Reskilling in the Digital Age: Unlocking its Potential

Introduction

In my role with Get More Brain, I reg­u­lar­ly engage with man­agers and learn­ing and devel­op­ment pro­fes­sion­als. I have wit­nessed the rapid trans­for­ma­tion of the busi­ness land­scape due to dig­i­tal­iza­tion. The tur­bu­lent state of the finan­cial sec­tor in Switzer­land and the USA under­scores the chal­leng­ing times both orga­ni­za­tions and indi­vid­u­als face. Com­pa­nies work to ensure their staff have the nec­es­sary skills, while indi­vid­u­als strive to acquire new skills to stay rel­e­vant and com­pet­i­tive in the job mar­ket.

In sev­er­al con­ver­sa­tions with man­agers, I’ve dis­cov­ered that they are increas­ing­ly requir­ing employ­ees to acquire addi­tion­al skills to fill the gaps in a reduced work­force. Addi­tion­al­ly, employ­ees want to learn addi­tion­al skills to increase their val­ue and impor­tance to their cur­rent employ­ers. This shift empha­sizes the crit­i­cal need for reskilling ini­tia­tives in today’s fast-paced busi­ness envi­ron­ment.

In my pre­vi­ous blogs, we explored the impor­tance of per­son­al­ized learn­ing, the role of AI, and the impact of tech­nol­o­gy on the learn­ing expe­ri­ence. Build­ing on these themes, this blog focus­es on reskilling. It focus­es on the ben­e­fits, chal­lenges, and the role of tech­nol­o­gy in facil­i­tat­ing the reskilling process for both staff and those seek­ing new oppor­tu­ni­ties.

What is Reskilling?

Reskilling is the process of equip­ping employ­ees with new skills and knowl­edge to stay rel­e­vant and suc­cess­ful in the work­place. This strat­e­gy enables busi­ness­es to stay com­pet­i­tive and ensures employ­ees are pre­pared for chang­ing needs. This is espe­cial­ly true dur­ing times of eco­nom­ic uncer­tain­ty or indus­try dis­rup­tion, which we are cur­rent­ly expe­ri­enc­ing.

Benefits of Reskilling Employees:

Increased employ­ee pro­duc­tiv­i­ty: Pro­vid­ing employ­ees with the new skills and knowl­edge they need to do their job bet­ter can increase work­force pro­duc­tiv­i­ty.

Increased employ­ee engage­ment: As dis­cussed in a pre­vi­ous blog, per­son­al­ized learn­ing expe­ri­ences can boost engage­ment. Sim­i­lar­ly, reskilling can engage employ­ees as they feel more val­ued when their employ­er invests in their pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment.

Improved employ­ee reten­tion: Invest­ing in reskilling can reduce employ­ee turnover, as employ­ees are more like­ly to stay with a com­pa­ny that invests in their pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment.

Cost sav­ings: Invest­ing in reskilling can reduce costs, as busi­ness­es don’t need to hire new employ­ees or pay for out­side train­ing.

Improved cus­tomer ser­vice: By reskilling employ­ees, busi­ness­es can ensure high-qual­i­ty cus­tomer ser­vice, as employ­ees have the new skills and knowl­edge they need to bet­ter serve cus­tomers.

Reskilling ben­e­fits both busi­ness­es and employ­ees. By invest­ing in reskilling, busi­ness­es can pro­vide employ­ees with the oppor­tu­ni­ty to devel­op new skills, advance their careers, and increase job sat­is­fac­tion, reduc­ing turnover. Addi­tion­al­ly, reskilling ensures that employ­ees stay up-to-date with the lat­est indus­try trends, enabling them to bet­ter serve cus­tomers and con­tribute to the business’s suc­cess.

Challenges of Reskilling Employees:

Time: Train­ing employ­ees can be time-con­sum­ing, as employ­ees need time to learn new skills and knowl­edge.

Resis­tance: Some employ­ees may be resis­tant to reskilling, as they may feel that the train­ing is unnec­es­sary or not rel­e­vant to their job.

Lack of resources: Busi­ness­es may not have the resources or staff need­ed to reskill employ­ees.

Lack of moti­va­tion: Employ­ee moti­va­tion is key when reskilling, as employ­ees need to be moti­vat­ed to learn and apply the new­ly acquired skills and knowl­edge they have learned.

So, despite the ben­e­fits of reskilling, busi­ness­es face sev­er­al chal­lenges when imple­ment­ing these ini­tia­tives. These include time con­straints, employ­ee resis­tance, resource lim­i­ta­tions, and the need to ensure employ­ee moti­va­tion and engage­ment through­out the process.

The Role of Technology in Reskilling Employees

Tech­nol­o­gy can play a sig­nif­i­cant role in reskilling employ­ees. As explored in an ear­li­er blog, AI and tech­nol­o­gy advance­ments stream­line learn­ing and make it more effi­cient. A par­tic­u­lar­ly help­ful exam­ple is Get More Brain, a learn­ing solu­tion that can help reskill employ­ees due to its per­son­al­ized approach, AI-dri­ven tools that help learn­ers become their own coach, and com­mu­ni­ca­tion-based learn­ing approach. By invest­ing in tech­nol­o­gy like Get More Brain, orga­ni­za­tions can cre­ate, deliv­er, and track train­ing mate­ri­als while man­ag­ing and mon­i­tor­ing employ­ee progress.

Reskilling in Times of Layoffs:

A recent CNN track­er, titled “2023 Lay­off Track­er: The Lat­est on Which Com­pa­nies Have Announced Job Cuts in the USA,” high­lights the impor­tance of reskilling for both employ­ees who remain with their com­pa­nies and those who have been let go due to lay­offs. As orga­ni­za­tions face the chal­lenges of a dynam­ic busi­ness envi­ron­ment, equip­ping employ­ees with new skills can boost their resilience. This makes them more adapt­able and piv­ot in times of uncer­tain­ty.

Reskilling Amidst Technological Transformation:

The World Eco­nom­ic Forum pre­dicts that by 2025, 50% of all employ­ees will require reskilling due to rapid dig­i­tal trans­for­ma­tion sweep­ing across indus­tries. By proac­tive­ly invest­ing in reskilling ini­tia­tives, orga­ni­za­tions can sup­port employ­ees in adapt­ing to new roles. In addi­tion, they can con­tribute to a more robust and resilient econ­o­my dur­ing times of cri­sis. As we move fur­ther into the dig­i­tal age, it becomes increas­ing­ly vital for busi­ness­es to pri­or­i­tize reskilling, ensur­ing their work­force remains agile and well-equipped for the ever-evolv­ing land­scape.

Conclusion:

Reskilling has emerged as a cru­cial strat­e­gy for busi­ness­es and indi­vid­u­als alike. As we’ve seen, reskilling offers numer­ous ben­e­fits, includ­ing increased pro­duc­tiv­i­ty, employ­ee engage­ment, reten­tion, cost sav­ings, and improved cus­tomer ser­vice. How­ev­er, it is essen­tial to acknowl­edge and address the chal­lenges asso­ci­at­ed with reskilling, such as time con­straints, resis­tance, resource lim­i­ta­tions, and moti­va­tion.

Tech­nol­o­gy, par­tic­u­lar­ly solu­tions like Get More Brain, can play a sig­nif­i­cant role in over­com­ing these chal­lenges and facil­i­tat­ing suc­cess­ful reskilling ini­tia­tives. By embrac­ing inno­v­a­tive, AI-dri­ven tools and per­son­al­ized learn­ing approach­es, orga­ni­za­tions can sup­port their employ­ees in adapt­ing to chang­ing roles and con­tribute to a more resilient econ­o­my dur­ing times of cri­sis.

Ulti­mate­ly, reskilling is an ongo­ing jour­ney that requires com­mit­ment, invest­ment, and col­lab­o­ra­tion between busi­ness­es, employ­ees, and tech­nol­o­gy providers. By pri­or­i­tiz­ing reskilling, we can empow­er indi­vid­u­als to unlock their poten­tial. We can also build a more agile work­force and fos­ter long-term suc­cess in the dig­i­tal age. Togeth­er, let’s embrace reskilling oppor­tu­ni­ties and cre­ate a brighter future for all.

This post was first pub­lished on Medi­um.