Organizations are constantly in need of skilled talent that can meet the changing demands of projects, stakeholders and entire industries. With so much change occurring regularly, it is easy for organizations to blindly follow methods of bringing new talent in because it’s what they have always done. In fact, organizations with 1,000 to 2,500 employees reported an average recruiting budget in 2022 of $143,000, according to a NACE report, with larger organizations spending even more. This, on top of onboarding costs, is a steep price to pay for changes when it’s not the only answer to this growing problem.

If organizations want to find talent for new ventures, they should start internally. Utilizing employees who already understand the mission to support new functions is a huge benefit to organizations looking for time, cost or turnover reductions in their recruiting practices. While looking internally is an important starting point, the question soon becomes: How do you prepare employees to grow, learn and develop the skills needed to take on new projects? The answer lies in how you support upskilling in your organization. Learning functions have the unique opportunity to develop strategies around this key concept in the employee learning lifecycle.

What is Upskilling?

Upskilling is “the process of building upon employees’ existing skills and strengths to enhance their skill sets.” Put simply, it is giving employees the chance to be the best they can be in their roles. This is a very flexible definition as upskilling is an individual journey employees take based on their personal motivations and organizational support.

This concept drives value within organizations as well — with an average skill lifespan of roughly 2.5 years, the need for employees to consistently improve their knowledge, skills and abilities to do their roles with increased efficiency is essential to continued growth. However, with significant enhancements in digital technologies and responsibility shifts in recent years, the idea of upskilling has become a buzzword that can leave organizations confused about where upskilling efforts should be focused.

At its core, upskilling is an employee-driven initiative with the organization’s backing. Leaders cannot force employees to prioritize their own skill development, which is a common pitfall of failed learning and development (L&D) initiatives. When designing upskilling programs, it is crucial that all resources are streamlined and made clear for employees. These resources can include:

• • Job shadowing opportunities.
  • Mentorship programs.
  • Formal educational offerings/discounts.
  • Microlearning sessions.
  • Partnerships with other organizations.
  • Webinars.

There are many other options that give employees the ability to enhance their skills and become the best they can be in their roles. By providing a “one-stop-shop” for upskilling, organizations put actionable items behind their programs that allow learners to get involved at their own pace, which is a clear sign of their commitment to supporting employee development. When L&D functions emphasize these commitments in their various programs, the entire culture of the organization shifts in a beneficial way.

Incorporating Upskilling Into Your Culture

When upskilling turns into a normal part of operations in an organization, the foundation of a learning culture is created and cultivated by its most active participants. Learning cultures speak volumes to the importance of upskilling because employees are encouraged to take control of their own learning.

While upskilling is a uniquely personal journey that employees take, organizations can provide structure in how they upskill. This can include a wide arrangement of offerings, such as tuition reimbursement, role-specific classes, massive online open courses (MOOCs) and dedicated in-role learning time among many others. Through this interwoven approach of business and learning, upskilling becomes a pillar for the organization that employees maintain, improve and bond over as the program develops.

A critical aspect of bringing upskilling into your L&D plan through your culture is to ensure it is equitable in how it is offered. By promoting a fair approach to learning, organizational silos can be removed, which further demonstrates the value of upskilling. To do so, learning leaders should emphasize resources that:

• • Offer varying modalities of learning for similar content.
  • Provide clear direction on how the content applies to the learner’s role.
  • Bring people together for discussion/group application.

Each of these elements ensures the upskilling initiative supports the culture of the organization through connection, collaboration and content relevance. This brings about another benefit that organizations can easily capitalize on — sustainability. Embedding stable and consistent upskilling offerings into an organization ensures that despite change occurring, learning is a priority for your workplace’s people and culture. This makes investment justifications easier for learning leaders because the desire for learning doesn’t come solely from them, but rather it comes from all employees looking to upskill and improve. However, this does not mean that learning functions can stop here.

Utilize Existing Structures and Systems

Do you already utilize a learning management system (LMS)? If not, are there current structures in place for learners to access required trainings like compliance? Do you have a resource bank that learners can turn to for in-role support? These questions, and others like them, should be asked when determining where upskilling is found in your organization. An obstacle that turns many learning functions away from robust upskilling is that they feel they must bring something brand new to the table to get people excited about it. But that simply isn’t the case!

Because of the flexible nature of upskilling, it should not be a standalone item that employees must seek out to reap the benefits of. Instead, learning functions should work with organizational leaders to integrate upskilling into their existing structures and systems to create a streamlined approach that drives excitement and participation. This has a significant impact on how upskilling is viewed and organically grown through the culture because the opportunity to learn is readily accessible.

Don’t count out the use of automation for parts of upskilling, either! There is lots of potential with artificial intelligence (AI) when it comes to scenarios, content development and reporting with enhancements constantly being offered. At the end of the day, the easier the upskilling opportunities are to find and access, the more likely people will be to get on board quickly — meaning that if automation brings the options closer to learners, use it! A recent Gallup study found that over 50% of employees want to upskill, with up to 48% of Americans willing to switch companies for more upskilling opportunities. Making the chance to improve skills readily available is of the utmost importance to your L&D plan.

Business Acumen: The Core of L&D Buy-In

As is the case with all initiatives, upskilling needs to garner organizational buy-in before learning teams can put them into place. This buy-in often comes from differing business units with varying needs and expectations, so making sure that there is a pitch for upskilling that highlights its benefits while addressing concerns is critical. In doing so, learning teams use business acumen to speak the language of the organization to justify the investment in skill development.

Business acumen, as defined by Training Industry, is an “understanding of how an organization makes and uses money strategically.” By speaking about upskilling as an investment in people, a tool to reduce turnover and a strategy for agile team development, learning leaders showcase their understanding of business continuity using the framework that other units rely on to get things done.

Putting Upskilling Initiatives Into An L&D Plan

With a concrete understanding of upskilling and its applications, learning professionals will find that L&D plans must include it as a feasible way to support learners and organizations alike. By offering skills development opportunities to all employees, learning teams become more strategic partners in organizations and easily demonstrate the value in emphasizing upskilling.

An initial investment in upskilling occurs within the culture of the organization when employees are motivated to take their development into their own hands, using systems and structures already found in day-to-day operations. With this, learning teams should utilize business acumen to justify the investment to leaders within the organization. Developing an L&D plan around upskilling occurs naturally when the framework for sustainable skills enhancement is in place within organizational cultures, structures and conversations.