Learning new skills matters to American workers. Employees and employers both benefit from upskilling. It can raise morale, boost employability, and offer employees a greater sense of value. For companies, upskilling can result in higher productivity, increased worker retention rates, and savings on new employee recruitment.
Ways to boost employee skills
As shown, investing in workers provides many benefits to companies. To boost employee skills at your company, consider incorporating a few or all of these strategies:
1. Create a sufficient learning and development budget.
Although training costs money, you'll save on hiring new employees by investing in the ones you have. To determine your budget, consider which employees need training, what type of training they need, and what you can afford.
2. Provide options for e-learning.
E-learning has become more popular than ever due to distancing policies established at the onset of the pandemic. To save money on employee skills training, consider purchasing memberships to e-learning platforms for the whole company.
3. Keep up to date on digital literacy.
Remember that e-learning demands digital literacy. In addition to personal computers, you may require your employees to use smartphones, tablets, and specific computer applications and software. Conduct technology training for your employees as needed to avoid skills gaps and maintain productivity.
4. Make use of job shadowing and mentoring.
Job shadowing often proves successful when training a new employee or introducing new skills to existing staff. Instead of telling an employee how to perform a skill, it can help demonstrate the skill and then have the employee practice it.
5. Involve employees in peer-to-peer learning.
While peer-to-peer learning can involve job shadowing, it can also take on a more significant role at your company. Companies should encourage employees at the same job level or department to get together and share information.