With many advances in technology, employee trends, consumer demands, and workplace shifts, it becomes more challenging to maintain your business for the future. One key strategy in building a resilient workforce is to provide a culture of continuous improvement.
In this article, we’ll help employers, HR teams, and managers upskill workers for the future and establish a strong workforce that can confidently face emerging challenges.
The Effects of Technology
According to McKinsey, 30 percent of all working hours in the US could be automated by 2030.¹ Because of this, we can expect the demand for many occupations to shift. The demand for health and wellness professionals, STEM professionals, and managers will continue to grow. Transportation, light industry, creatives and art, and education sectors will experience a slightly increased rate.
However, jobs in food services, customer service, and office support will decrease due to their repetitive and routine data processing that can be easily replaced by automation. Regardless of which industry will be more affected, many businesses need to upskill the majority of their workforce to remain competitive.
The Widening Skills Gap
According to the same McKinsey study, a third of executives reported skill disparity and mismatch in technology, cognitive, social, and emotional skills. These are mostly in advanced IT functions, data analysis, mathematical competence, and critical thinking. About 40 percent of executives also mentioned limited talent in critical areas like working with new technologies.
However, technological advancement is not the only reason there’s a widening skills gap across many industries. Another contributing factor is the aging and retiring workforce, which is gradually reducing the available talent. Not to mention, there’s also a diminishing interest in younger generations for industries like skilled trades, manufacturing, agriculture, education, logistics, and hospitality.
This calls for enhancing the workforce to ensure business success, especially in this ever-evolving market. If you want to remain competitive, it’s vital to support workforce development, especially in tech.
What Do Companies Need to Do? 7 Ways to Upskill Workers for the Future
Preparing your organization is equivalent to empowering your workforce. After all, your employees significantly contribute to your organizational success. If you want to strengthen your business outcomes, here are seven strategies that you need to implement in your business:
1. Identify emerging skills needed for your business.
Start by assessing the skill sets your company needs in this dynamic market.
- Will you need tech-savvy employees?
- Do you need critical or creative thinkers?
- Are you short on laborers and physical workers?
Regardless of your needs today, it’s important to understand the state of the current labor market and how it will affect your business in the future.
This can help you analyze industry trends and predict future skill requirements. It will enable you to address upcoming challenges and proactively approach the situation, reducing stress on your resources and possible process errors.
2. Assess the effects of AI and automation on your organization.
Technology today is viewed as a competitive advantage, especially with its automated capabilities and unparalleled processing speeds. However, it’s also vital to assess how these modern technologies will help transform your business.
For example, modern technologies such as cloud computing and cybersecurity are very critical in many industries. However, if you only need artificial intelligence, generative AI, or basic machine learning functions, there’s little to no need to implement robust tech infrastructures.
It’s necessary to adapt to today’s technologies, but you don’t have to apply everything. Focus on what matters and which tech can actually elevate your business. As a result, these enhancements should also align with your recruitment efforts.
- Carefully assess the level of skills needed to perform the job.
- Prepare your existing workforce for any changes that might occur through training, mentoring, or education.
3. Promote a culture of continuous learning.
Aside from actively developing programs that upskill employees, it’s also vital to promote a continuous learning culture. Primarily, you have to align these developments with the business objectives. Make sure that you’re providing the training necessary for employees to grow in the business.
On the other hand, a flexible mindset will help you predict future demands and technological advancements that can benefit the organization.
- Keep your workforce updated on the latest technologies.
- Provide various training programs.
- Dive deep into crucial topics such as data analysis and project management.
Read more: How Company Culture Drives Growth Beyond Metrics
4. Foster accountability and adaptability.
Similarly, you need to prioritize transferable skills. While technical knowledge is a vital component in the evolving market, focusing on soft skills will help you uncover potential employees and improve the growth of your business.
When your employees are accountable for their work, they become more autonomous and aligned with their responsibilities. Let them make mistakes and allow them to explore new possibilities. If they commit an error, let them get back on their feet.
Of course, this doesn’t mean tolerating mistakes. Ideally, your employees should learn from their experiences and adapt new strategies that can enhance your business operation and success.
The goal is to foster an adaptive and resilient organization, not just in leadership, but permeating to the last member of the organization.
Read more: A Roadmap to Ethical Accountability in the Workplace
5. Develop competitive upskilling programs.
When you know what your business needs, consider how each employee can contribute to success. Placing a tenured employee in a position he is not fit for will only diminish your success. Instead, examine each member’s strengths and potential and build personalized career paths.
If one is eager to become a leader, hear them out whether or not they have apparent leadership qualities. They may have impeccable organization skills, superb communication skills, or a keen eye for detail. If the role highlights these qualities, the employee might be worth considering.
Your role as an employer is to assess an employee’s career trajectory carefully.
- Will they thrive in this role?
- Do they have the potential to learn new skills?
- Are they willing to put in the effort?
These are some of the questions you need to ask—at least before hiring an external candidate.
Read more: Skyrocket Your Career: 5 Must-Try Upskilling Methods
6. Redesign your work operations by combining humans and AI.
We all know that technology is becoming more valuable in many aspects of work. However, AI and technology shouldn’t be seen as a replacement for human skills and assessment. At the end of the day, human efforts should still be at the center of every operation.
Redesign your work processes and combine them with technology. Make sure that you reconsider job roles and adjust workflows to utilize the strengths of both human contributors and AI technologies.
When looking at AI tools, don’t simply look for efficiency and productivity. You should also consider factors like customizability, ethics, monitoring systems, scalability, user-friendliness, and collaborative features. These will better equip your teams to navigate modern AI technologies and remain at the core of each function.
7. Ensure ethical AI practices that adhere to standard regulations.
Skill gaps may pose a challenge in today’s workplace, but so does the prevalence of biases and discrimination. No matter how powerful AI has become, humans still design and manage these technologies. Ethical practices with AI are crucial as it’s often difficult to pinpoint who made a mistake and where it occurred.
As a company, you must be at the forefront of combatting these challenges. When you consider a tool:
- Ensure they’re transparent with their ethical practices and machine learning algorithms.
- Ask for compliance with regulatory standards like GDPR, HIPAA, or CCPA.
- Lastly, educate your employees about ethical practices to raise awareness.
These can help eliminate bias by actively rejecting unethical practices and proactively equipping your organization with the right information. As a result, you’ll be able to maintain integrity and avoid costly penalties.
Read more: Should AI Help Make Hiring Decisions? 66% of Americans Say They Won’t Apply
Equip your teams with exceptional employees with Masis Staffing.
There are many ways you can transform your organization through various learning platforms, organizational restructuring, applying best practices, and culture-building. However, if you are in need of talented individuals, Masis can provide you with tailored solutions.
Contact us today to learn more about our services.
Reference
- Hazan, Eric et al. “A new future of work: The race to deploy AI and raise skills in Europe and beyond.” McKinsey, 21 May, 2024, https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/a-new-future-of-work-the-race-to-deploy-ai-and-raise-skills-in-europe-and-beyond
