Learn how to identify talent from within your business to reskill and adapt in challenging times
The pandemic has meant that for many organisations business-as-usual has had to change. Adapting to the changing world and customer demands has meant that the skills needed by their workforces have had to adapt too. Improved digital skills, resilience, adaptability, social and emotional skills are all high on the list. Reskilling existing talent to help face the challenges of the COVID recovery phase is not only key to a resilient workforce but also to a resilient business.
HR Training Consultant, Annie Litchfield from Loates HR will be running a three-hour action planning workshop providing tips and tools to help you identify skill voids in your business on 29 March. She provides a taster below.
If we break it down to its most basic steps, to have a well-equipped resilient workforce to take your business through challenging times you need to consider 4 simple questions:
1. What skills do my workforce have now?
2. What skills do they need in the future?
3. What’s the gap?
4. How do we fill the gap?
Written like that it seems so simple, doesn’t it? But we all know that each of those steps can take some analysis, consideration, reflection, resources, and know-how to complete. Our 3-hour workshop will help you on your way to developing an action plan of practical steps to implement back in your workplace. But in the meantime, here are some handy pointers for starters.
- Use surveys, skills audits, a full training needs analysis, whatever you need to uncover what skills your workforce have now
- Consider the direction your company is moving in its COVID recovery plan and what skills that depends on
- Are there skill sets that will help you across all roles to be more resilient to change in the future? For example, digital skills, social skills to allow for greater collaboration.
- Ask your team what skills they feel they are lacking and get their buy-in to any planned interventions.
- Make learning a priority and not a luxury as whilst it might help with short term cash flow or time and resources to put it on hold, in the long term your workforce will be lacking.
- Consider a variety of learning methods – it doesn’t have to be a 2-day classroom-based course. Try online learning, modular programmes, coaching, mentoring and on-the-job learning.
- Consider what expertise you have in-house and utilise that talent to help develop others and succession plan.
- Prioritise the skills you want to focus on first. Will it be based on what will have the biggest impact, quick wins, most pressing projects? Make a plan.
