Drawing The Line Between Reskilling And Upskilling
The recent digital revolution is evolving at such a rapid pace that the job market is falling behind. As some roles become redundant and many others are created (or reimagined), more and more businesses are struggling to find talent to match their niche requirements. Things aren't easier for their existing personnel either, as additional skills keep being added to their roles. To overcome these challenges and support their employees in bringing in the best results possible, organizations are directing their focus on employee training and development, especially reskilling. But what is reskilling, and what makes it different from upskilling? Moreover, why is reskilling crucial for the success of your organization?
What Is Reskilling?
When conditions change within a company and new positions open, or when they are ready for a career change, employees find themselves needing to add a new set of skills to their arsenal. We refer to the process of learning to accommodate situations such as these as "reskilling," and it's a great way to close talent gaps within an organization. To achieve successful reskilling, businesses usually look for employees with adjacent skills which can easily evolve to adapt to their needs. The sheer amount of technological advancements we have been noticing has made reskilling necessary for a large portion of employees.
What Are The Differences Between Reskilling And Upskilling?
Often, businesses think of reskilling and upskilling as two concepts that refer to the same thing. However, they are two different techniques with distinct purposes. Since we already defined reskilling, let's see what upskilling is. Where reskilling prepares employees for different positions within their company or completely new careers, upskilling refers to enriching their knowledge base so that they become more efficient in their current role. In other words, it involves creating a culture of continuous learning and improvement to achieve higher levels of engagement and profitability.
An additional difference between reskilling and upskilling is when businesses choose each technique. There are a variety of scenarios when reskilling is necessary, one of them being retaining valuable employees whose roles are going to become obsolete due to outsourcing, internal transfers, or implementing a new type of technology. Reskilling can also be used for new hires that need to take over a position with niche responsibilities. On the other hand, upskilling is best for current members of your workforce and, ideally, during times of change. This could refer to the rollout of new software or an employee training program on product knowledge or soft skills training, and so on.
4 Benefits Of Reskilling You Need To Know About
Now you know what reskilling is and when you need to use it. But the question still remains: what makes it so important? Here are 4 benefits of reskilling that you need to know about.
1. Staying Versatile And Agile
The business world is constantly going through changes that few of us can predict. The one thing you can do to be certain that your business continues to thrive is make sure that your employees are well equipped for the future. By identifying their current capabilities and investing in their professional development, you help your employees hone their skills and reach their maximum potential. At the same time, your business as a whole becomes less sensitive to external developments, such as talent shortages, or unexpected changes, such as a rapid turn to remote working.
2. Identifying Hidden Talents
Often, businesses take their employees for granted, using them only to the extent of their role and not exploring or utilizing their talents further. This could lead to wasted resources or even high turnover. Reskilling your employees puts you in the process of identifying and assessing everyone's skills, which could result in the discovery of a hidden talent. For example, the assessment stage that precedes training might help you discover leadership tendencies in a lower-tier employee or strong communication skills in an employee that doesn't usually interact with clients.
3. Increasing Talent Retention And Attraction
Knowing your employees' strengths and weaknesses allows you to better match the right job to the right person. This way, your staff get more satisfaction from their job, as it utilizes their full potential. Not to mention that, when employees see that their organization takes the time to promote their development, they feel valued and are more likely to stay loyal in the long run. Moreover, creating a culture of continuous improvement can be very beneficial for your brand image. It can attract high-quality clients and new talent who want to take their next professional step with a company that openly appreciates and supports its workforce.
4. Driving Success
Having said all that, it's easy to understand how reskilling can help your business become more successful. Between building your internal talent pool and creating a culture that attracts new candidates with valuable skills, reskilling can give your company all the tools to become a leading force in your industry. Factor in the agility that continuous learning helps you develop, and you are left with the confidence that no sudden changes or transitions will be able to curb your momentum, as you will always have the skills necessary to adapt quickly.
Conclusion
With the digital revolution affecting more and more aspects of our everyday lives, embracing development is the only way forward. As a result, more and more businesses are accepting that reskilling is one of the most valuable tools for keeping their employees productive and their businesses successful. In this article, we looked into what reskilling is, how it differs from upskilling, and what benefits you should expect when implementing it. Hopefully, the information we shared in this article has cleared the confusion surrounding the two terms and helped you understand which course of action is more suitable for the needs of your business. You can also check out our list of the top upskilling and reskilling content providers to outsource with ease.
