Businesses worldwide are hopeful that we are finally at a turning point towards defeating Covid-19 and as organizations move from crisis response and adjustments, innovations and solutions are now geared towards becoming future-ready.
Aside from transforming business models, one key factor to ready an organization for future challenges is empowering employees with the necessary skills to solve complex problems and adapt to the changing business needs.
Because of Covid-19 disruptions and the ever-changing nature of our business operations, we must consider reskilling and upskilling as a top priority.
Upskilling and reskilling is a shared obligation between the company and its employees. Leaders and the top management must make it clear to everyone that these initiatives are a win-win solution.
As future challenges continue to grow, companies need to prepare their people if they want the business to cope and succeed.
Organizations with a future-ready workforce are most likely to respond, recover, thrive, and outdo their competition.
So, how can we prepare for the future unrelenting changes brought about by the global pandemic?
Let us explore three necessary solutions on how we can build a future-proof workforce.
1. Identify Workforce Skills Deficit
Skills deficit in many organizations has long been in existence even before the global pandemic. Many companies know that their current workforce is lagging in having the relevant skills needed to prepare them for newer challenges.
For instance, a tech-savvy worker is more likely to compete and succeed in today’s ever-changing digital workforce than someone who’s not proficient in the use of digital technology.
According to a McKinsey global survey published last April 2021, 58% of companies said that the pandemic led them to prioritize programs to close the skills gap.
As a starting point, organizations must have a comprehensive inventory of skills of all their workforce. This inventory must contain each employee’s resume inputs, work experience, and accomplishments.
Then they must use this skills inventory as the foundation on how they can effectively implement solutions and integrate programs to address their workforce skills deficits. And as a foolproof account to link employee talent and skills for current, adjacent, and future roles.
2. Focus on Skill-Building and Upskilling to become future-ready
Companies must focus on providing the necessary interventions to implement skill-building and upskilling programs. Workplaces must create customized learning programs to help their people reskill and upskill.
The management can help leverage organization-wide learning programs to boost their skill upgrading campaigns with recognition and incentives.
Likewise, employees must be agile enough to cope with rapid reskilling and skill shifts to accommodate the ever-accelerating changes in the work environment.
One best example is the sudden shift to remote working during the pandemic. Businesses and employees are forced to learn new skills to be able to continue working.
The growing importance of gaining new technical and soft skills is a significant driver to move organizations forward despite workplace disruptions.
Skill-building and upskilling must be a way of life for us to come out stronger in this fast-evolving world.
3. Be future-ready by adapting an Ecosystem Business Mindset
Adapting an ecosystem mindset can save the company from irreversible damage that dramatically impacts its operation and ROI.
The current health crisis made us learn the invaluable lesson that no business can grow and survive in isolation. A business ecosystem helped cushion many companies from the unwanted impacts of Covid-19.
Business growth and sustainability greatly depend on how well one can integrate skill building with the whole business ecosystem.
McKinsey & Company cited a Dubai-based business that has successfully reskilled its employees during the onset of the pandemic. Majid Al Futtaim reskilled their cinema employees to work in their grocery business.
Because of an ecosystem mindset and reskilling, the company saved one thousand employees from furlough and lay-offs.
An ecosystem business proved to be highly beneficial in times of crisis. Aside from sharing ideas and strategies, talent exchange is also a welcome outcome of a community way of thinking.
Now more than ever, organizations must adopt a community business model and change traditional mindsets to remain resilient and successfully mitigate the unprecedented challenges of a constantly evolving world.
To Sum It Up
Organizational objectives must focus on plans that would prepare them for what lies ahead.
Skill-building and upskilling are prerequisites for a future-ready workforce because acquiring new learning and skills is imperative to adapt to an unpredictable world.
Moving away from focusing on your firm and specific partners and becoming accustomed to an ecosystem business perspective is also a great way to start.
These collective efforts can define the future of any organization and can significantly warrant its survival.
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