{"id":225265,"date":"2023-04-11T15:01:38","date_gmt":"2023-04-11T15:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markperlbergcpa.com\/making-a-plan-to-reskill-and-upskill-your-staff\/"},"modified":"2023-04-11T15:01:38","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T15:01:38","slug":"making-a-plan-to-reskill-and-upskill-your-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prosperlcpa.com\/blog\/2023\/04\/making-a-plan-to-reskill-and-upskill-your-staff\/","title":{"rendered":"Making a Plan to Reskill and Upskill Your Staff"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Well, here we are \u2014 just like that, we find ourselves already a quarter of the way through 2023. While people everywhere are breaking out the deep cleaning sprays and scrub brushes to get a little springtime sparkle, you might want to be thinking about a similar process for your Atlanta business. You know, while we\u2019re all in the mood.<\/p>\n

(Though I should clarify for full disclosure that here at Mark Perlberg CPA PLLC \u2026 we\u2019ve been in \u201cbusy season\u201d mood and aren\u2019t quite in that \u201cspring cleaning mood\u201d ourselves yet, ha.)<\/p>\n

For your<\/i> business, I\u2019m not talking about cleaning all the windows and organizing cluttered spaces (though that\u2019s plenty nice). <\/p>\n

What I\u2019m referring to is tidying up things like your recordkeeping and your digital spaces, revamping your customer experience, and priming some important aspects of your business so you\u2019ll reach this year\u2019s goals.<\/p>\n

That might also mean refreshing your process for training new employees<\/strong> and looking at how to upskill your staff (ahem, my topic for today).<\/p>\n

And if you want to sit down and talk out some cleaning strategy to get your business in tip-top shape, let\u2019s get you on the schedule: calendly.com\/mark-perlberg-cpa<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Alright, let\u2019s come back to do a little bit of business spring cleaning, shall we?<\/p>\n

Making a Plan to Reskill and Upskill Your Staff<\/strong><\/span>
\u201cTeaching is the highest form of understanding.\u201d – Aristotle<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

The business world changes quickly. Remember way back when only secretaries needed to know typing \u2026 well, you must be from another planet if you don\u2019t know how to type nowadays. <\/span><\/p>\n

Your company can only benefit by formalizing the learning process \u2014 in other words, by <\/span><\/span>making a plan to reskill or upskill your staff (or both)<\/span><\/span>. When done right, this can save you money, improve retention and recruiting, and boost productivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s see how.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s in it for both parties?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

One major reason Atlanta employees ditch their jobs is that they see nowhere to progress with that employer. They\u2019re bound to appreciate a path that allows them to hone skills or learn new ones. They\u2019ll show up every morning more interested and engaged \u2014 and more productive. <\/span><\/p>\n

And you won\u2019t have to shell out for the costs of continuously outsourcing or making new hires. The cost of replacing an employee who leaves a company is about a third \u2014 sometimes much more \u2014 of their annual salary. If you should<\/i>    need new employees, they might also be easier to find if you have a system in place for upskilling. (Almost all participants <\/span>recently told surveys<\/span><\/a> that they thought job training is important, showing that people really care about this area.) <\/span><\/p>\n

What if I invest all this training in someone and they leave for a better job? <\/i>They might \u2014 that\u2019s always the danger, and it comes with running any company. Think of it like any other business risk: The right person you want on your team isn\u2019t going to jump ship the second you\u2019ve given them something. Don\u2019t let this stop you from making the move to reskill and\/or upskill your staff.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, how do you start?<\/span><\/p>\n

Team effort<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Start, as usual, by securing buy-in from your senior employees, specifically on the skill gaps of your staff. What could the whole team do better or faster, and how do you teach them what they need to know? <\/span><\/p>\n

Survey employees about what they feel they\u2019re lacking and where they need to improve. (You\u2019ll also get a sense from this survey of which employees might do the most for your organization with a little learning \u2026)<\/span><\/p>\n

This learning has to be a management-down effort; employees can\u2019t feel they\u2019re the only ones being asked to learn. With input from your senior staff, reassess jobs and job descriptions to see what skills would be needed now from a manager or employee if they were an applying candidate today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two sides of the same coin<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The distinction between upskilling and reskilling is basically improving existing skills<\/i> versus teaching new ones<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Upskilling:<\/strong> Some learnable new skills can naturally expand on what a worker already does. This creates a natural context to upskill your staff. For instance, programmers can learn more languages or more about keeping IT networks running. Marketing folks can always use a writing or graphics course. Do your sales folks need to learn a new CRM system? What are the gaps between your people\u2019s skills today and where they should be tomorrow? A big part of a formal upskilling program is never assuming your people are just going to pick these skills up on their on.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Reskilling: <\/strong>This involves teaching employees the skills for an entirely new occupation \u2014 for instance, your HR person moves into sales, or your tech people become office managers. Usually, you reskill employees who are looking to change the direction of their careers. That\u2019s going to take a few one-on-ones after any staff survey. Aptitude and attitude are much more important when reskilling than when upskilling.<\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

Stretch opportunities for your people. Doing work outside your worker\u2019s experience and normal job description (with support from you) can give you a great idea of their capability to attack new challenges.<\/span> <\/strong><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

A few more points on that: <\/span><\/p>\n