Feature
The ongoing shortage of skilled talent, especially in tech, is pushing organizations to develop their own training programs to meet business needs.
According to ManpowerGroup’s Q2 2023 Global Employment Outlook Survey of 39,000 employers across 41 countries, 77% said they are struggling to find talent with the skills the business needs — especially in areas of IT and data, engineering, sales and marketing, and operations and logistics.
Additionally, ManpowerGroup found that the majority (84%) are maintaining or increasing their IT budgets, setting the stage for the competition for talent to only get tighter.
“Many companies are looking for resources with both significant years of experience, as well as expertise in new and emerging technologies,” said Christine Kiefer, SVP of Experis at Experis/ManpowerGroup. “Unfortunately, this combination of requirements makes it even more difficult to find talent that meets these expectations.”
Upskilling the existing workforce — rather than searching for the ideal candidate — is one way to stay on top of skills needed to rise above competition and improve the services provided to customers.
A look into how to get started with your own learning and development program — and how to monitor its success.
Getting Started
When starting the upskilling process, L&D leaders need to first make an honest assessment of both current needs and expected future needs, identifying top skill priorities, Kiefer said.
She advises inquiring about areas of the business that require internal or historical knowledge as well as new tech skills, goals with the technology road map and what employees are saying they need to be successful. “Understanding not just your immediate needs but anticipating future needs will best prepare you to develop and benefit from an upskilling program,” Kiefer said.
Tony Charles, CEO of e-learning provider SkillDirector, said that’s often where companies go wrong, focusing first on the content rather than conducting a needs assessment. Chances of success are much greater when learning and development leaders start the process with a gap analysis for individuals and the organization as a whole before focusing time and effort on building or acquiring the content to support those needs, he said.
When it comes to identifying the soft skills needed for a role, Charles recommends hosting a workshop with top performers, who are a benchmark because “they should be the subject matter experts on what it takes to be successful.”
That conversation with top performers should walk through the tasks they do that drive performance in their roles, drilling down into specifics and the tools they use. This is likely to yield some great tips or some job aids that can become some of the L&D content used in the actual upskilling process.
Ultimately, Charles drives home the importance of having the right mechanisms within the organization to be prepared to upskill.
Related Article: How AI Can Help Map Your Talent
Tools for Tracking
A crucial part of a successful upskilling program is keeping track of skills development.
For small organizations, this can be managed on simple tools such as Excel and SharePoint, but larger employers face complexities, Charles said. Constant attrition and new hires can make it difficult to track who has and hasn’t been assessed.
Building out a long-term software solution will be foundational for an upskilling culture because it keeps the company organized, accelerates the process and allows leaders to stay ahead of trends and the competition. Technology and business are changing so fast that it’s difficult to keep up, Charles said. “If you’re building for a point-in-time solution, you’re going to lose.”
L&D teams, in partnership with HR and executive leadership, may decide on multiple external vendor relationships to accomplish their upskilling goals, said Aida Holson, director of upskilling solutions at General Assembly. But these can be fragmented due to outdated design.
Another option is a built-for-purpose tool that promises seamless integration across hiring, performance management and learning systems in order to create a more dynamic talent strategy. Skills mapping or competency management software tools are some of the newest tools that enable skills-based hiring and learning models, she said.
Depending on the upskilling objectives, most organizations choose a combination of self-led and instructor-facilitated programs, the latter typically reserved for deeper upskilling needs or for areas in which employee engagement and an immediate business impact are desirable.
She advises that most employees should upskill in a related cluster of skills that correspond to specific projects or job profiles, creating an easy-to-understand business impact story or mobility pathway.
Getting employee buy-in is also critical. Companies might see improved employee engagement in upskilling by tapping learning communities, gamification, stretch assignments and inviting individuals to become learning champions for a specific skill or area.
In her experience, instructor-led models are better suited for community creation, idea exchange and employee collaboration because this type of learning modality also creates opportunities to streamline the content to specific goals.
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“We also find that it is more likely to deliver measurable business impact, which in and of itself is a great motivator to many employees,” Holson said.
Related Article: How Gamification at Work Fits Into Learning & Development
Measurement to Gain Buy-In
Being able to demonstrate the business impact of the upskilling program and measure its success over time is key to getting buy-in, sources for this story said.
Charles said upskilling programs have in the past often focused on employee satisfaction and attrition. “Those are important metrics, but they’re not directly correlated to company performance, per se,” he said. Instead, L&D leaders should help the senior and middle management teams understand exactly which areas of upskilling support the goals in specific functions and the overall business.
“When we do that well, we become not a nice-to-have function but a need-to-have function and a strategic function for the organization,” he said.
For example, for organizations looking to improve customer support, metrics to track could include first-call resolution and customer satisfaction, translating to increased revenue per representative. Putting numbers to the initiatives helps gain investment from senior leaders, who can then influence employees who take training, “who will respond to managers’ emphasis, support for — or lack thereof — the program,” Charles said.
Related Article: How to Overcome the Barriers to a Rewarding Training Program
Ensuring Continuation
After launching an upskilling initiative, the work isn’t over.
L&D leaders should map the measurements to the initial plan, harking back to the goals of the business, KPIs and changing needs of the organization, Kiefer said, taking the metrics into account and adjusting their approach and curriculum over time.
“To ensure the program remains relevant and delivers on your investment, it's important to continuously review these elements,” Kiefer said.
