As retention continues to be a focus for employers everywhere, competitive pay and benefits aren’t the only way to keep talent. In fact, 7 in 10 employees told LinkedIn that learning — not direct compensation — improves their sense of connection to their organization. A consistent and adaptive approach to upskilling and reskilling helps meet their expectations and provides employees with a reason to invest in your organization for the long haul.
At the same time, the right employee training program helps keep your workforce equipped with relevant skills, especially as new technology like AI becomes more common.
What are the best practices for ensuring an effective upskilling and reskilling program?
Crafting a focused and meaningful development strategy requires understanding your organization’s unique areas of need and identifying its long-term goals. Without a clear vision of the ideal future for your workforce, it’s virtually impossible to guide it in the right direction.
Additionally, the path your organization takes shouldn’t just be guided by your perspective. You should actively seek insight from other key personnel, such as your executive leaders, supervisors and even your more specialized employees.
Keep these nine best practices in mind as you refine and evolve your upskilling and reskilling program:
- Make data-driven decisions.
- Involve managers from the start.
- Personalize employee learning paths.
- Address individualized feedback.
- Communicate the importance of training.
- Track engagement and learning.
- Celebrate success and growth.
- Make the process continuous.
- Create incentive.
Your upskilling and reskilling program should also be informed by any skills gaps you find. For example, if a large generational gap creates a shortage of soft skills — like communication and collaboration — across your organization, consider implementing a mentoring program so your established employees can share experiences and advice with your newest hires.
Regardless of the exact issues you face, download our guide to learn how to create a training program that you can continue to enhance and evolve for years to come.