HR departments have their work cut out for them. There are many critical aspects to company success and their work processes impact the employee experience in a company. For example, accurate payroll processing, smooth onboarding, resolving conflicts in a way that suits all the parties, maintaining compliances, recording work-related incidents, etc. Their work catches them up to the extent that they might even forget to reskill or upskill the manpower they have before it is too late.
This step is very important and must be carefully considered by the HR teams across all industries, regardless of their workforce size. Here are five reasons why HR should focus on reskilling and upskilling the team continuously.
Improves workforce adaptability
When managing a workforce, regardless of its size, the largest concern is regarding its adaptability. A workforce that can’t adapt to other roles can cause a backlog if someone is sick. Having only some specialized workers can lead to problems if one or more employees goes on vacation or takes sick leave. Considering that sick leave is a big problem in all industries, you need to be prepared for it.
According to Peter Peterka, President at 6Sigma.us, Six Sigma aims at making every worker in a process fully equipped to handle tasks cross-functionally and work optimally on every designated task. You can check out various certifications 6Sigma provides and identify the most relevant one for your team.
Flexibility to workplace environment change
As the 4th Industrial Revolution intensifies, it is more vital to have a workforce that is flexible to change. In one way or another, almost all work environments will change in a couple of years from now. Reskilling and upskilling HR employees will manifest its significance when those changes are starting to take effect.
The most valuable employees during that time will be those that can manage complex technology systems. Whatever industry you may be in, reskilling and upskilling employees is very important to meet all this change. Try to see the relevant courses that your employees can take and see that they are completed.
Consideration for internal promotions
Having a large pool of skilled and dynamic workers helps a lot when a vacancy for a higher position is available. Considering existing employees for promotions is much easier than hunting for talent externally.
It will be much safer as well to source individuals internally that have proven their loyalty to the company. However, you can’t promote someone who is not skilled in the vacancy that has opened up. In that case, start training them now and continually keep reskilling and upskilling them just in case an opportunity like this presents itself.
Promotes innovative thinking
Innovative thinking in a workforce is cultivated by exposing all employees to an environment they are not used to. By actively reskilling and upskilling employees, you expose them to a new environment that could be out of their comfort zone. Subsequently, when it is time to brainstorm ideas, more employees can have innovative solutions to problems faced by the company or clients.
You can even have the arrangement to rotate your staff in reskilling or upskilling them in skills related to their normal work assignments. In that way, all employees will cultivate the spirit of thinking outside the box and contributing innovative solutions.
Boosts workforce morale
Another benefit of reskilling and upskilling your workforce is seeing the morale and spirit go up. In a way, actively improving your team’s skills shows individual care towards them. As a result, they might feel motivated to do their everyday tasks diligently and accurately.
Overall, the workplace will be more alive and satisfied with working under your supervision. At the same time, the boosted morale leads to more productivity which optimizes revenue streams. It is a win-win situation for all parties involved because the investment that goes into training employees is returned as revenue at the end of the day.
