30% of participants polled in the L&D Global Sentiment Survey 2021 have said the top priority for 2021 is Up-Skilling and Re-Skilling.
Like us, we are sure you went: “Isn’t that supposed to be the top priority EVERY YEAR??”.
Apparently not. The usual front runners amongst the fifteen priorities to be ranked, dropped from top places in the previous years. They were mostly L&D ambitions that in theory are wonderful but hard to practice. Examples include Personalized training, Artificial Intelligence-based techniques, etc. Collaborative and Social learning moved up in the rankings. Its utility and success during the pandemic have been remarkable. In just a bit we will talk about how it forms the backbone of Up-Skilling and Re-skilling.
Dropped from top places in the previous years. They were the ‘Nice to haves’. These were mostly L&D ambitions that in theory are wonderful but have been hard to practice.
So what brought the focus back to the primary function of L&D?
The GDP growth in India had been grimly dipping since 2017, well before the pandemic hit. Employers had to deal with a slowing AND changing economy. Some markets and jobs had begun to disappear. Pervasive changes due to artificial intelligence and data-based technology had changed the nature of the work to be done. The global pandemic broke the proverbial camels back as the economy went into a recession.
Working from Home shook up companies and most of 2020 was spent in trying to keep employees safe and managing them remotely. Companies at the start of 2021 have just got a handle on that. But the real problems of a changed and slowing economy still exist and dealing with them will be the focus in 2021. Now it’s back to the basics.
The good news for L&D is that most technology companies have been informally training employees to work on the same jobs but with upgraded or different technologies or skills. In some cases brand new jobs. L&D should use this realization to formally make Up/Re-Skilling more structured and systematic.
The new increment of training that is required can be efficiently provided on the job. You don’t need expensive time outs and just-in-time knowledge can make a huge difference.
Up-Skilling:
When the jobs have stayed and existing employee resources are available, what is needed are new and improved skills to do them. Eg. Instead of face-to-face encounters with customers, employees in the banking sector now need to use online tools. The new increment of training that is required can be efficiently provided on the job. You don’t need expensive time outs and just-in-time knowledge can make a huge difference. The employees gain new skills and share insights learned using various online tools. Here is an example of HERE technologies that used the kPoint Enterprise Video Management Platform to do just that. Information needed to perform a task was made available when the employee needed it. In addition, Adaptive learning is the best way to keep up with the changing technology-scape and learning just enough to perform well at your job. Like a NASCAR race car driver once said, you don’t try to go as fast as you can. Only as fast as you need to win.
In the last five years, several large employers had begun re-skilling, getting loyal employees to learn new skills so they don’t need to lay them off and hire new employees.
Re-Skilling
How about when your company anticipates such dramatic changes in the near future that job losses and employee layoffs are inevitable and the only way to thrive is to embrace completely new jobs? In the last five years, several large employers had begun re-skilling, getting loyal employees to learn new skills so they don’t need to lay them off and hire new employees. After all, you just might need to train the new hires if the jobs require altogether new skills. AT&T had committed a billion dollars to do just that before the pandemic.
Video is by far the most effective media to learn from. It is engaging and provides multiple ways of presenting the information. Enterprise Video Management Platforms can provide video content, both live streams( Webinars, Lectures, and SME interviews) and recorded content(Searchable, indexed, and trackable) that are access controlled. All this can be done securely while tracking and testing employee progress in the corporate setting.
It is worthwhile to look at how Academia is providing remote instruction as well. Here are a few tips from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay that is delivering excellent no-contact learning. As you design your re-skilling programs, always remember to put your learners first. Design around their needs and their deficiencies. The payoff is far more immediate and impactful to your company than focusing on idealized content.
The underlying theme in all these coping strategies is remote learning. With little or no opportunity to gather in a classroom or meet, employees must rely on live meetings, webinars, and other content available online. Collaborative and social learning across geographic boundaries that was rarely considered before the pandemic is now being done easily and with great benefit. Expertise that lies with different people is being shared and collectively learned. Social media platforms even within an enterprise have proven to be fantastic places to search for information. Employees have pooled information and knowledge with no intended audience and unexpected requirements have been met.
Write to us and find out how we can help with your specific situation. With over a half-dozen business verticals in which kPoint has been used and thousands of hours of Learning and Training content delivered, we have the expertise to help you find cost-effective and rapidly deployed solutions.
