3 Ways to Upskill Your Workforce

Is Your Business Prepared for Future Needs?
The companies that survive disruption are those that are able to predict how needs and marketplaces will change and shift. Thanks to COVID, putting people back into the workforce and preparing them for the jobs that are needed now will be a huge challenge. It’s time to upskill your workforce.

As organizations emerge from this catastrophic year, workforces will require new capabilities as they face the future. Skill deficits need to be addressed and soon. In a recent McKinsey survey, almost 70% of respondents said that developing the skills of their current staff was the most important method of building talent – even more than hiring. What plans have you made as a talent manager to upskill your people?

Three Steps to Upskill Your Workforce

1. Recognize Needs
   The first step to upskill your workforce is to understand the key skills your company will need to compete successfully in the post-COVID environment to best execute your business and talent strategies.
   
   An effective training needs assessment can help to initiate the change process, align leaders and employees, pinpoint skill gaps against a proven standard, customize training, predispose training participants, guide coaching and Individual Development Plans, and set baseline metrics.
   
   You will know that you are on the right path when all key stakeholders agree about how and where should you invest in developing people.
   
2. Prioritize Critical Skill Gaps
   Once you know where you stand and where you need to be to succeed, your next step is to prioritize filling the skill gaps that will have the greatest impact on business and people success. There are many effective ways to close skill gaps from hiring, to restructuring, to reskilling. The methods you choose will depend upon what makes sense in your unique situation.
   
   You will know that you are on the right path when all key stakeholders agree upon the critical few skill gaps to fill and the value of closing those gaps compared to other priorities.
   
3. Develop Effectively
   Training programs vary widely in their effectiveness. Based upon over 800 different training measurement projects, we know that training by itself – even if it is highly customized and appreciated by participants – only changes the on-the-job behavior and performance of 1-in-5 participants.  And the 20% that do change behavior and improve performance were already likely to do so without much help.  The difference maker?  Training relevance and training reinforcement.
   
   Be sure you make the most of your training time and dollars by investing in ongoing learning approaches that not only target critical individual needs that align with business priorities but that also include thoughtful pre-work, robust practice, targeted coaching, honest feedback, and consistent reinforcement.

The Bottom Line
Have you conducted a survey to assess what skills are present and what skills are needed to compete effectively in your marketplace? Only with an agreed-upon list of key capabilities can you begin to address skill gaps and upskill your people when and where it will count.

To learn more about how to upskill your workforce, download Training Rollout Plan – 3 Options that Makes Sense