Covid-19 forced companies to completely alter their operations overnight and change the way their employees work. Now, as employees return to their workplaces, many of them are finding themselves in tech-driven work environments that demand reskilling or upskilling for them to remain relevant.

There is no denying the fact that companies are facing the need for a multi-skilled workforce that can sustain itself in today’s highly competitive work environment. According to McKinsey & Company, even before the Covid-19 crisis, new technologies and changing ways of working were disrupting jobs and the skills employees needed to do them.

In 2017, the McKinsey Global Institute estimated that as many as 375 million workers—or 14% of the global workforce—would have to switch jobs or acquire new skills by 2030 to stay relevant. McKinsey’s recent global survey states that around 87% of executives were experiencing skills gaps or expected them in the coming few years.

The post-pandemic world has intensified the need for a tech-enabled skilled workforce. And the solution to this challenge lies in a strong employee-company partnership to develop and learn new skills that keep both parties relevant. The current scenario is about how companies can upskill and reskill their workforce to deliver new business models in the post-pandemic era and define sustainable growth.

To make sure that organisations thrive in today’s ever-evolving high-tech environment, leaders and their teams must work together to build a skilled workforce by taking timely and appropriate measures.

Identify skills that your business model needs to stay relevant. 

To shore up the future of the business, companies must develop strategies and map out the skillsets that will further accelerate their growth. To ensure this, leaders must identify crucial growth drivers and employee groups that can make it happen. It is also equally important to specify the contribution of each employee group and re-imagine how their day-to-day work will change per the new requirements. Employees too must be prepared to unlearn and relearn and acquire new skill sets to meet changing expectations. Learning to learn is one of the biggest skills individuals can build – they need to be self-aware of their strengths and limitations, be eager to imbibe more knowledge and skills, and push their boundaries beyond their comfort zones. 

Focus on building relevant employee skills for the future of work

Companies must ensure upskilling of their critical workforce pools – especially those that are responsible for driving their core business models. Having a step-by-step approach and investing in critical skills should be a major priority for any company.

Building skillsets that will help employees thrive involves:

Helping increase tech awareness for employees so that they can expand their abilities to sustain themselves in a fully digital environment.

Focusing on developing cognitive skills that involve critical thinking ensures that crucial players can respond to the need for redesign and innovation.

Working on advanced interpersonal skills to ensure professional ties continue to thrive in a hybrid work environment. 

Ensuring support to critical employee pools to build self-awareness, self-confidence, and self-reliance so that they can delve into a new experience whenever required and learn in constantly evolving environments.

Create tailored learning journeys for youremployees 

While companies reimagine their businesses, they must ensure that they have a good grasp of the changing dynamics. Accordingly, they must identify critical groups that will be part of the new change and the skillsets these groups must possess. Budgets should be earmarked for training or upskilling employees. In short, companies must have a workforce planning and development strategy in place. 

In today’s world, change is rapid, and companies must be agile in ensuring their processes and people adapt quickly if they are to not only stay relevant but stay ahead.