Here are a few skill-building hurdles to watch out for (and tips on what you should do instead):
#1. Leaving out experiential learning
Even the most compelling L&D curriculum won’t be enough for employees to fully master new concepts. If you want to empower your people to shift gears and learn new competencies, this content needs to be paired with hands-on experiences like projects and gigs.
Experiential learning gives employees the chance to put their lessons into practice and develop the confidence needed to take ownership of related tasks. Many leaders are leveraging workforce agility platforms to match employees to hands-on opportunities that align with their career ambitions and the skills they wish to hone.
#2. Losing sight of your business needs
While it’s never a good idea to have your people build skills that aren’t relevant to your business, during an economic downturn it’s downright irresponsible. Employees should be learning competencies that are in high demand to strengthen their contribution to the future of the company.
Consequently, the best reskilling strategies must align enterprise-wide objectives with personal goals. This is where career pathing emerges as an essential tool. Employees can explore new directions that their careers can take and even identify skill-building opportunities that will help them bridge crucial knowledge gaps.
#3. Limiting the size and scope
There’s no doubt that reskilling will be more of a priority for employees whose projects and tasks have been put on hold. But that doesn’t mean that learning and training opportunities should only be available to certain segments of your workforce.
Rather than restricting the scope of your skill-building opportunities, take advantage of a workforce agility platform to empower everyone to get involved. The technology democratizes access to opportunities and ensures your entire workforce has an equal chance to participate in projects, gigs, mentoring, and shadowing.
