By Priya Prabhu, Principal – Emerging Technology, UNext Learning
The very core of this game-changing initiative called digital transformation is unlocking newer potentials. Potentials in not just machines but the people who would work with them as well.
The process is layered and intricate and requires meticulous planning and attention to detail. That’s exactly why several organisations progress very slowly toward seeing the results.
Ironically, reports from McKinsey and Forbes reveal that around 70% of digital transformation strategies fail despite the leadership teams being aligned.
The number one factor for this is the lack of acknowledgment that upskilling employees is an inevitable aspect of digital transformation. The immediate visualisation with respect to digital transformation is bringing in new systems, cloud adoption strategies, cybersecurity initiatives, data-driven business models, and more.
What several companies fail to understand is that an upgrade in systems and operating procedures demands an upgraded workforce as well.
So, if your organisation has been struggling to get the best out of your digital transformation strategies, here are compelling reasons why upskilling is crucial in implementing digital transformation strategies.
Bridging Workplace Skill Gaps
Skill gaps exist when there is a disconnect between the collective competency of a team and the skills required to get hands-on with advanced technology to complete tasks. When you intend to bring in advanced systems and strategies with respect to emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Data Science, and more, the first step is to put your teams into functional-specific relevant upskilling programs.
This will expose them to newer technologies and modus operandi, allowing them to pick up the necessary skills to work with new tools, platforms, services, and technologies.
Inculcating A Culture Of Loyalty And Optimised Engagement
One of the primary benefits of upskilling your workforce is the culture of loyalty you eventually develop, ultimately boosting the morale of your workforce. Instead of looking at talent outside, paving the way for growth and opportunities within your workforce in terms of upskilling programs, you increase the domain expertise of your current talent pool, build trust among teams, and assure that loyalty will be rewarded with incentives and growth opportunities. This is a game-changer in the long run and helps you battle attrition.
Optimising Performance And Ultimately Returns
Apart from the intentions of arriving as a market leader and gaining a competitive edge, improved performance and incremented returns lie at the heart of every digital transformation initiative and vision. With upskilling, this is seamlessly taken care of as your workforces learn to leverage diverse technologies, techniques, and methodologies to complete their work not just in significantly less time but at precisions levels of quality as well.
Creating A Culture Of Perpetual Learning
Digital transformation is not a one-time initiative. It’s not a yearly renewal process like that of a platform license as well. Digital transformation is perpetual, so your teams should be keen on picking up new skills frequently and be on the constant lookout for smarter and more digitally savvy ways to solve their problems and complete tasks.
This is what exactly happens when you team up with the right talent transformation partner like UNext. With program delivery rooted in the Indian context of learning, we implement the KASH strategy. In this, learning becomes perpetual and consistent as we bring about a mindset shift in terms of making learning a habit and an attitude rather than a procedure to be followed.
As learning becomes an integral part of your culture, your performance and productivity go on autopilot. The biggest advantage of upskilling your workforce is the habitual change you bring out in your individual employees. Not just that, with tailored content developed from scratch and the incorporation of mentorship and interactive modules with domain-specific SMEs and veterans, we ensure your team members develop the right competencies to become leaders of tomorrow as well.
Final Thoughts
Apart from these crucial aspects, upskilling during digital transformation also eases you off from struggles in finding and recruiting the right talent. Instead of looking outside, you empower your own workforce with the right competencies, ultimately tackling attrition and improving workforce commitment. If you haven’t thought about digital transformation from a talent perspective, now would be the ideal time to have that boardroom meeting.
What do you think?