U is for what? Yes, upskilling really is a word – it’s in the dictionary, so it must be! It means ‘to teach employees additional skills’ and it makes all the sense in the world.
Training and development is a motivator:
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It makes people feel valued
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It helps staff feel committed to your organisation
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It provides opportunities for career progression
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It stops people thinking about leaving your organisation for greener pastures
Upskilling is a large part of succession planning – thinking about the future and what skills might be needed as the business moves forward. If we’ve got good employees it’s worth investing in developing them with the organisation as it grows – they already have so much knowledge and experience.
Having regular one-to-ones with each member of staff is an effective way of listening to and encouraging their skill development – you may well find that people have an aptitude or a skill in areas you might never guess if you weren’t discussing it with them. It doesn’t need to be a formal review, more of a ‘job chat’ and you’ll find that people will look forward to being able to talk about what they do and what they’d like to learn.
All the best
