How Organizations Stand to Gain a Lot By Reskilling Employees An employer should accept upskilling as a tool to constantly broaden his perspective and for an employee, it is his tool to stay in the game
By Sandesh Kangod •
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Our world is growing increasingly automated. Processes are changing and getting upgraded everyday. In this context, it is important for us to improve our existing skills and learn new skills to survive, especially in our workplace. An ideal leader should inculcate in his employees the need to reskill in order to keep up with constantly evolving professional needs as well as to prepare for the future. The following points illustrate why and how it is important to focus on upskilling your employees:
Related : Why Skilling up Today will Ensure a Brighter Tomorrow
Technology Training
We are living in a truly digital world. From buying household groceries to applying for a job, everything can be done online. And technology is constantly evolving. Therefore, it is imperative that employees need to upgrade their skills accordingly. Today, the question is not about whether one can use internet or not rather, the concern is how effectively one can use it for the benefit of the company. So, as the technology evolves it is important that your employees are adequately trained in using them and understand the various advancements.
Employee Retention
Retaining your employees is key from an HR perspective. Employers invest a lot of time and capital in their employees. This investment will only be beneficial when the employees will develop and grow. This growth, in turn, will be beneficial to your organization. If your employee feels that the employer is invested in them and focusing on their development, they are motivated to work harder and stay in the workplace. Simply advancing higher up in the career ladder path is not enough - employees have to keep themselves relevant also. Similarly, as an employer, if you invest in adequate upskilling, you will get a more productive employee. The net result is your bottom-line will improve.
Customer Satisfaction
Clients across sectors are getting increasingly demanding with expectations continuing to grow. If your employees are invested with new skills, this will enable them to broaden their understanding of various key deliverable thereby allowing them to possibly exceed customer expectations. In other words, in order to keep pace with the manifold demands, reskilling of employees will play a key role.
Related : Skilling and Staying Relevant : The Only Way to Survive in the Age of Automation
Identify Goals and Set Development Agendas
It is very important for employees to review their own skills. This gives them an idea where they are lagging behind and where they feel they need to improve. If the employee works on his/her own skill sets and identifies a gap, he/she will be more motivated to rectify them, rather than if he/she is instructed to. Self-motivation plays a key role here. This process also helps to increase employer-employee communication and make it more effective and targeted towards the identification and improvement of problem areas.
Training Programs
Related : These Entrepreneurs are Re-skilling Blue Collar Employees as an HR Initiative
An employer can engage his employees in multiple training programs. Inviting experts to the organization to share their learning and experiences can always help the workforce gain knowledge. Getting to listen and learn from the masters of the field gives a sense of trust to the employees that upskilling is an option to a better future.
With time we have learnt that effective working is equally important if not more than hard work. Similarly, while developing a skill set is important, what is equally important is how effectively we are using those skills to our advantage. So, for effective results we need efficient working and that in turn demands nuanced and honed skills. In order to survive and be at par with the continuous changes in the market, employees need to be educated with proper skills and improve upon them over time. An employer should accept upskilling as a tool to constantly broaden his perspective and for an employee, it is his tool to stay in the game.
