Article: Toolkit for future-proofing employees

Skilling

Toolkit for future-proofing employees

Organizations are allocating the right amount of budget to re skill and up-skill their workforce. But, that is not the only way out to get the employees re-skilled or up-skilled.
Toolkit for future-proofing employees

Re-skilling has become the core subject of discussion for people managers in organizations in the present times. A vast majority of them believe that it is always fruitful to invest in an existing resource rather than in recruiting new people. 

Undoubtedly, organizations are allocating the right amount of budget to re-skill and up-skill their workforce. But, that is not the only way out to get the employees re-skilled or up-skilled. 

Organizations need a future-ready workforce for two essential things; first, they want to remain competitive in the market, and the second challenge they face is to retain the talent.

Quoting a report about the workplace, Kuljit Chadha, Co-Founder & COO, Disprz said, “In the report, 95% of millennials said they would stay back in the organization if the organization will spend time and money in building their careers. While on the other hand, 65% millennials said that they don’t have the time in the organization to learn.” 

If the organization’s objective is to retain the talent and ready for the future, they need to sit down with the learner and together define the required skill sets. So there has to be a convergence and only if that happens, both parties will be happy. 

Organizations need to know what they need for the future

One is responsible for its own future. Organizations need to know what they need for the future, and they do it constantly. 

Sharing an example, Raj Narayan, SVP, and CHRO, Titan Industries said, “We have conversations with the individual. We ask where do you want to go in your future, as a company, this is where we want to go, is that exciting for you and what do we need to do to prepare you as an individual and ourselves as an organization.”

He feels conversations like these with the individuals and the team is highly critical, and it certainly is a joint responsibility of both parties. 

Many organizations follow various processes when it comes to learning and discusses it with the employees. But, the process has to be robust and can’t be a tick in the box. Nishant Gaharwar, Head of People, Hotstar highlighted that people who are becoming obsolete are no longer relevant to statistics. It’s a joint responsibility and termed it as a race where employees and organization are future-ready. 

He said, “We all need to be updated on the latest trends and should be aware of the future and not only in our respective areas but about everything. It’s the role of the organization to create reskilling and up-skilling for the workforce.”

Industry experts believe that organization should create paranoia which will make employees be on their toes and opt for learning and up-skilling. 

Getting the right candidate on board is a difficult task for the HR managers but up-skilling the workforce is equally difficult. A PwC survey suggests that 80 percent of CEOs are worried about the availability of key skills. And, the CEOs feel the availability of skills is the biggest business threats at the moment.

Companies have a tough time to maintain the skill growth of the employees, and at the same time, filling the positions with appropriate candidates. According to the ManpowerGroup’s Talent Shortage Survey 2018, around 56% of employers in India are facing difficulty in filling vacant positions, making India among the top 10 most-affected markets in the talent shortage.

As the experts mentioned they it’s a responsibility of both parties to come together for up-skilling, and that will lead to a better future of the company and the employees. 

(The above article is based on a panel discussion on Future-proofing Employees - Mindset, Skillset, Toolset at People Matters TechHR 2019.)

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Topics: Skilling, #TechHRIN

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