback cycles to gain qualitative data.
• Before testing specific skills or strategies, conduct some assessments.

Develop a Learning and Development (L&D) Policy

HR professionals develop learning and development (L&D) strategies that outline addressing the workforce's capabilities, skills, and competencies.

When establishing a strategy, not only the HR department does the work. There is the involvement of different stakeholders, such as the senior employees who have gained knowledge and experience. This only means there is teamwork between the HR department and other departments.

Creating an L&D platform must have an engaging, valuable content that helps your employees grow. This content is valuable for upskilling employees.

Employee Mentorship Program

Although you have video content for upskilling employees, mentoring from seniors is a different experience. Effectively upskilling employees requires on-the-job support and experience. With that, mentorship programs are necessary when upskilling employees.

Set Upskilling Rewards

When upskilling employees, giving rewards can motivate them. It can be in any form.

When giving rewards, it is important that you know the progress of each participant who joins the upskilling program.

Track Progress When Upskilling Employees

You need to track the progress when you are upskilling employees. Yes, it is the basis for giving rewards. But more than that, tracking the progress shows development and how effective your program is.

What You Should Not Do When Upskilling Employees

Upskilling employees offers lots of advantages.  Keep in mind that there are some pitfalls to avoid:

• Ignoring employee input
• One-size-fits-all approach: a generic training program that may not be effective for some departments.
• Neglecting measurement
• No follow through

Wrap-up

Investing in upskilling employees is a smart and long-term investment. It provides win-win advantages to both employees and employers. That is why there is a saying, "We grow together."

This article mentions the advantages of upskilling employees. Aside from the ideas shared earlier, you may consider using tools like CompAnalyst and Compensation Management Software. These tools help HR professionals assess employee skills and design effective upskilling programs. Not to mention, Salary.com has a feature that allows companies to address pay equity.