Employee upskilling advice from business leaders who have done it

In recent years, there has been a shift towards upskilling within the workplace – rather than simply hiring what you need.

Whereas once the working day experience was arriving at the workplace, performing a set task and returning home, business leaders have now turned their attention to developing the skills of their staff so they become more rounded contributors and specialists in certain areas.

Upskilling – to provide someone, usually an employee, with more advanced skills through additional training and education

Businesses who have invested in upskilling often report similar benefits for their business, including:

• Greater employee retention
• Improved workplace morale
• Greater talent acquisition
• Increased customer satisfaction
• Improved productivity
• A better learning culture

But how do you go about introducing upskilling in your workplace? And what are the pitfalls you should avoid? We’ve been speaking to business leaders from a variety of industries on how they made upskilling work for them:

• Chris Mayne, MD of engineering business Forsberg, on the importance of giving staff ownership of their development
• Greg O’Brien,MD of facilities management company AM Services Group, tells us how re-addressing your business vision and values will help to build a successful upskilling culture
• Elaine Clarke, managing director of hospitality group Baa Bar, addresses the balance of improving staff skills and the risk of them leaving
• Keiran Hewkin, co-founder of sofa-in-a-box company Swyft, on his plans for in-person upskilling in a post-pandemic world