In our last post, Part 2 of our “The Great Resignation” series, we talked about reviewing your company culture and hiring overlooked candidates to fill positions.
In this post, we’ll take a look at re-training and upskilling. This excerpt from Forbes states, “The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated that no one has control over the future — not markets, individuals or even the economy as a whole. Long-term goals are more likely to fall through than ever before, and this is why the time for employee reskilling and upskilling is now.”
Reskilling (re-training) and upskilling not only creates more engaged employees, but also helps businesses to fill important roles. Granted, this isn’t an option for all positions, but this solution has worked for a number of businesses with great success. Do you have an employee who is passionate about your company and has expressed a desire to learn? Or perhaps you have someone who has a background in several areas of knowledge who could step into a much-needed role?
As outlined in the World Economic Forum’s latest Future of Jobs Report, half of all employees around the world will need reskilling by 2025 – and that number doesn’t include all the people who are currently not in employment.
It’s important though to note that what we’re talking about here is not overworking your staff and piling more work on overburdened employees. What we’re talking about is a strategy where you can hire for roles that may be easier to fill while training existing employees in those positions to take on different duties.
Suppose you have an administrative assistant who has previously done some accounting work, and say you need to hire an accounting assistant. You may have an easier time recruiting for an administrative assistant than you would an accounting assistant. In this scenario, it may be better to upskill your admin and move him/her to accounting, and then look for another administrative assistant.
While “The Great Resignation” is occurring across industries and positions, depending on your location, you may find it easier to recruit candidates in certain positions over others. Examine your workforce to see where you can leverage untapped skills for further training or train employees who are passionate and show potential.
