The Importance of Upskilling Your Employees

Upskilling is an advantageous opportunity for employees as it allows them to upgrade and improve their skills and be profitable to their company more than ever before. However, today, in a rat-race world, teaching new, advanced skills to employees shouldn’t be seen as a favor from organizations, but a necessity for companies to thrive in fiercely competitive markets.

Let’s look at a few major reasons why upskilling your workforce matters:

1.  Boost Productivity

This is the number one factor why employers should consider upskilling their employees. It goes without saying that every organization aims to increase its productivity level. This is because more productivity equates to more profit. 

Upskilling training programs help employees in several ways. For example, they help employees understand the needs and requirements of their clients and provide them with strategies to improve their services. These learning sessions further educate employees on the necessary skills that can boost their company’s productivity and conduct activities that can help the employees to obtain the required skills.

When newly acquired knowledge and skillsets are rightfully implemented, they help generate more profit and ensure the success of the organization.

2.  Improve Employee Retention

The latest statistics show that 76% of employees look for opportunities for career growth, and 25% of employees are more satisfied at companies that value their intellect and provide them with fair opportunities to deliver what they do best. And upskilling is able to fulfill both these requirements that further ensure employee loyalty and retention.

Employees prefer to continue working at companies that invest in them because they understand that this way, they won’t become obsolete. Teaching them new skills will assist them with their career development and guarantee better futures. This idea encourages employees to be loyal to their company and enables employers to retain top talents.

3.  Prevent Employee Burn Out

Monotony at work can kill your employee’s mojo. They may feel they are stuck in a rut, and these detrimental thoughts may squeeze out from them the will and determination to work. However, training and development sessions can prove to be a breath of fresh air for employees.

These educational programs can fuel their motivation to come to work daily. Through upskilling opportunities, they will feel more valued and useful. Plus, they will get a golden chance to expand their skill set and have something new to apply to practice.

4.  Help Attract Best Talent

One of the top benefits of upskilling your employees is its capacity to attract fresh talent. Over time, the expectations of employees have considerably changed.

Today, when individuals apply to a job position, they don’t just check what the company or job role is about; rather, they also see what the company offers to their employees. Candidates won’t be satisfied with a job offer if they are not being provided with serious opportunities to learn and grow. A recent survey of Hiring and Managing Generation Z by Robert Half showed that 91% claimed professional training as an essential factor when choosing an organization.

However, this is not just the case with Gen Z workers; any smart professional – regardless of their age – will look for a company that helps them progress through their career and stay relevant in their work field.

5.  Save a Lot of Time

Looking for new hires is not an easy job. It can be hectic and time-consuming. Plus, employers don’t find out until much later whether or not they hired the right employee for the said job position. In a scenario where the new employee doesn’t benefit the company, it is seen as a waste of time and money. A lot of time and energy that the employers invested in finding the best talent all go down the drain.

Instead of hiring new candidates, employers can save time by investing in their current employees. And this can be safely done through various effective training and development sessions. There is no risk involved in taking such a step as current employees have been in the organization for quite some time. They must have proven their mettle one way or the other. So, investing in them is a win-win situation. There are no two ways about them anything other than being productive to the company by their newly-acquired skillset.

6.  Strengthen Relationships at Work

Upskilling activities encourage employees to interact with each other. They are asked to work together in teams or pairs, which, in turn, boost their relationships with their colleagues. This creates a nice, friendly atmosphere at work, and the employees are able to build good working relationships in the long run. 

What’s more, is that each employee turns out to be more productive and efficient via upskilling. They are able to communicate and foster new ideas which help work teams to achieve their targets. This gives way to positive feelings toward the team members and builds trustworthy work relationships.

Conclusion

Employers can upskill their workforce by having more upskill activities at work. General activities won’t work as each employee has different learning abilities. Therefore, the activities need to be designed and thus divided according to the needs and learning capabilities of each employee. Other than this, companies should also invite experts from their industry and have them conduct training programs for their employees.

Organizations should take the time to provide upskilling opportunities to their employees. This action will serve as a huge motivation-booster for their employees. They will choose to stay with them and prefer to work for/with them in the future as well. Companies should make sure they reward their employees for the effort they put in and the profit they bring in as a result of their improvement and hard work.

Drew Schuetz is a MBA graduate with 15 years of varied experiences that has always moved him forward and upward ending with a love of Product & Program Management. Drew also has earned three different Product Management certifications with Product School. If you liked this article, please share it with your network and let me know your thoughts in the comments. Thanks!