As the technology industry becomes more competitive, some employers are starting to recognise the benefits of upskilling staff and building strong leadership and succession plans, but it is still uncommon in many tech jobs.
Many employers lean towards increasing an employees skill profile by giving them increased responsibility in their daily jobs. On the job training allows employees to learn the skills they need in real circumstances faced by the business. Frequently this is best achieved by having senior staff work alongside more junior employees, or by creating mentorship programmes within the business.
Although on the job training is successful at upskilling more junior employees, it can only really teach what a company's employees already know. A company may want to look to complement this with courses and professional seminars for more senior employees. Having the headspace to develop new skills is incredibly important and can lead to innovative progress for a company. Staff then have a chance to learn new technologies and advanced skills and can then bring them back to implement in their teams, helping to grow the department's skill set. Employers are starting to recognise the long-term benefit of upskilling their staff so they can build strong succession plans.
No one way is the "right way" and because of this, several senior IT professionals look to implement a mix of training and upskilling tactics.
Martin Tyley, a Partner at KPMG believes in the 70/20/10 ratio when it comes to upskilling employees.
• 70% Understanding and experience: On the job training with real situations
• 20% Proactive mentoring: Structured mentoring that helps employees understand what they are doing and how this will help their careers in 1 year, 3 years, 5 years’ time
• 10% Classroom upskilling: Professional development through courses, classroom scenarios and seminars that can highlight new skills and new technologies. Plural Science is a good resource for this.
The costs of replacing employees is significant. In fact, each time a business replaces a salaried employee, the cost of replacing him/her can be equal to 9 months salary. Upskilling as a tool to encourage employee engagement and retention presents a clear benefit to not only the organization’s bottom line, but also to the well-being of the workforce, especially as it relates to performance. They need the tools to go above and beyond, especially when it comes to skills.
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