Back in 2019, the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development made a bold forecast. It was then said that in the next 15 to 20 years, new automation technologies will likely eliminate 14% of the world’s jobs & radically transform another 32%. This was well before the times of Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Bard. Today, we can look back and say that those predictions were probably way off the mark.
Technology’s relentless march is reshaping the skills landscape at a dizzying pace. New machines not only devour repetitive tasks but are also encroaching on sophisticated knowledge work, even in domains once thought to be secure such as research, coding, and even writing! The average skill’s shelf life has shrunk to a mere five years, with some tech fields witnessing even faster obsolescence at two and a half years. While not every knowledge worker faces immediate displacement, many may find their daily routines transformed by AI and other advancements, effectively leaving them in entirely new professional landscapes.
This has made it essential for organizations to invest heavily in upskilling their workforce. A recent study by BCG has suggested that organizational investments in workforce reskilling are growing to represent as much as 1.5% of total budgets. Even if we consider the OECD estimates to be true, millions of individuals will need a complete skill makeover. This would present an immensely complex societal challenge for the world at large because, with time, the size of the population requiring reskilling will increase exponentially. Getting this ever-increasing number of individuals to reskill and then guide them to use the new skills to get into new roles or even change occupations is going to be a mammoth task.
The tide of technological disruption has irrevocably shifted the skills landscape, and inaction is no longer an option for global organizations. While a select few have embarked on the reskilling imperative, their efforts have often been confined to isolated pockets, yielding limited impact. The question now transcends mere necessity; it’s about seizing the opportunity to transform the workforce into a strategic advantage. To navigate this seismic shift, companies must orchestrate a holistic reskilling revolution, one that transcends departmental silos and embraces a future-proofed talent strategy.
Reskilling is a Strategic Move & Advantage
In the face of disruptive forces reshaping the workforce landscape, reskilling has transcended mere reactive measures. While some companies initially viewed it as a tool to mitigate layoffs or appease social conscience, a fundamental shift has occurred. Leading organizations now recognize reskilling as a strategic imperative for competitive dominance. This evolution reflects a confluence of factors: an aging workforce, the emergence of new skill sets, and the ever-increasing demand for company-specific expertise. In this context, effective reskilling initiatives are not just damage control; they are engines of competitive advantage. By investing in cultivating talent not readily available in the market and closing critical skills gaps, companies can leapfrog competitors and solidify their strategic objectives before the dust settles.
Major companies across the board are realizing the urgent need to take steps to reskill their workforce. In recent years, Infosys has reskilled more than 2,000 cybersecurity experts with various adjacent competencies and capability levels. Vodafone is striving to fill 40% of its software developer needs from internal talent, which necessitates the existing talent to be reskilled and trained to match the requirements of the new role. Amazon, through its Machine Learning University, has enabled thousands of employees who initially had little experience in machine learning to become experts in the field.
A great way to approach reskilling for an organization’s workforce is to look at it as a core part of the employee value proposition, as a strategic means of balancing workforce supply and demand. Some of the best organizations to work for usually have policies, tools, and platforms in place to help employees understand the importance of keeping their skills updated, take the time to reskill, set themselves reskilling and upskilling goals, and then support them in achieving those goals.
Reskilling also helps organizations get access to a much wider and broader talent pool, attracting candidates who wouldn’t ideally have been a 100% match to the required skillset or would not have been immediately considered for the position but still have the potential to deliver outstanding results in the new roles.
Leaders Lead the Way
In earlier times, reskilling and upskilling would be a task that the human resources teams or departments would usually be responsible for. It was considered HR’s responsibility to come up with learning and talent development programs and then implement them, which was by no means an easy task. But in this rapidly evolving landscape that we live in, reskilling can and should no longer just be an HR responsibility. Reskilling initiatives can no longer be driven by bare basic KRA of the number of training delivered, cost per learner, etc. There is a greater need for need assessment and evaluation of what can be done to ensure the organization has the required workforce to meet its business goals. This can essentially be done best by the leaders and managers of the organization.
The BCG Report mentioned earlier also shares that only about 24% of the companies surveyed were working on making clear connections between corporate strategy and reskilling efforts. While HR teams would still play a critical role in facilitating everything, reskilling initiatives can hardly be successful if the leaders and managers are not leading the way, carrying out effective need assessments, and treating the reskilling initiatives with the same importance as the regular daily workflows.
Reskilling isn’t just an HR initiative; it’s a leadership imperative. At the forefront of this revolution are CEOs and COOs who champion the cause, articulating its strategic connection to the company’s future. They understand reskilling isn’t just about ticking training boxes; it’s about building a future-proof workforce that drives business goals.
Ericsson exemplifies this shift: their multi-year digital transformation strategy prioritizes upskilling and reskilling. They meticulously map critical skills to strategic needs, fueling accelerator programs, personalized skill journeys, and targeted skill-shifting initiatives. One key focus? Transforming telecommunications experts into AI and data-science powerhouses. This high-priority project isn’t just lip service; it’s embedded in executives’ quarterly objectives and key results. The results speak volumes: in just three years, over 15,000 employees have been upskilled in AI and automation.
This leadership commitment fosters a culture of shared responsibility:
- Clear communication: Senior leaders actively demonstrate the link between reskilling and strategic objectives, ensuring everyone understands their role in driving success.
- Resource allocation: Reskilling receives the attention and resources it deserves, treated as a strategic investment in the company’s future.
- Performance measurement: Success isn’t measured by training completion rates, but by how reskilling impacts key business metrics and strategic goals.
- Empowerment: Management teams are empowered to champion reskilling within their departments, fostering a collaborative and agile approach.
Ericsson’s story isn’t an anomaly; it’s a blueprint for success. By embracing leadership ownership, shared responsibility, and strategic alignment, organizations can transform reskilling from a reactive measure to a proactive engine of competitive advantage.
Forget one-off training programs; successful reskilling demands a holistic organizational transformation. This isn’t just about equipping employees with new skills; it’s about cultivating the right mindset and behaviors across all levels to embrace change and thrive in an ever-evolving landscape.
Think of reskilling not as a training exercise, but as a change-management initiative. Creating an environment that values lifelong learning, risk-taking, and adaptability, where reskilling is seen as a strategic advantage, not a burden.
- Leadership buy-in: Senior leadership must champion the initiative, clearly communicating its connection to the company’s mission and ensuring managers are empowered to drive change within their teams.
- Performance measurement: Moving beyond training completion rates and focusing on how reskilling impacts key business metrics, like innovation, productivity, and employee engagement.
- Personalized learning: Designing flexible and adaptable learning paths that cater to individual needs and career aspirations, fostering a sense of ownership and purpose.
- Collaboration and support: Building strong networks and communities where employees can learn from and support each other as they navigate new skills and career paths.
Successful reskilling isn’t about isolated training sessions; it’s about building a culture of learning and agility. By prioritizing organizational context and change management, companies can unlock the full potential of reskilling and transform their workforce into a competitive advantage.
Ignite the Reskilling Drive with Generative AI and Cognixia
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