Upskilling: The L&D Perspective on Building a Future-Ready Workforce
In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, ensuring your team has the right skills mix is crucial to overcoming challenges and seizing new opportunities. However, finding candidates with the perfect blend of competencies is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Even when you do find that ideal match, the skills required to excel in their role are constantly evolving. Enter upskilling – the secret sauce that keeps your team – and your organisation – ahead of the game.
What is Upskilling?
Upskilling is the process of helping team members develop new or advanced skills to enhance job performance and unlock career growth opportunities. It’s a proactive approach to employee development that keeps your organisation innovative and competitive. Upskilling encompasses various methods, from formal education and online learning platforms to mentoring and stretch assignments, targeting both technical (hard) and interpersonal (soft) skills.
Why Upskilling Matters: The L&D Perspective
1. Bridging the Skills Gap
The skills required for jobs have changed dramatically, with a 25% shift since 2015, expected to double by 2027. This evolution creates a significant skills gap, with 75% of employers struggling to find talent with the right mix of technical expertise and soft skills. Upskilling helps your team members acquire these in-demand skills, ensuring your organisation is future-proof.
2. Cost-Effective Talent Development
As learning specialists, we understand that developing talent from within is more cost-effective than hiring externally. According to LinkedIn, 79% of L&D professionals agree that reskilling a current employee is cheaper than hiring a new one. Upskilling also enables employees to adapt to evolving roles, helping organisations do more with fewer resources, especially during economic uncertainty.
3. Attracting and Retaining Top Talent
Top talent is always in high demand. Upskilling is a powerful tool for attracting and retaining these coveted candidates. Nearly 9 out of 10 job seekers look for skills development programmes, clear career paths, and advancement opportunities when considering new roles. You can make your organisation stand out by highlighting these opportunities in your job postings and employer branding materials.
4. Boosting Employee Retention and Engagement
Employee retention is a major concern for most organisations, with 93% worried about turnover. Providing learning opportunities is the top strategy for reducing voluntary turnover. Upskilling fosters career growth and internal mobility, which are key to retaining high-potential employees. Data shows that 75% of employees who receive promotions stay with their company for at least three years, and altering responsibilities can increase retention by over 20%.
5. Enhancing Organisational Culture
A robust upskilling programme contributes to a healthy company culture, promoting employee engagement and satisfaction. LinkedIn's 2022 Skills Advantage Report identified learning and growth opportunities as the top driver of a great work culture. Organisations with highly rated cultures see employees 31% more likely to recommend them and 25% more likely to be happy at work.
How Learning Teams Implement Upskilling Programmes
1. Aligning Organisational Needs with Employee Goals
Regularly discussing career aspirations with team members helps find intersections with organisational needs. These conversations are crucial for keeping your team engaged and invested in the upskilling process. As learning specialists, we advocate for managers to have these career development discussions frequently.
2. Creating Tailored Development Plans
Develop plans that include both hard and soft skills, considering individual learning preferences. For example, a visual learner might thrive with online courses, while a hands-on learner might prefer stretch assignments. Tailoring the approach ensures better engagement and results. Utilise platforms like LearnDash to create engaging and effective learning modules.
3. Task-Oriented Learning
Upskilling programmes should be built around specific tasks that employees need to complete as part of their roles. Task-oriented learning ensures that training is directly applicable to daily responsibilities, making it more relevant and effective. By focusing on real-world tasks, employees can immediately apply what they’ve learned, leading to better retention and performance. This practical approach not only enhances skills but also boosts confidence and productivity.
4. Recognising and Rewarding Upskilling Efforts
Recognising and incentivising employees' efforts to learn new skills is key. As learning specialists, we know that a simple shout-out in a meeting, a spot on the leaderboard, or even a promotion can do wonders for morale and motivation.
5. Measuring Programme Success
Tracking metrics like performance reviews, productivity, and retention is essential to assess your programme's impact. Use this data to tweak and improve your approach, ensuring it remains effective and relevant. Collect qualitative feedback from employees to understand their learning experiences and identify areas for improvement.
6. Regularly Revisiting Goals
The business landscape changes, and so should your upskilling strategy. Use performance reviews and ongoing discussions to keep development plans aligned with evolving company needs and employee goals. Regular check-ins ensure that your upskilling efforts are always on point.
Final Thoughts
In our ever-changing world of work, upskilling isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s a necessity. It enables organisations to build a talented, adaptable workforce capable of meeting business goals and staying relevant. As learning specialists, we have the tools and strategies to make upskilling a cornerstone of your organisational success. So, let’s embrace upskilling and equip our teams with the skills they need to thrive, both now and in the future.
