The world of work is evolving at record speeds. Digitization has made a lot of jobs obsolete, and this has created a dire need for upskilling. While you can look for new candidates with the necessary set of skills, hiring tends to be an expensive ordeal, especially in the current economy. Moreover, it is not always easy to find talent that fits in with your organization's culture, making it a smarter choice to upskill or reskill existing employees.

Upskilling vs. reskilling  

While upskilling helps an employee build upon their skillset and grow linearly in their existing role or field, reskilling facilitates the employee's lateral growth into a completely new position.

Why is upskilling an integral part of your company's growth?  

• At the pace that technology is growing, the nature of work will continue to change rapidly, and upskilling is the only way that talent can stay relevant.

• It can give employees more opportunity for growth within the organization.

• It can help your organization address skill gaps without the loss of tribal knowledge or having to hire new talent.

Here's how upskilling can bring the best out of your employees 

Improves retention 

Upskilling and reskilling can help you retain employees whose roles are evolving, while also keeping you prepared for any needs that may arise in the future. Employees are usually more interested in working for companies that offer a better career growth trajectory.

Improves performance

By providing opportunities to upskill, you can help employees see the bigger picture and motivate them to work towards the next steps in their career.

Attracts candidates

Upskilling programs can show talent that you are invested in your workforce's future. This will help you attract more candidates with long-term goals to your company.

How do you identify the need for upskilling in your organization? 

Upskilling is a necessary factor for all businesses to evolve, and under certain circumstances, it becomes a non-negotiable. These include

• Business growth or expansion, that might bring about the need for new skillsets

• Upcoming new technologies that gives a clear advantage to the company

• Existing skill gap

• To stay relevant to new industry trends and regulations.

Creating an upskilling plan for your workforce  

• Educate yourself on how different roles might grow in the future, and forecast the skills that will be needed.

• Analyse the skills needed for each role, and see if you will need to hire for them or if you can upskill existing talent.

• Assess employees and identify who has the required skillsets and who can grow into specific roles.

• Consider different training modalities for upskilling these employees, like on-the-job training, mentorships, courses, and seminars.

• Consistently evaluate the changing business needs and update your upskilling strategy to ensure that your training plan does not become obsolete.

Hire responsibly  

Ideally, every hire should have potential for growth. Before you start recruiting for any position, it is important that you map out the potential career journey. This way, you can show your candidates the expected professional growth in the company, and recruit candidates who have true potential to grow into subsequent roles.

This can also ensure that your employees don't turn into liabilities if their roles become obsolete, preventing layoffs in the future.

Grow with your employees 

All good employees deserve learning and development opportunities, and it is the organization's responsibility to facilitate them. Focusing on your workforce's future can help employees envision a longer journey in your organization, giving them stronger purpose and adding more value to the company.