Why Should We Upskill (Right Now)?

Let's go back a bit in memory lane as I share a bit of my journey from the world of human resources to steering the ship at a digital agency. Buckle up as we dive into why upskilling is not just a trend but a compass pointing to success. I'll try to make it short but also more meaningful. Who knows you might learn a thing or two about my upskilling story.

Transitioning through roles in HR since 2012 taught me one thing: every move comes with a learning curve. Unlearning the old and embracing the new is the ultimate test of personal progress. And hey, soft skills are the unsung heroes – always transferable, always in demand.

The big leap came when I bid adieu to the cozy shores of Bukalapak, a unicorn with comfort woven into its culture. Why? Because growth and comfort don't share the same address.

Sometimes, you need to get yourself into uncomfortable things so you can find out what you're made of. All the failures and shortcomings have to be learned so you can become a better person. And part of the moving on process is upskilling.

What It Means to Me

So what is upskilling?

If you’re going to ask me, it's not just an artsy-fartsy fancy term you might have heard from some LinkedIn thought leader. Also, it’s not just about ticking off a checklist of things, it's a mindset and a whole new way of doing things. For me. It's all about continuously adding value to myself especially when I'm dealing with other smart and talented people all the time in a virtual team setting. In the ever-evolving landscape, we all play a role, and keeping our skills sharp is a game-changer.

As someone who started the career ladder as a recruiter, I know that employers are not only looking for skilled, intelligent, and professional individuals but also those who can add value to the team. Just imagine yourself getting drafted by your favorite sports team, you need to be that person who can make things happen at any given moment you’re called upon. Having said that, I went beyond what my role was and had to learn new things, like organizational development, performance management, and business development. I know that everyone has to go through a transition period where they have to learn the hard lessons and figure out things on their own. It’s really tough but soon you’ll realize why it’s necessary. One thing became crystal clear - the ability to learn independently is the golden ticket to upskilling.

When given the opportunity to do something different and away from my comfort zone, I have to start from the very beginning once again. Starting a business from scratch and learning the ropes can be a scary thing but upskilling helped me a lot to overcome the transition and I’m still learning new things about myself and the people around me to this day.

Giving value to yourself isn't just a virtue, it's a necessity in the digital era. When you’re working with other people in a team-based setting, it’s important to understand that your team is as good as your weakest link. It’s not about being the best of the best either, it’s all about making the rest of your team as good as the leader.

In my upskilling story, I found that the more I invested in myself, the more I had to offer to my team and the more they became better. It's a ripple effect – personal growth fuels collective success.

And the reasons why I upskill? I have eight of them…

1. Complement new technologies: Contrary to common assumptions, many early adopters of AI, machine learning, and new technologies believe that the most cost-effective outcomes involve humans and machines working side by side. That means, machines will still need human input no matter what. We just have to figure out where we fit in the greater scheme of things.

2. Be more flexible: While new technologies can push some jobs out of the market, new jobs, roles, and tasks are bound to emerge. Some of the jobs we know today didn't even exist 50 years ago! We just have to be agile enough to transition where that direction is pointing towards.

3. Showcase the best in Indonesia: In case you didn't know, a lot of employers, governments, and academics worldwide are experiencing a significant digital skills gap. The shortage is expected to exceed over 38 million required professionals. I want to play a part by showcasing the best talents found across the vast archipelago of Indonesia and showcase their skills to the global stage. At Swarna, we embrace people who redefine the work we do.

4. Self-improvement: Many employers believe that it's way too costly to retrain or replace their staff due to digital disruption. In order to maintain one’s competitiveness in today’s digital workforce, it’s necessary to upskill. Good thing, there are a lot of online platforms offering free courses from coding to graphics design. You just have to be proactive enough to find it. As someone juggling a lot of roles and responsibilities, I do think that upskilling is one way to self-improve so that I could do more things efficiently and effectively.

5. Women can do it: Let's face it, the tech industry is unequally male-dominated as women are excluded from the digital economy due to cultural bias. I want to make a big change in my little way and show that we women can make a difference.

6. Sustain a continuous learning culture. We integrate learning in our everyday interactions, that’s why I give everyone the opportunity to use their time to learn and improve while also providing the necessary support to those who are seeking help. It’s not about following a rigid individual development plan with competency assessments but more about having clear communication when we all bogged down. I firmly believe in the idea of collective problem-solving where everyone has to share what they learned to help us get out of a big hole. It’s that simple!

7. Be lean and mean. Swarna may not be a big-name digital agency (yet) but I am fully aware that even with our limited resources, we always persevere to make an impact beyond our weight. In short, we do our very best with what we have. As far as upskilling is concerned, I see it not just as a personal goal but more like a collective purpose that pushes our team forward. In my previous point, I mentioned the importance of sustaining our continuous learning culture as I truly believe that everyone has something worth sharing and contributing for the betterment of the whole.

8. Build a great team. At the end of the day, I want to encourage any team that sees every individual upskilling initiative aligns with the collective goal. I want to see that every single team member’s efforts are put into good use and more importantly, align with our long-term goals and objectives here at Swarna.?

Essential Upskilling Traits

I value the importance of continuous learning and development. That's why I’m getting myself into online classes, webinars, and virtual forums all the time. I also encourage everyone to do the same. Here are four important character traits that have changed the way I work:

The first thing is unlearning. Yes, that's right. You got to 'unlearn' to learn. What I'm trying to say is that you have to let go of the things you thought you knew, like the knowledge and skills you learned from traditional schools that are not relevant anymore. We live in a dynamic digital world where everything has been reinvented and superseded by new facts. The fact is that everything is changing in real time! Even if you invest a lot of time and effort on upskilling, some things are bound to be obsolete.

When you're unlearning old beliefs, you're adapting to fast-paced technological innovation. Consider this mantra: "Changing my mind is a strength, not a weakness." Learn to adapt your strategy and approach just as your horizon changes in time. More importantly, learn to ask questions and always find ways to seek the truth in everything you do.

Next thing is humility. It's one of the most overlooked and misunderstood virtues. When we gain new knowledge and skills, we tend to think we know everything that we need to know already so there’s no point to learn from someone anymore, right? But guess what? The world is complex and there are things we can't be good at all. We need to listen closely to others.

Having humility means you are aware of your own strengths and weaknesses. You have that mindset where you put yourself accountable and see how you fit in the larger system. Even if you're the leader, the team is bigger than yourself. Remember what I said about the team is as strong as its weakest link? Let’s accept the fact that there are other people who know better than yourself and you have to learn how to work with them. Don’t talk a lot, learn to listen, interact, and communicate while still having that sense of interest and curiosity.

Apart from thinking about what's going on now, there is one thing you probably need to have - an unshakeable vision on what you intend to accomplish no matter how far-fetched it is. In short, think ahead and see the bigger picture out there. Ultimately, you need to know where you’re going and figure out how to get there.

There was one time when I was driving in the busy streets of Jakarta as I was on my way to a meeting with my team. Along the way, there was an unexpected roadblock. As you expect, Google Maps automatically adjusted the route accordingly. Having seen how it works, it reminds me of the importance of having that kind of vision where we can make adjustments on the fly without losing that focus on the goal ahead.

Last but not the least, successful people do well because they have learned to roll with the punches. There will always be challenges to overcome and difficult decisions that have to be made. Oftentimes, we can’t avoid these things. That’s why, you need to have the resilience to weather the storm and get back on track when you're down and out. That also means, you need to make that leap of faith and live with the roll of the dice when you’re in the crossroads knowing that you have that strong resilience to fall back on.

Impact of Digital Disruption

Now, let’s talk about tech! AI, the Internet, and other digital marvels are the winds of change reshaping the way we all work. You might be afraid but digital disruption is not necessarily a bad thing, it’s something that we can leverage if we just know how. That’s where a continuous learning mentality comes into play.

Having gone through the different challenges, I have learned a lot of things and gathered treasured insights along the way. Trends come and go, but adaptability is a compass that never fails. The key takeaway? Embrace change, equip your team with the right tools, and navigate with curiosity as if you’re going towards the North Star.

Learning multiple skills is essential, preferably a combination of soft and hard skills. Soft skills are abilities related to how you work and interact with others such as effective communication, management, leadership, critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and innovativeness. On the other hand, hard skills are measurable job-specific skills and technical knowledge like data analytics, digital marketing, market research, and consumer insights. These skill sets complement each other so find the right combination that would work well for you and your team.

One of the things that we have learned to leverage is making sure that generative AI tools work well with real data and human insights. In my case, I use ChatGPT and Bard to streamline some tasks and other processes. It really helps cut off work hours when you get to have a clear outline and overview of a particular content and creative work in an instant. Yet, I’m fully aware of the importance of human touch in everything we do so that’s where the upskilling part comes in.

Whether it's Midjourney or Stable Diffusion, our creative team adds their unique flair to the visuals we create. Apart from generative technologies, we also incorporate other AI-powered systems into our workflow:

• Analyze social media trends, sentiment analysis, and user engagement metrics.
• Predict content performance by analyzing data to make informed decisions on topics, formats, and distribution channels.
• Understand audience preferences, optimizing posting times, and tailoring content for specific platforms.?

Last Thoughts

In a world where comfort is tempting, I chose the uncomfortable path of growth. Why? Because upskilling isn't just about staying relevant, it's about shaping the future I want to see. It's about turning challenges into opportunities and being the captain of my own ship. That also means steering my team to the right direction where we all want to be.

So, why should we upskill (right now)? Because the digital tide doesn't wait, and neither should we. Let's keep learning, keep growing, and keep navigating the seas of possibility.

Feel free to share your upskilling stories and let's inspire each other on this exciting journey!

Don’t forget to see our latest digital marketing insights at The Marketician!