Empowering Employees to Meet Workforce Needs

In today’s business landscape, roles and technology are evolving rapidly and many industries are competing for talent. Now more than ever, HR professionals must be intentional about helping their companies remain competitive to support long-term business success.

One approach to mitigating talent shortages is to offer existing employees the opportunity to train for new roles within the organization. In addition to filling talent pipelines, upskilling empowers employees to take ownership of their career paths and signals that leadership is serious about their growth and retention.

Pay Attention to Shifting Tech and Trends

To avoid becoming obsolete, companies need to constantly adapt to changing trends and technology. An off-cited example is Blockbuster, which was once a giant in the entertainment industry yet failed to adapt as its competitors like streaming services offered consumers more convenient ways to watch movies. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and today, only one Blockbuster store remains. This is just one of many companies that went bankrupt because of a failure to innovate.

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While it’s easy to look back and see where these companies went wrong, the reality is there will always be new trends and technology to consider. Companies must stay alert to keep pace with what the environment is going to be tomorrow, not just the skills that are needed for today.

AI, for example, is touching every industry and providing opportunities for those willing to embrace it. According to Gallup, 93% of Fortune 500 CHROs say their companies are using AI tools and technologies to improve business practices. Yet, in the same survey, two-thirds of employees reported that they weren’t using AI. This suggests a disconnect and that management needs to provide more training to encourage awareness and adoption of AI applications. Used strategically, AI is a tool that encourages proactive learning, freeing employees to take on more creative, higher-level work in preparation for tomorrow’s jobs.

The Role of HR

Here are five strategies for HR professionals to consider when deciding whether to offer upskilling programs.

1. Know the Market and Align Training with Business Strategy: The first step in effectively upskilling employees is to understand what skills your company needs. Who are your competitors? How is your industry shifting? What do your customers need? Upskilling and training efforts need to align with your organization’s broader goals to target the right competencies across people, processes, and technology.
2. Help Employees Connect Their Work to Your Company’s Broader Goals: Empowering employees means providing opportunities for them to own their work and contribute their ideas and suggestions to key decisions. This starts with helping them see how their role fits into what your company is trying to achieve and inviting them to be active participants. When employees are empowered to share and pursue their ideas, teams are more innovative and engaged. The measurable impact of creating a culture where employees understand how they contribute to their company’s success shows in output, customer experience, and overall business performance.

1. Embrace the 70-20-10 Learning Model: Training should not just be a once-a-year or once-a-quarter opportunity. Incorporate training into what you’re doing every day on the job. In the 70-20-10 model, 70% of learning takes place in on-the-job experience. Give employees opportunities to learn by doing, while solving real-world problems. Then, 20% should be coaching and mentoring. Providing opportunities for support is especially important as employees learn new skills. About 10% of learning should take place through formal professional development opportunities such as webinars, speakers, courses, and certifications.
2. Provide Opportunities for Employees to Work Collaboratively on New Challenges: Participating in directed teamwork engages employees to contribute, learn, and grow. Give employees opportunities to work on collaborative projects as your company embraces new technology. For example, invite employees to serve on a team with people at various experience levels to roll out a new AI tool to the workforce. These types of opportunities are empowering and encourage employees to gain new competencies, provide opportunities for cross-functional collaboration, and offer valuable hands-on experience.
3. Create a Culture of Psychological Safety and Innovation: Your company’s culture is vital to the success of any efforts to empower and upskill employees. To create a culture that supports innovation and creativity, employees need to feel safe sharing new ideas, not just problems. Encourage your employees to share feedback, experiment, and have open conversations with their colleagues about change. Two-way communication with employees, through engagement surveys, town halls, and digital updates will help them stay informed—and involved. Be open to their feedback throughout the process.

In addition, it’s also important to consider and prepare for potential challenges in upskilling teams. Many people are resistant to change, so make sure your employees know why the change is happening and how it benefits them. Provide support as they take on new challenges including training, time, and tools to help them succeed. Finally, make sure leadership is modeling this behavior, too, by becoming ambassadors for embracing change themselves.

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