The Re-Skilling Revolution - Putting L&D At The Heart Of Your STRATEGY
In previous blogs, we’ve focused on the ways the pandemic has fundamentally changed the workplace forever. Our article on ‘The Great Resignation’ outlined some of the many reasons that employees had decided to seek more fulfilling and flexible roles elsewhere.
In the UK alone, almost a million people have moved jobs between July and September of this year (Source: ONS). The US is seeing a similar trend, with four million people resigning from their roles in July alone.
Director of the Institute for Employment Studies, Tony Wilson observed that employees are “getting more power in the workplace” and that many organisations were struggling to attract and retain talent. We are by no means at the end of the great resignation. A survey conducted by Persinio discovered that 38% of employees were likely to resign in the next 6-12 months.
There’s been a backlash from some quarters, with business leaders dismissing it as employees simply wanting an easier life working from home. But this is just a superficial swipe at the real reasons. The pandemic gave people the chance to really analyse what is important to them in their lives and their careers.
The unprecedented circumstances of the past two years have made many brave enough to seek out what they want and not settle and employers are struggling to catch up.
Putting professional development front and centre
While we’ve identified leadership training, utilising feedback effectively and overall company culture as vital components in attracting and retaining talent, the role of L&D is also critical.
These surveys are showing the potential fallout of the great resignation but what they are also doing is giving organisations insights into just what employees are looking for. And one of those things is professional development. But it’s real immersive development that shapes, prepares and stretches talent to deliver and unleash their potential on the myriad of opportunities and challenges ahead.
But here we need to raise some caution. In the great re-skill, the temptation is to focus on day to day skills rather than truly develop the visionary, thinking, judgement, impact capabilities required in tomorrow’s leaders.
Historically, companies with a strong foundation of professional development and authentic learning culture, have far higher employee retention rates. 94% of those surveyed said they would stay at an organisation longer if their development was made a priority.
Fit for future, not just function
A lot of companies are very good at training employees for the job they have, but true professional development goes beyond this. It should look further ahead and develop the thinkers and leaders of the future, not just for their day-to-day tasks.
At Lightbulb, we work with a range of companies that are committed to developing their talent at all levels. After all, the future leaders of your company could already be there, waiting for the opportunity for their talents to be developed and unleashed. That’s why we design our programmes to give people the skills they need to succeed at speed, so today’s talent can lead tomorrows future.
What should businesses do?
The stats are clear, you need to invest in and prioritise re-skilling your employees and building strong learning cultures to retain and attract talent.
Lightbulb Managing Director, Fiona McKay commented “Automation has made many roles redundant. Talent is redefining itself and particularly for people in mid-life, many are re-imaging and re-launching new careers. Businesses need to be able to equip their talent with the development tools that they need to reach not only their potential but fulfil their life’s purpose.”
Accepting and embracing the new expectations and development requirements of the workforce is key as swimming against the current will quickly lead to submersion without a rescue vessel.
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