This year, many company leaders have become more aware of the contributing factors of burnout, dissatisfaction and work-related stress, and the importance of employee mental health in the workplace. The 2023 Career Optimism Index® study, produced by the University of Phoenix Career Institute®, found that 47% of American workers are experiencing burnout, 53% are actively looking for a new job or expect to in the next six months and 74% feel stressed about their career.
In this environment, employee retention is a challenge, and upskilling can become a vital strategy for companies, one that is best established with an investment rather than a transactional approach to talent retention. Taking an investment approach to employee retention can help foster a pool of engaged talent and a pipeline of strong and innovative leadership with a broad range of perspectives and experiences, well-equipped to meet the challenges of the future.
Power Skills in a Rapidly Evolving Workplace
Deloitte Access Economics forecasts that soft skill intensive occupations will account for two-thirds of all jobs by 2030, compared to one-half of all jobs in 2000. Soft skills, also referred to as power skills or human skills, are critical to success in today’s working environment, significantly altered by the COVID-19 pandemic and by growth in hybrid and remote work models.
Power skills are about people, culture and relationships — they include resilience, creativity, active listening and influencing. These power skills are especially important capabilities that can prepare individual learners for leadership roles and responsibilities. These skills are deeply transferrable, and they can be developed from experiences both personal and professional.
Additionally, in a workplace being rapidly impacted by artificial intelligence (AI), such as large language learning models, power skills can help provide that much-needed human experience and understanding of the world around us. This can cultivate a human-centered work environment.
Help Individuals Future-Proof Their Career as They Upskill
According to the Career Optimism Index, 70% of U.S. workers say they’d be more likely to stay throughout their career if their company gave them more opportunities to apply new skills. In today’s world of work, workers desire opportunities to gain new skills and capabilities, but aren’t always able to find it. And with more people leaving the workplace than entering, it’s important for employers to focus on cost-effective retention efforts and differentiating their development offerings.
To commit to employee skills development, learning leaders should consider these questions:
- Are we building talent within?
- Is this evident through the tenure of our workers and the career pathways they’ve moved through?
- Or is it time to reassess and reposition our approach to learning and upskilling?
At an organizational level, adopting AI-based tech and tools, and skills assessments can be a successful strategy for ascertaining skills gaps and subsequently developing personalized “treatment plans” at the organizational, team and individual level.
After assessing the skills the organization currently possesses and the ones needed to grow, learning and development (L&D) leaders can design, deliver and deploy training solutions to fill skills gaps. Learning leaders can also empower workers to identify their own skills gaps — it can inform employees of their strengths and weaknesses.
Learning leaders should also help learners understand how to translate power skills into the language of the field and career path they’re pursuing. The context of power skills can determine how individuals will use them best. For example, effectively and ethically influencing in a marketing role could potentially look different from that as a health care provider.
Establishing an inclusive culture of L&D, encouraging all employees to learn and grow, regardless of their position, especially through mentorship and coaching, can help implement the focus of building power skills.
Mentorship programs can build relationships, model power skills and related behaviors, and can help learners develop the skills and experience they need to be successful. Mentors can be highlighted as individuals who possess the desired power skills and serve as positive role models. Additionally, creating or growing engagement with employee resource groups (ERGs), employee-led groups that provide support and networking opportunities for employees with a common identity or interest, can enhance mentorship opportunities and offer a valuable experience and interdepartmental connection across organizations.
Make Learning Valuable to the Learner and Employer
L&D opportunities should work to serve the business’s purpose, as well as the learner’s. When designing and delivering soft skills training, learning leaders should consider these questions:
- What power skills and levels of experience will our leaders need in the next few years for the organization to be successful?
- Which employees already possess the skills and experience needed?
- Which employees have the potential to develop these skills and experience?
Once we have a good understanding of our needs and have assessed the skills of our talent pool, we can develop a plan to upskill employees.
When taking this step, it’s important to communicate to employees about the availability of L&D resources and facilitate training and practice opportunities for desired power skills. One solution won’t work for all, so it’s important to include a blend of learning solutions, like apprenticeships, mentorships, and eLearning, for example, and to provide learning at each stage of the employee lifecycle.
There is an old saying in business: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” A company’s culture is as equally important as the business strategy and/or plan we’re following to achieve success. An organization’s culture must be well-positioned for workers to grow and succeed, so that the strategy can take root in the business and blossom. Implementing power skills training is critical to fostering a positive work culture positioned for growth and success — for today and tomorrow.
