5 Steps to an upskilling program that delivers impact

According to an article by the World Economic Forum, rapid changes to, and consequent adoption of, technology will continue to drive the next five years of business transformation. While not surprising, for organisations to ensure their transformation is successful, upskilling their staff will need to become a key business priority.  This includes training to use new technology and learning how to manage and lead people through the opportunities and challenges it presents.

In our experience, the success of upskilling programs – whether to enable succession planning or business transformation – is often hindered by the mindset of senior decision-makers, poor resourcing, a lack of buy-in from participants and unimaginative learning design.

By considering and implementing the five ideas below, your organisation is likely to see a positive return on investment, greater employee engagement and effectiveness, and long-term business sustainability.

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1. Treat upskilling as an investment from the beginning

Learning and development is often viewed as an HR expense – a line-item in the budget that once fulfilled, has completed its purpose. Consequently, it receives no measurement or follow up.

Switching our mindsets to see upskilling an asset that drives business impact, just like technology, product development or marketing, allows it to be viewed as something more permanent, the impact and learnings of which should be evaluated.

To do this requires senior leaders to tie upskilling initiatives to the overall business strategy and set clear business, people, and learning KPIs that keep participants and leaders accountable for their success.

2. Involve employees in planning upskilling programs

While the business strategy will have a large influence in determining which skill areas need to be developed, it’s the program’s intended participants who can provide valuable insights into the specific skills that will enable their success.

Empowering employees to take ownership of their learning is key to the success of any development initiative. After communicating the key areas for development and how they relate to the overall business strategy, allow employees to identify their own skills gaps, design their own learning paths, and set career and work goals. This improves motivation by facilitating a higher level of personal investment in the success of the upskilling process.

3. Use data to inform decisions and refine your upskilling program

Traditional surveys, focus groups and interviews with employees to gather information before, and feedback after, upskilling training programs are important. The stories and personal insights they uncover can be the difference between an effective program and a waste of resources.

However, HR and L&D leaders would do well to complement this type of research with the use of AI-powered learning platforms that offer quantitative data that can vastly improve learning and business decisions throughout the learning journey.

There are a plethora of platforms and tools available including learning management systems and AI-powered coaches (we’ll be covering this in another post) that allow organisations to:

• Run A/B tests to determine the most effective combination of learning formats and continuously refine programs. For example, setting two different versions of a program and measuring to see which delivers the best outcomes.
• Personalise learning experiences by collecting data along the learning journey such as self-evaluations and quizzes to analyse skills gaps, suggest further training and potential and career paths.
• Collect and analyse data about the types of skills people have, their work and career objectives, and previous training to help plan upskilling programs in the future.

4. Make corporate upskilling programs as engaging as possible

From “Death by PowerPoint” to read-click-answer style online courses, many corporate upskilling programs can leave participants uninspired, unmotivated and worst of all – without the ability to remember or apply the knowledge they’ve learned. Anecdotally, we’ve heard of people forgoing their employer-provided programs for these reasons and seeking development elsewhere.

High-impact reskilling blends functional, digital, leadership, business, and soft skills in specific contexts. It requires a blended learning approach that prioritises interactivity and practical application and uses a variety of delivery modes to suit different learning styles.

Furthermore, the most engaging programs:

• Make learning a joyful and enjoyable experience that encourages creativity and curiosity. Inviting games, playfulness and experimentation into the process opens the mind far more than lecture and learn sessions.
• Make the skills participants are learning relevant to their lives now. At TNM, participants apply their new skills and knowledge to real problems or projects that they are working on. They get to see the impact of the training straight away and are more likely to integrate the learning into their daily work. We do this through role-plays, assignments and group work.
• Give participants the opportunity to explore different options. For example:
  • When looking at a scenario, we encourage them to ask, “What if?” to challenge existing norms to inspire creative thinking.
  • Our facilitators will ask: “How else?” to enable participants to reframe challenges and find unique solutions.

5. Take upskilling beyond one-off training programs

A one-off session teaching people, for example about new AI technology, is only one piece of the puzzle and won’t ensure that skills will be applied and leveraged for business transformation. Upskilling to create a strong, capable workforce requires a multi-faceted approach that takes participants from setting objectives and identifying skills gaps all the way through to training and role or career transition.

Organisations who see upskilling as an investment in the business create a ‘upskilling stack’ – infrastructure that facilitates assessments, skills inventory, content curation, learning technology, training delivery, and career support.

This is a significant task, so we recommend considering partnerships with training, coaching and technology providers to build this infrastructure quickly and efficiently.

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Upskilling offerings to elevate management and leadership capabilities

Using contemporary coaching and learning practices and decades of experience working with some of the world’s leading businesses, TNM Coaching can help your company create an engaging upskilling program for your leaders and managers.

Book a discovery call with TNM Coaching to discuss how we can empower your people with the skills they need to thrive in the technology-powered business transformations to come.