Whether businesses were ready or not, the COVID-19 pandemic started to shift the way business was done and any gaps in training and preparation – particularly around remote work, collaboration, crisis communication, and digital platforms – started to have an impact right away. Many organizations have pivoted to a successful model that works for the time being but might not be sustainable in the long term, particularly as many businesses have either been subject to hiring freezes or downsizing.
From enabling employees to be increasingly productive and efficient, supporting digital initiatives, and cross-training employees to support teams during a hiring freeze, reskilling (and upskilling) employees is one of the most important areas to focus on through the end of the year and into next.
How can you reskill your employees?
There are several methods to reducing skill gaps in your workforce, and with so much ongoing uncertainty, businesses need to emphasize learning and agility to remain competitive. Organizations can use several different methods to support employee development.
- Peer training: Using peer mentorship and coaching is an effective way to teach and transfer skills. This is particularly helpful when training employees who are being promoted or transferred internally and for job sharing or job rotation positions. Peer-to-peer training can be as informal as a coworker shadowing another during a workday or as structured as a team lead going over a hands-on presentation over a video call. Oftentimes it makes sense for a manager or supervisor to suggest the pairings for peer training, since they usually know the dynamics and skillsets of their teams.
- Knowledge sharing: A central knowledge repository on policies, best practices, procedures, and problems is a helpful tool that empowers employees. Many organizations house this kind of resource on their intranet, an internal wiki, or on Slack or Microsoft Teams channels for easy access. Encouraging leaders and individual contributors alike to add to the existing content ensures that there’s readily available guidance and troubleshooting resources available, especially as people are shifted around to provide coverage or when people are less accessible due to working remotely.
- Learning and development initiatives: Your workforce is likely already feeling the pressure to do more with less and might feel increasingly uncertain about how to tackle a challenge or who to ask for help. Custom learning programs help fill the performance gaps in your workplace, without taxing your already busy employees who are still navigating this new normal. Our customized learning solutions are developed with your business needs and employee learning styles in mind, to help you reskill your workforce with the knowledge they need to succeed during business transitions and challenges.
For almost 30 years, Ardent has helped to support businesses through transitions by empowering learners and ensuring that everyone is on the same page to successfully move forward. Reskilling your workforce can help you stabilize teams and workload and better prepare your company for future changes.
Contact us today to find out how reskilling and upskilling your workforce can benefit your organization and to learn more about custom learning solutions that support your goals.
