Today’s businesses are under tremendous pressure to create new value for customers, adapt to rapidly changing market conditions, and embrace digital transformation. In order to remain competitive and meet stakeholder demands, frontline employees must continuously improve their skills and knowledge.
According to PwC’s 22nd CEO Survey, 79% of CEOs around the world are concerned that a lack of essential skills in their workforce could threaten the future growth of their business.
A well-designed upskilling program has the potential to positively impact employee performance and ultimately drive business results for your organisation. Employees who have completed an upskilling program are more likely to be engaged, result-oriented, and equipped with the skills needed for growth in their role.
Interactive learning and development programs can be a great way of teaching people new skills and keeping them interested. With the right approach, even those who find it hard to learn new things can find they enjoy the experience and come away from it with new abilities.
Upskilling the frontline workforce or we often call them blue/grey–collar employees can be a challenging task without the right learning and development platform in place. Because, unlike white-collar employees, these frontline workers don’t have access to fancy laptops or desktops. They are highly distributed across different regions of the country and most of all they are not fluent in standard languages like Hindi or English.
Why is an upskilling program important?
Modern organisations have to work harder than ever to attract and retain talented employees. In the race to create a positive candidate experience and hire the best talent, organisations should leverage upskilling as a key retention strategy. Employees who have an opportunity to learn new skills feel more empowered, motivated, and fulfilled in their job. They have a sense of purpose and feel that they are contributing to their organisation’s success.
A positive employee experience is key to retaining talent, improving employee engagement and increasing productivity. An upskilling program provides employees with the opportunity to grow their skills and knowledge, which in turn, helps them to perform their job better and feel more engaged in their work. Employee retention is linked to the employee experience, and engagement is a critical aspect of that. Employees who feel empowered and satisfied with their role are likely to stay with the organisation for longer.
Who should be involved in developing an upskilling program?
To help you create a successful upskilling program, it is important to involve key stakeholders from the start. In particular, HR and the training and learning departments need to work closely together to ensure that the upskilling program meets the needs of the organisation. A program that provides employees with the right level of support, is engaging, and promotes learning outcomes is key to the success of the program.
This can be achieved through collaboration between key stakeholders such as the following: – The HR department – The HR team is responsible for gathering data about the employee population, conducting skills gap analysis, and designing and managing the upskilling program. – The training and learning department – The training and learning team is responsible for designing engaging learning experiences and managing the learning platform through which employees access their programs.
How to create a successful L&D program?
According to the World Economic Forum, 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025. Thus, businesses must invest in upskilling now to grow better. There are many ways to create a successful upskilling program. Successful programs are integrated into your organisation’s talent strategy and are designed to provide employees with the tools and knowledge they need to perform their job effectively. Each upskilling program should be driven by specific business objectives that include the following: – Identify the skills gap – Before you can design a successful program, you need to understand the skills gaps among employees.
You can do this by conducting skills gap analysis and creating surveys or holding one-on-one interviews with employees. – Identify the benefit to the organisation – After you understand the gaps, you must determine the benefits of the upskilling program for the organisation. You must link the skills gained through the program to the success of your business. – Identify the target audience – Next, you must identify the target audience for the program and the type of activities they will engage in. Remember that you can tailor different programs based on the needs of different employee segments.
If you’re worried about how exactly you can implement an L&D program into your organisation, then worry not because WorQ can make it easy for you. How? WorQ’s Grow is a Digital Learning and Development Platform that enables an organisation to provide custom skill development programs for its employees via digital classrooms available in both app and website versions. With its easy-to-use interface, Grow is a time and cost-efficient solution for L&D Managers. It improves productivity and engages candidates and helps in reducing the attrition rate.
Conclusion
An L&D program can help employees to develop the skills and knowledge they need to do their job better. In turn, this can have a positive impact on their performance, business outcomes, and overall organisational success. To create a successful upskilling program, organisations need to understand the needs of their employees, determine the benefits of the program for the business, and identify the target audience for the program.
Blue-collar employee management comes with an exceptional set of HR issues. However, keeping employees engaged, updated with skills, and appreciated can minimise many of these threats to your organisation. Schedule a demo to learn how Billion Careers can customise a plan for your business.
