“Survival of the fittest“: Phrase from Darwin’s Theory of Evolution describing the mechanism of natural selection for life. But it is applied equally in every field, and of course, the job sector is not an exception!
One of the most common conversations happening in human resources right now is about the ways to build a workforce that is flexible and enthusiastic enough to adapt to the dynamic world of work
This conversation began way before the COVID-19 pandemic started due to the increased influence of Artificial Intelligence & Automation in the workplaces & the advent of remote work. The global health crisis and its impacts on the workforce supply and demand, however, have made the two primary focuses for the employees and employers trying to pave a path into an uncertain future for the Personal & Organizational Growth – Up-skilling & Re-skilling
Up-skilling and Re-skilling: What Does It Mean?
While two words are most of the times used interchangeably, there is a significant difference in their definitions:
To up-skill is to provide training to enhance the skills of existing employees, helping them to grow in their current role and at the same time do value addition to the organization.
To re-skill is retraining an employee for a new position. This process is used when a post of an employee is not justifying his potential and the employer looks to retain the worker by training them in a new discipline.
But both are an essential part of the Learning and Development strategy of an organization that strives to be competitive and consistent in terms of Growth.
UP-Skilling and Re-skilling: Why Do We Even Need It?
Up-skilling means learning new skills. Up-skilling is the need of the hour and with emerging technologies, the digital skills gap is increasing. We all are in a competitive world where every day there is the emergence of a new Technology or Concept, and we need to be Agile enough to learn it and try to master it for moving forward in our career.
Many organizations are investing a lot of monetary and other resources for up-skilling and re-skilling of their employees through On Job Training. At the same time in this age of online learning, the opportunity to learn new skills is very convenient and expected from Employees as well!
The mutual benefitting approach of giving employees access to more resources for the benefit of the organization and help them build the skills they need to succeed.
By promoting continued learning and development as a part of the company culture, there can be a big boost in employee job satisfaction, better employee engagement, reducing turnover, competitive approach development, and building second and third line leaders who can be of great support in the execution of policies and plans effectively, by bringing out the full potential of an existing workforce.
For example: If we talk about Healthcare -the most dynamic field, a few years back nobody would have thought that they will be treating patients sitting thousands of miles away but technology has made it possible! Artificial intelligence will help in building customized treatment plans for a specific disease and an individual, better diagnosis, Data analysis for the prevalence of a disease, Digital transformation, and automation is making the tasks much more organized and systematic and much more! Every day we have something to learn and if we stick to the older approach we can’t even imagine sustaining and growing. There is not a single reason which reduces or denies the fact that – It is mandatory to acquire new skills to walk hand in hand with the world!
Is It Good To Up-Skill or Re-Skill the Existing Workforce? Or Fresh Hiring is more Cost-Effective?
Many companies don’t believe in investing in training their existing Human Resource and think that it is always a better idea to hire a new person with the desired skill-set. But that is an even more expensive affair.
But unfortunately, preference for a new resource over the existing one may go wrong most of the time! The reason is that the new resource needs to learn the company policies, SOPs, Vision, Mission, and work culture. By the time he can get familiar, there is a change in the requirements and one comes “Back to the square one“
Also providing job enrichment develops a feeling of belongingness which makes them more dedicated and productive, which is an added advantage. In general, it gives you a more efficient and productive employee who is not only familiar but also attached to the organization.
How to Up-skill and Re-skill the employee?
It is performed for both technical as well as soft skills as there can be different strengths, weaknesses, and challenges. The first and the foremost step should be Skill-gap analysis
After that, as per the requirements, learning programs can be organized through:
- Continuous training from a senior in the organization for the on-job training normally does not require much extra cost
- Online courses or training programs
- Workshops and Seminars
- Training sessions by Soft skills trainers, Mindfulness coaches (very effective in stress management which is inevitable in this competitive world), or any other common skill-set requirement at the mass level
- Identifying the scope of peer learning and training by existing employees for the other employees helping them to develop those skills in others as well
Continued learning and development in the workplace is not a new concept or requirement for businesses to grow and succeed. A non-progressive workforce that does not upgrade with the times will inevitably find itself lacking in the skills necessary for advancement in the marketplace.
In addition, technological advancements and the changing expectations of employees mean that an organization that fails to implement an effective up-skilling strategy will struggle to attract and retain the best talent, fall behind, and will not be able to sustain itself in front of its competition.
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
Every day there is something new and every moment is a learning experience and everyone can teach you something so “Keep on learning to up-skill, keep on learning to grow”.
Dr Nidhi Nagar
AVP at Lokmanya Hospitals Pvt Ltd Pune
(Heading: Digital Strategy and Online Marketing, Medical education and Research, Fellows Recruitment and Project Management)
