The disruptive business environment is keeping CXOs on tenterhooks as they figure out how to keep their workplaces and workforces agile and updated to take on the challenges that come with ambiguous business outlooks.

At the People Matters TechHR Pulse Mumbai, Divyesh Sindhwaad, VP and Country Head, Skillsoft India spoke about how technology-enabled coaching can help leaders manoeuvre this ever-changing business outlook, and ‘democratise’ skilling across employee ranks.

“It is essential that organisations constantly reinvent themselves to keep up with the hyper disruption at play today,” he said. When reinventing, choosing the skills needed for the future will stand out as a key differentiator in remaining relevant and driving the organisation's success.

According to Sindhwaad, there has been an underlying change in the skillsets that are required for organisations today. A World Economic Forum study reveals that of all the skills required in 2030, eight out of ten skills will be coachable personal and interpersonal skills.

In light of the changing skill dynamics, he said that only simple training will not be enough. “In the current context, the world of Work, Workplace and Workforce has been completely transformed. What we need is a skills transformation exercise, which is not restricted to leadership levels but is implemented across organisational levels,” he added.

Here are some key takeaways from the keynote on how technology can help in transforming workforce skilling.

Identifying the skill gaps

Any transformation is a cycle. Typically it starts with recognising what are the gaps in skills, what knowledge is required to fill those gaps, and the kind of avenues you have to apply those learnings to the job. It also requires an understanding of the practice element tools available to the employees and then finally reflecting on the entire scenario to assess the impact of it on the individual and overall organisation. This is where coaching can be a catalyst, and having a technology partner who can provide certified coaches for the required skill sets is key. Skillsoft, for instance, has created a network of ICF-certified coaches across six continents to deliver seamless coaching engagements to its customers.

Role of technology in coaching

AI can be of big help in skills coaching across the organisation, and technology is one of the levers to reach your goal of a democratised approach. From an organisational point of view, it allows you to see real-time statistics and analyse what’s happening in the training sessions. It helps you assess the impact that it is creating. Technology also plays a major role in addressing the gaps in measuring the outcomes of these coaching exercises.

Content is King

Coaching conversations complimented by good content is the game changer and technology helps in meeting that goal. The content can be a blend of multi-modal means like books, videos, audiobooks and articles. Coaching should not remain a conversation, and in the spirit of democratisation, we need to have an approach which is unique to every individual. For example, Skillsoft has personalised and curated content coming in from MIT SMR (Sloan Management Review). It uses the AI element with the help of CAISY—the AI coaching simulator democratising coaching in the true sense looking at economics on how coaching engagement works.

Offering the right skill sets and efficient delivery moves the needle across the board. It drives the right outcomes in strategic thinking, executing strategy, managing change, decision making or simple delegation. With the right coaching environment, you can support your customers in driving the right outcomes and right value from their most valuable resource, which is their people.