Companies opt for digital upskilling of employees
Businesses that aspire to thrive in the digital era will need workers with new skills
Digital transformation has ensured that none of the 21st generation workforce can rest on its laurels. They need to continuously learn, unlearn and relearn in order to stay relevant in their different industries. A study by the World Economic Forum suggests that by 2020, 35 percent of the skills critical to performing a job would not have been considered crucial in 2015.
The impact of this massive transformation is felt across industries.
Technologies such as robotics, connected devices, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, and machine learning etc. will reshape the industries like never. Businesses that aspire to thrive in this digital era will need a workforce with new skills, especially digital skills.
If digital transformation has thrown the challenge of reskilling and upskilling the workforce, it also presents a solution. The thumb rule is that the traditional ways of learning on the job will have to be replaced with comprehensivedigital learning strategies. Businesses which can implement these digital learning strategies can create more agile model for themselves. It also engages employees and makes them feel motivated as they contribute to the business growth in new ways.
Since every business has different challenges and skill requirements, there cannot be a one-size-fit-all approach for crafting digital learning strategies. However, below are some common threads across industries: PEER-TO-PEER LEARNING
In the digital first world, formalizing the institution of peer-topeer learning is much easier. Instant chatrooms, collaboration over intranet, mapping progress on digital applications makes it easy for peer trainers to engage with trainees and map the progress of a trainee against predefined goals.
LEARNING THE DIY WAY Thanks to the high speed, affordable internet, everyone has equal access to the information they require. HR leaders only need to motivate people to explore and learn skills that the organization will be looking at in the next 2-5 years. Once people are aware of the things that will keep them relevant and competent at work, they can look at online libraries, virtual training programs, free or paid tutorials, and much more. Organization only needs to guide them in the right direction. Success stories from others create organization wide ripple effect and set the tone for learning for one’s own growth.
THE MILLENNIAL WAVE Millennials do not always find a connect with the traditional ways of learning. For a business looking to have millennials as a part of its creative workforce, it is important to innovate new ways for them. Cool whiteboard videos, gamification of complex tasks, online competition against other team members keeps the millennials going. The onus is again on the leadership to innovate and keep the workforce warm.
ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK
This is the most time-consuming part of learning process. Under traditional environment, the trainers have to personalize their feedback for every trainee. However, powered by big data engine, today’s digital learning solutions can make assessment very much an automated task. Artificial intelligence and machine learning enabled solutions can further track the progress of everyone who is a part of the program and share a personalized feedback. This makes learning much more effective and scientific. There could also be some reverse feedback for trainers and mentors which can be captured effectively.
As said earlier, each organization has some unique challenges and goals. However, a concoction of leadership vision, digital learning solutions, and effort from trainees is all it takes to be moving in terms of skill enhancement. Once the tone is set within the organization and everybody understands the need for upskilling, the road becomes simpler.