Article: Framing a skill growth model for new hire

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Framing a skill growth model for new hire

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As businesses evolve, customer engagement models, new organization structures, and new leadership styles come into play. It is highly critical that the talent situation, therefore, merits serious attention. Here is the framework of an effective skill growth model for new hires.
Framing a skill growth model for new hire

Up-skilling or re-skilling is not just for employees aiming to go for a higher position or opting for a different role but also for employees who have been just inducted into the organization. Apart from training for their current role, there’s also a dire need to identify their potential and accordingly design a skills growth program. Efficient skills growth model will not only help the new hires to gain skills that are important for corporates but also to add value to their strengths. Skills growth programs can also help in reducing the high attrition rate of new hires as skills growth programs will give them an opportunity to add value to their portfolio very early in their career. 

Various parameters must be considered and varied factors that play a role in formulating an effective skill growth model for newbies. Let’s look at some of the factors below.

In-house or external learning sources

While framing an up-skilling model, it is essential to understand the duration, resources, and the personalization needed for the program. Based on the resources available in the organization it must be decided whether to conduct the skill growth program within or outside the organization. For example, companies like American Express and L’Oréal have tied up with a training school, General Assembly in New York for training employees for niche skills. 

Many organizations look out for Train-Hire-Deploy recruitment model which reduces time and cost of deploying fresh graduates in the workforce. Onus is largely on the young learner and education system to deliver high quality talent.  Another popular method of hiring includes, hiring pre-trained talent, where companies can hire talent already trained on the required tools and techniques in addition to retraining the existing workforce

The decision must be made depending on the availability of internal resources and external training costs.

Cross-departmental training

Few organizations design an incubation program for new hires wherein they get hands-on experience in all the business domains. It’s usually a one-year immersive program to give fresher’s an overview of the organization’s working. As such programs include working with various departments, each for a short period of time, it’s an excellent way of providing cross-departmental training. Cross-departmental training plays an important part not just in imbibing different skills but also in retaining talent as new hires get a good exposure of different departments and the opportunities and they’ll be able to identify which particular role interests them. Even if they want to consider other options they might consider mobilizing within the organization as they’ll be aware of the various opportunities that exist in the organization.   

Office mentoring program and Networking opportunities

Mentoring programs offer conducive guidance from office colleagues and seniors. Mentoring programs in the office are not only helpful to build skills but will also help the newly hired employees to gain perspective on the values and culture of the organization. Such mentoring programs are also an excellent way for new hires to network and build some valuable contacts. Networking opportunities are very crucial in the first few years of career and might even open new doors for some people.

Constructive feedback & Performance metrics

Providing constructive and continuous feedback to new hires is very important for them to grow their skills. If they don’t realize where they lack, then it wouldn’t be possible for them to improvise. Only when we know our shortcomings, we can work on them. If the managers wait for yearly employee review, then they might miss the opportunities for growth along the way, as learning then and there about the task in-hand, gives better momentum and understanding. The communication method utilized to provide feedback holds equal importance as employees must consider it as an essential input for their growth. Giving a data supported feedback in one to one session is a great way to provide constructive feedback as it will provide them with a comprehensive understanding of what is lacking and where they need to improvise. One of the best ways to get data-driven performance assessments is Performance metrics and it will also help the employee and the managers to set realistic performance goals and achieve them step by step.

Provide opportunities that go beyond their job roles

Providing opportunities to take up tasks that go beyond their usual scope of work is essential for growing skills and even gaining some additional knowledge about various business systems. It will also prevent the work from getting monotonous and hence, will save employees from a burn-out. Not only will it help new hires to understand other aspects of business but will also help them in developing soft skills as tasks that go beyond their usual work will require them to communicate with a lot of different people at different hierarchies and in different departments. 

Individual development plans

Individual development plans are a new trend scenario in the learning paths. It is imperative to personalize the skill growth plans for new hires as no two people are same and that applies in the business context as well. Personalized learning plans or resources for skill development will help to reduce the time with all the unnecessary info and will also give the employee a curated learning experience.

The initial duration after hiring decides whether the employee stays with the organization. It is a crucial phase for both the employee and the organization as employees have to take up the responsibilities effectively and the organization also has to deliver successful onboarding process. By designing an efficient skills growth model for new hires, organizations can not only help them to improve their portfolio but can also harness their potential for future projects and responsibilities.

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Topics: Learning & Development, #FutureTalent

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