Upskilling employees: What should be the focus in digital era?

Recognition of the right talent with the requisite skills as the key differentiator for the success of the business in the digital era has led to organisations planning training and devising several methods to enhance retention of employees through better engagement models. With the core objective of employee engagement activity being ‘making employees happy’, some companies have even created the position of ‘Chief Fun Officer’.

The combination of attractive compensation, challenging assignments, adequate exposure to new trends in business, recognising and rewarding notable employee contributions and facilitating socialising amongst employees at workplace and during offsites have been some of the cornerstones of employee engagement. In addition to all of these elements, the opportunity to learn and upskill on a continual basis that would help in career advancement is being viewed as an important factor for increasing the stickiness of talent. Hence, the learning and development (L&D) managers have a significant responsibility to develop an L&D strategy that resonates with the aspirations of the employees leading to better engagement with the organisation.