Why upskilling is key for enterprises to retain and recruit top talent during the pandemic

Given the devastating effect COVID-19 has had on businesses across the globe, surviving a complete year under the shadow of a pandemic was no small feat. For most enterprises it meant struggling with a workforce that was largely unprepared to cope with the challenges that accompanied the pandemic.

The result wasn’t too memorable. Between the lay-offs and pink slips handed out amid budget cuts, top bosses have been trying to ride out the COVID-19 storm with employees who are constantly on the edge about their future, while working under remote or hybrid settings.

In such testing times, the thought of upskilling and planning might seem the last thing on entrepreneurs’ minds. But, if there is a way to prepare for the future today, it is through upskilling.

As companies brave budget cuts and freeze on hirings, upskilling is the middle path that can not only help them retain top talent, but also attract professionals in the future who might be looking for an employer who’s keen on investing in their learning.

Learning in the new normal

As social distancing and containment forces people to work remotely, digital learning management systems (LMS) have emerged as the perfect solution for companies reeling under skill gaps in the new normal. Ventures like UpsideLMS were among the early entrants in India who recognised the need to continuously upskill employees in 2004 and for the past 17 years has been disrupting the LearnTech space with its eponymous enterprise training software.

“Our LearnTech solution not just enables enterprises to skill their workforce, thereby assisting retention, but also attracts new talent with a dynamic learning culture,” says Amit Gautam, CEO, UpsideLMS.

With over 175 clients worldwide and more than 2.5 million learners connected to its platform, UpsideLMS helps enterprises boost operational efficiency, while saving time and optimising costs.

UpsideLMS is an artificial intelligence-powered SaaS training management system for enterprises that ensures their workforce has instant access to learning just in time of need for performance support or skill acquisition, which makes it a perfect fit for induction training, product training, talent development, sales enablement, compliance training and more.

With dedicated modules for eLearning, classroom training and virtual instructor-led training, which has become a must-have for the post-pandemic work culture, UpsideLMS offers complete flexibility to businesses of all sizes to align the training modality to their learners’ needs and preferences, and training outcomes.

What adds to the SaaS platform’s versatility is its ‘anytime, anywhere, any device’ availability. UpsideLMS Mobile apps, which are also available for offline (no internet) usage, are great for employees who’re often on-the-go or those with a mobility preference.

The Experience Economy

“Customers do not buy products or services any more. The differentiator is the experience. We are in the middle of an ‘Experience Economy’. People are looking for tailor-made experiences to create memorable value out of their investments. They are seeking customised attention at every touchpoint,” says Amit.

To this extent, UpsideLMS ensures a personalised, and enriching and continuous learning experience for its learners by suggesting relevant content. These suggestions are driven by its AI-powered recommendation engine, which learns from user behaviour, skill sets and other relevant information.

Speaking of content, UpsideLMS also comes with a curated content library of 80,000 eLearning, mLearning and microlearning courses and videos that provide an organisation's employees with the latest content from diverse fields that ranges from behavioral to technical skills (at an additional cost).

The use of gamification enables employees to engage in some healthy competition while achieving their learning goals.

Bridging the talent gap

According to the 2020 McKinsey Global Survey on future workforce needs, nearly nine in 10 executives and managers said their organisations are either facing skill gaps or expecting gaps to surface within the next five years. Further, around 14 percent of the global workforce would have to change professions or acquire new skills by 2030 because of automation and AI.

UpsideLMS helps companies design a talent management strategy that is based on individual strength and learning capacities of employees, rather than going for a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

If you’re a manager or executive who’s having trouble zeroing in on the core competencies of your team, you can bank on UpsideLMS’ Competency Management feature to guide you. You can assess skill gaps and competencies and conduct profiling to draft ideal business strategies.

UpsideLMS takes care of organisations’ compliance requirements too. Be it your Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) training, or health and safety training, UpsideLMS helps you stay 100% compliant at all times with its Compliance Training Module.

Lastly, this enterprise training platform can help with Continuing Professional Development/ Education (CPE) processes for companies looking to offer reskilling opportunities.

The Last Word

A digital solution for upskilling can help companies inculcate a culture of knowledge while nurturing a spirit of agility, flexibility and adaptability. The increased focus on upskilling is also in tandem with how technologies like AI and machine learning are making inroads in various sectors. And, there’s no better time to start than now.

Interested in a free trial? Head over to the UpsideLMS website to grab the chance!