2019 Job Skills Assessment (Part 2 of 2) (Insight and Projection)
Part 1 of our 2019 Job Skill Assessment explored the importance of reskilling for employees and how industries have changed according to what skills are trending. You can read it here at: 2019 Job Skills Assessment (Part 1 of 2) Part 2 of our 2019 Job Skills Assessment will assess the importance of reskilling the workforce for companies to stay competitive. With many resources available for learning and development, a company can continue to train and "upgrade" their workforce with new skills. Having such a program can be very beneficial and enticing to potential hires looking to grow their careers long term. Moreover, the companies' participation in keeping up with the skill trends will be critical in retaining their top employees. If companies are not demonstrating their efforts to reskill themselves, many employees will constantly search for new competitive opportunities. In order to retain employees who are refining their expertise for higher market value, companies must also assist their employees in doing so, all the while investing in tools and resources to reskill themselves as a whole, as well. There are many benefits to a company to reskill their current employees instead of hiring a new talent. Some of the key benefits are:
Employee Retention Reskilling shows that the company is willing to invest in the individual's skill set, which demonstrates the company's trust in their employees. This ensures the employees have a place in the company's future while creating a sense of loyalty to their work.
Customer Satisfaction Employees who are well trained and kept up to date on industry trends tend to offer better customer service. By being able to relate on a thorough level, clients are willing to invest more in the company.
Competitive Advantage By reskilling current employees, companies are able to fill in new positions quicker, gaining an edge in productivity, compared to other companies that do not.
Succession Planning Reskilling employees and providing them with the training and knowledge to lead will help prepare them for a situation where a leadership position is available unexpectedly.
Sourced from recruitloop.com
Other than the aforementioned benefits, one of the key benefits of reskilling instead of hiring new is the monetary value. Various studies show that up to 50 ~ 60% or the 9-month equivalent of the new hire's salary goes into training and developing, while the annual cost of training and reskilling current employees are a fraction of the cost. On top of the monetary investment that goes into training a new hire, there are other factors that a company must consider. Deloitte outlined some of the real costs of replacing an employee.
- Cost of advertising, interview process, screening, and hiring
- Cost of training and time management
- Cost of lost productivity (new employees can take up to 2 years to reach the productivity of an existing employee)
Sourced from Gartner 2018 Shifting Skills Survey. Chart created by HRCap
In an age where technology is advancing at a rapid pace, companies need to rethink how they approach and implement these new technologies. Reskilling an employee clearly has an advantage, both in monetary investment and productivity, compared to hiring someone new. Hiring someone new might be the obvious choice, but it leaves current employees in the dark, underutilized, and unappreciated – leading to a highly disengaged workforce with low productivity and a high turnover rate. By training and investing in current employees, companies can show that they genuinely care and believe in their workforce. This will enable the companies to keep up with the current industry trends, and not lose productivity due to time lost in trying to hire and train a new employee. It is lower risk and higher gain to train and develop current employees with relevant years of experience and knowledge, than to invest and hire for one additional skill set for the workforce. For any questions, please contact hrm@hrcap.com.
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