BLOGS

With upskilling and reskilling, you may already have exactly the person you need. 

It's no longer news at this point-we're in a bit of a labor crisis.

Unemployment rates are the lowest they've been since the beginning of 2019, and The Great Resignation has employees leaving their jobs en masse to pursue new opportunities.

While your employees are always the heart and soul of your business, employee retention and investments in human capital have never been as critical as they are right now.

But there's a compounding dilemma-the job market not only needs more employees, but it needs them to have new and increasingly specialized skill sets.

This leaves HR directors with a paradox: How can we keep our existing employees and bring in the new skills our evolving business needs?

The answer? Education.

Upskilling and reskilling are two essential practices for the future of work and business growth, now and in years to come.

Today, we'll talk about what these terms mean, and how you can implement learning and development strategies to accomplish your business goals while your employees accomplish their career goals.

Upskilling Vs. Reskilling

What Are They?

Both upskilling and reskilling are strategies for training your workforce to better suit the needs of your business as it adapts to new trends and technologies.

How Do They Differ?

Upskilling is the process of equipping employees with new skills that benefit their existing career paths.

For instance, the transition from paper records to computer-based customer relationship management systems (CRMs) required administrative employees to upskill-that is, they had to be trained in CRM usage for digital recordkeeping.

Reskilling employees, on the other hand, involves training them to suit an entirely different role within your organization.

Businesses have adopted this tactic when automating their day-to-day operations: Rather than letting go of employees whose positions would be displaced, a business can reskill them to serve their company in a different capacity.

Business Benefits of Upskilling & Reskilling Efforts

Spend Fewer Resources on Recruiting/Hiring

Hiring in today's workforce is already immensely challenging-it can be difficult and time-consuming to source qualified workers for the positions you are trying to fill.

Hiring is also extremely expensive: In fact, it's six times more costly to hire someone externally than to promote or laterally move an existing employee.

By upskilling/reskilling, you retain valued team members and allow them to contribute to your business growth while cutting expenses associated with new hire onboarding.

Increase Retention & Employee Morale

Investing in your employees demonstrates that your organization values them: This gives them confidence and motivation to pursue the knowledge they need to help your business grow.

Moreover, employees who feel challenged become more engaged; stagnation, conversely, leads to boredom, frustration, and burnout.

To this end, upskilling and reskilling are great tactics for keeping your employees challenged and engaged in their work.

Improve Your Company's Reputation

A positive company image offers your business a lot of good things: It makes your employees proud to work for you, customers proud to work with you, and job seekers eager to join your team.

Upskilling and reskilling are training initiatives that help establish your business' reputation. They demonstrate to existing and prospective employees alike your commitment to mutually beneficial advancement efforts and your willingness to invest in the human capital of your business.

These efforts set you apart from your competitors and ensure that you will keep and attract the best talent in your industry.

Upskilling/Reskilling Strategies for Your Business

Start by taking some time to identify the skills you'd like to bring to your business. Think about the procedures or technologies you want to introduce, and what skills will be required to make it possible.

2. Assess What Skills You Already Have on Hand

In addition to your employees' day-to-day responsibilities, they may have hidden talents or soft skills that can be applied to your business needs.

Think of a strategy to assess your employees' existing foundations: Some examples may include administered skills tests, self-assessments, or gamified exercises to determine whether you can close skills gaps with training initiatives.

3. Develop a Strategy

Think about the style of training programs that might work best within your business. Some industries see increased engagement with flexible online or on-demand resources, while others benefit from hands-on, or in-person education.

Amazon, for instance, opted for an apprenticeship program when it upskilled its manual labor workers who would have been replaced by automated tech.

Upskilling via hands-on training proved effective for the type of training these employees required. Assess your own business in this way to determine the best training strategy for your team.

4. Implement a Continuous Assessment Plan

By monitoring your employees' progress, you ensure that your reskilling/upskilling efforts are working. Make note of any areas where employees are struggling to catch on and adjust your training plans as needed.

5. Be Patient

Reskilling and upskilling your employees is a big task-they are likely accustomed to doing things a particular way and have done so for a long time.

Give them time, and most importantly, support. Stick by your employees and remind them that you are invested in their success.

At FrankCrum Staffing, our goal for every new hire we place is that they will be long-standing and valued members of your team. Our job is not only to help you find new talent but also to ensure your business keeps productive, happy employees on board.

Contact us today to discuss our human resource services and learn how FrankCrum Staffing is your partner in all of your labor force needs!