Invest in Your Team: The Benefits of Reskilling for Employers

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 15 million people have quit their jobs since April 2021 in the U.S. alone. And those that have stayed may not have the sharpest skills to do their jobs, as roles have evolved significantly over the past few years.

Gartner found that 58% of the workforce needs new skill sets to do their jobs successfully.

Take the IT, finance, and sales industries as an example: One in three skills in an average 2017 job posting in those fields is already obsolete. Recent advances in AI technology—like the ever-popular ChatGPT—are a clear example of this. Employees need to understand how to leverage these tools for success at work.

Reskilling in the workforce has become vital to staying competitive in today’s market. It not only allows companies to fill the skills gaps within their organization but also helps to boost employee engagement and retention rates.

As the business landscape evolves, employers need ways to stay ahead of the curve and retain top talent.

What is reskilling?

Reskilling involves providing employees with the necessary training and skills to adapt to new organizational roles and responsibilities. The difference between reskilling and upskilling is that reskilling involves training for new skills while upskilling involves developing existing skills to a higher level. Investing in reskilling programs can improve productivity, increase employee retention, and reduce recruitment costs.

Reskilling programs can take many forms, including online courses, on-the-job training, mentorship programs, and classroom instruction—all of which can be managed through a single LMS software, making training easy to manage and effective.

Reskilling programs not only provide employees with the skills they need to be successful in their current roles but also prepare them for future career opportunities within the company. This can lead to increased job satisfaction and higher levels of engagement, ultimately resulting in improved retention rates and cost savings associated with turnover. And that’s just one of the benefits of reskilling for employers.

Benefits of reskilling for employers

It’s no secret that when employees acquire new skills through reskilling programs, they are better equipped to handle new technologies and job requirements. But reskilling programs also show employees that their employers are invested in their personal well-being and career growth, which can increase employee loyalty and reduce attrition. It is often less expensive to reskill existing employees than to recruit new ones, and reskilling programs can help employers avoid the costs associated with losing experienced employees, such as decreased productivity, reduced morale, and decreased customer satisfaction.

Using our Learning Record Store, training managers can track and measure every learning interaction (stored as xAPI statements) to understand which courses are most engaged with and which courses are not getting attention. With this data, managers can adjust employee training strategies and improve them constantly—nurturing specialized skills for each individual team member. And the ExpertusONE rapid LMS authoring tool enables dynamic content distribution so that companies can leverage existing content while adding new, interactive elements that make learning more engaging.

Reskilling employees can help employers develop a highly skilled workforce better equipped to take on new challenges and drive innovation. By providing employees with the skills they need to succeed, organizations can improve their overall competitiveness in the marketplace.

Benefits of reskilling for employees

Most employees want flexibility—and reskilling can help give them some. Reskilling programs can help employees develop a wide range of skills that can be applied to various job roles and industries, making them more valuable to employers and increasing their job security.

When using an LMS to deliver all of your training content—from videos to quizzes and other integrated content—employees can train when, how, and where they want without losing the robust features of the platform. The right LMS will even provide discussion forums, one-on-one meeting sessions, and other collaborative tools that promote knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning. Plus, with our apps for Salesforce LMS and Slack LMS, employees can operate in their preferred digital work environment and still reap the benefits of the LMS.

Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends survey found that rewards and recognition are also critical components of an effective reskilling program, with employees valuing acknowledgment, growth opportunities, and a sense of purpose in their work. By understanding employees’ needs and preferences through data collection and analysis, organizations can tailor their reskilling initiatives to maximize impact and drive results.

Where reskilling fits into the L&D narrative

Reskilling is essential to the larger learning and development (L&D) narrative. L&D is the process of developing skills and knowledge in employees to help them perform their jobs more effectively. Reskilling, therefore, is a specific type of L&D to be integrated into an organization’s larger strategy.

By offering reskilling programs, organizations can ensure that their employees have the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their roles and contribute to the organization’s overall success. Reskilling programs can also help to bridge skills gaps and develop a more agile workforce, enabling companies to adapt quickly to changes in the industry.

Using an LMS, reskilling programs can be tailored to meet the specific needs of individual employees or groups of employees, depending on their job roles and skill levels. Reskilling should be individualized and granular but also aligned with an organization’s larger strategic goals, ensuring that employees are developing skills and knowledge that are directly relevant to the organization’s success.

In order to fully reap the benefits of reskilling, employers need to prioritize data quality and analytics, as poor data quality can lead to costly mistakes and hinder decision-making processes. By using LMS reporting and analytics and other data sets available in easy-to-generate reports, leaders can gain insights into employee preferences and career goals, enabling them to design more effective reskilling programs and achieve greater success in retaining and developing their workforce.

Essential Tools for Reskilling

Incorporating reskilling programs into an organization’s larger L&D strategy requires careful planning and execution. Companies must lead this initiative with effective communication, program evaluation, and a commitment to ongoing learning and development.

But before beginning program development, leaders must identify employees’ skills gaps and training needs. This can be done through performance evaluations and skills assessments—all of which can be tracked, managed, and stored within an enterprise LMS, or a skills platform. Once skills gaps are identified, organizations can develop targeted reskilling programs to address them. To ensure that employees have access to the resources they need to upgrade their skills, organizations should provide access to an LMS and constantly evaluate which courses and resources are resonating with the audience (this is where LMS data is essential).

Because employees learn in different ways and at different paces, it’s essential to develop personalized learning plans that consider each employee’s unique needs. This can help employees stay motivated and engaged in the reskilling process. Additionally, tracking progress can help employees and managers understand what’s working and where improvements can be made.

Employees need support and guidance throughout the reskilling process. Managers and mentors can provide valuable feedback and coaching to help employees develop new skills and overcome challenges. Regular check-ins and performance evaluations ensure that employees are on track and receiving the support they need.

Checks and balances for a reskilling strategy

While reskilling programs offer numerous benefits, employers must also be mindful of potential pitfalls. To ensure that their training programs are effective, employers must identify places where the program may need to be reworked and continuously monitor the success of the program. This can be done through performance evaluations, surveys, and other forms of feedback.

Employers must also get a real and accurate understanding of employee learning needs, ensuring that the training program is tailored to the workforce’s specific needs. The needs of employees and the organization can change over time, so it’s important to develop a reskilling strategy that is flexible and adaptable. This can include adjusting the program to address new skills gaps, changing technologies, or other factors that may impact the program’s success.

Having an accurate understanding of employee needs also helps organizations maintain a reskilling program aligned with the goals and objectives of the organization. And ultimately, that’s the goal of the program: to develop individual skills on a micro level to allow for transformation at the macro level.

Ready to learn how the ExpertusONE LMS can improve your reskilling program? Contact us today for a free demo.