With industries, technology and workplaces ever-evolving, you must stay up to date with the latest developments as a business owner, which may result in upskilling employees.
There’s no avoiding change, and the recent national lockdown has proven this. With businesses asking workers to work from home, extra measures taken to ensure safety and risks to job security, upskilling employees benefits the employee and your business.
Upskilling allows staff members to learn additional skills, perform their job better and fill any skill gaps. As a result, you’ll see a happier workforce and a better business.
1. Employee Retention
There’s no denying that people will leave their jobs if bored. Doing the same thing every day will eventually lead to an employee losing focus and looking elsewhere for something more interesting.
74% of employees who haven’t received any reskilling or upskilling training would prefer to work for a company that provides learning opportunities. (Source: Achievers)
Offering upskilling courses, training, and personal development allows your team members to perfect their skills and take on new tasks. Subsequently, workers are more engaged and enjoy work, increasing employee retention.
And in turn, you’ll see reduced costs associated with recruitment.
2. Boost Workplace Morale
A workplace that focuses on employee development and training will be a happy one. Workers want to feel appreciated and respected. Providing them with new opportunities that benefit them will increase overall happiness in their roles and work life.
Additionally, upskilling that leads to internal promotions showcases the career progression available. Progression opportunities within a business encourage employees as they see their hard work and dedication will be rewarded.
3. Filling Skill Gaps
You could employ more staff, outsource work, or offer current employees the chance to expand their skill set. Skill gaps occur for many reasons: poor planning, oversight, and unexpected events such as national lockdowns. Whatever the reason, as a business owner, you must find a way to fill the gaps – which you can do with the help of current employees.
Not only will your workforce learn new skills and knowledge, helping them in their career overall, but your business will be able to improve existing services and expand the number of services you offer.
4. Higher Standard Of Work
An employee confident in what they’re doing performs best. So taking the time to provide effective training to your staff will increase the standard of work they produce.
5. High Levels Of Productivity
As well as a higher standard of work, productivity can increase after upskilling employees.
When employees know what they’re doing and what you expect, they will complete work more efficiently. As a result, employees will complete work faster, leading to higher productivity levels.
6. Better Customer Satisfaction
More skilled workers will better understand your customer’s needs and what they need to do to meet them.
Understanding and efficiency lead to high standards of work and more services available, leading to better customer satisfaction.
How To Upskill Employees
Employees can upskill in several ways, including classroom and on-site learning, online training and internal coaching.
Depending on the training required, free online courses can be enough. However, advanced or specific training may come at a cost. The critical thing to remember is that a good employee is worth the investment.
