Some people say digital transformation is a journey, not a destination. Agreed, but the pace of this journey is so fast that the job market is failing to match it, states strategy consultant Mckinsey & Company.
This indicates that very soon we’ll be short of professionals to fill some posts with specific technological skills. Many industries are going through digital transformation and unmanageable conversions, and the skills needed for jobs are evolving constantly.
Automation and artificial intelligence are taking up many conventional roles, while new opportunities have come to the fore in changing fields. It is time now for organizations to think about employee development and upskill and reskill their workforce to keep them going and sustain a pool of skilled employees.
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Article insight: Organizations must adapt to new technologies and market trends in today’s ever-changing business environment. And to do this, they need a skilled workforce. In this article, we will discuss the importance of upskilling and reskilling employees for long-term success.
Choosing the Right Employee Development Path:
Organizations must go for the right employee development path and make sure their learning plans align with their objectives. This way, they can influence the results of upskilling and reskilling. When you provide opportunities for employees to develop the skills required in the future, it will make them adaptive, and it will also enhance the company’s growth.
Upskilling - Continuous Skill Enhancement:
Upskilling refers to continual training and learning to be attuned to technological growth, the latest trends, and job requirements. Upskilling is the process of attaining new expertise to enhance career prospects and employee skill sets to remain pertinent in the dynamic job market.
Reskilling - Acquiring New Skills:
When an employee learns a new skill other than his existing skills, it's called reskilling. It's needed when your current skill set is inactive. Very often, these skills are close to their current function, but sometimes they may guide them to a career transition.
Difference between Reskilling and Upskilling:
The contrast between these two ideas dwells in the goals of the training. Upskilling is all about teaching employees new skills to enhance their conduct. Whereas reskilling focuses on training employees to prepare them for a distinct post within the organization, in simple words, upskilling is about making workers more expert through skill enhancement, and reskilling is about making them more versatile.
Reskilling vs. Upskilling for Employee Development:
Today's business market requires skilled employees to meet the growing demands. With the evolution of organizational requirements, in-demand skills also evolve. Globalization has transformed many employees’ jobs in the past. Artificial intelligence is reforming those positions further. Soon, many jobs that we have today will look more discrete than they do now, and some jobs will become obsolete. And there will also be necessary jobs in companies that don't even exist today. In this situation, businesses can't afford to be smug.
Thankfully, organizations have two potent options for talent development tools. They must decide between these two to remain current. For them, it's upskilling vs. reskilling. Organizations can get ready for the changes happening now by upskilling and reskilling their employees. As there is a big shift in the talent needs of businesses, some elements will make reskilling and upskilling very crucial in the coming years.
When to opt for Reskilling in Employee Development:
When you see the roles of your valuable employees being obliterated, then it's time to reskill them. It happens very often that a company wants its valuable employees to continue working with them, but they can't maintain them in the same positions. In this situation, reskilling those employees for new tasks is the best option.
Benefits of Reskilling in Career Transition:
Reskilling seems to be the new buzzword in the business domain. It's the procedure of acquiring new knowledge by employees to perform a different role within their existing organization. Not only is it a good alternative to sacking current employees, but it also has other benefits as well. Let's look at them:
Saves money:
Companies spend a lot of money on hiring and training employees. They spend more money when they look for talent in specific roles. Newbies need training in software, protocol, and company processes. Whereas your current employees know all these things and don't need any training for them. Which saves you money. A specialist new hire can cost up to 20% more compared to the workers that organizations reskill to do the same job.
Retain your best employees:
It's not easy to find talented employees. Reskilling allows you to keep your top employees with you. By reskilling, you improve their value, and they contribute to your company with their new skills.
Multiskilled employees:
Reskilling inflates the skill set of employees and makes them more versatile at their jobs. These employees become more proactive and resourceful by knowing all the details of your workflow. Employees acquire useful insight into different areas of the company through reskilling, which helps them in their career growth.
When to Choose Upskilling for Career Growth:
The job market has been completely disordered in the recent past because of growing technologies. Technology is creating skill gaps in the current workforce besides providing business opportunities. At this point, many organizations are upskilling their workforce to make them more productive. Employees must also upskill themselves to match the pace of growing technology and look for new opportunities and roles soon. Let's look at some benefits of upskilling.
Benefits of Upskilling:
Employees stay on top of new trends: Upskilling can remarkably tweak an employee's expertise and effectiveness in the workplace. Upskilled employees are more confident and remain on top of the latest technological trends in their specific roles. Upskilling allows employees to take full advantage of their skills and knowledge.
High employee satisfaction:
You can easily maintain high employee performance when your employees are fully satisfied with their career development. Most employees want to leave their jobs when they see no career growth. Upskilling their employees' organizations can make them feel valued. When you upskill your employees, you show that you care about their development, which results in enhanced employee effectiveness, satisfaction, and retention rates within an organization.
Inspire fresh talent:
When organizations display an investment in effective upskilling programs, employees feel appreciated and show tremendous support for their business. They will recommend your organization to their network. This way, you will have a fresh pool of talent to pick from when you decide to stretch your team. Dedicated employees make a company grow by achieving their goals. And work towards overall success.
Upskilling employees who are looking for opportunities to develop their skill sets and their careers strengthens your organization. Not only does it help in enhancing employee engagement, but it also retains your top team members. Working on a personalized employee development plan can give your company an edge over others.
The Importance of Conducting a Skill Assessment for Each Employee:
Upskilling your organization's workforce makes them ready for the digital era ahead, but to do that, you must anticipate the right skills and design effective training programs. You must build a culture of continuous learning as an adaptable strategy for learners' development.
Conducting an Individual skill assessment for development or skill gap analysis helps decide if your employee's present skills meet the complete requirements of the company or not. Through skill gap analysis, you get a record of skills employees already possess and need to upgrade and grow. You can use this data to upskill your workforce through effective training programs. This way, you can build a team of skilled workers to achieve your company's overall goals.
The Role of Personalized Career Pathing:
Personalized career pathing is all about talent growth and reframing approaches to align individual objectives with organizational gains. With proper planning, it's possible for you to be future-proof while you thrive in the present vigorous work domain. All the regular methods of career development have become obsolete. Today, organizations must understand the tangled web of customized career paths to make sure they remain fierce, inventive, and, most importantly, sustain top talent. There should be transparency in distinct career paths in your organizations. Employees should clearly know their route and what it entails. This will help them make an informed decision and choose the right path. As a company, you must make sure that your employees' progress aligns with your company’s broader objectives. This enriches a healthy relationship between organizational and personal growth.
Summing up:
Upskilling and reskilling help employees become more resourceful and adaptable. They can help an organization grow by becoming experts in their fields. Organizations can retain their top talent by helping their employees upgrade their existing skillsets.
