The Future Of Upskilling And Employee Learning

A few factors to consider when you begin re-skilling employees in 2023

By Weronika Niemczyk, ABBYY

With estimates of a global skills shortage resulting in $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues by 2030, companies now have a new focus – Role Retention.

The Great Resignation and so-called Quiet Quitting have highlighted the need for business leaders to invest in current employees to fill the ever-changing skills gap.

Indeed, the pace of office automation is having a huge impact - 91% of businesses are engaged in some form of digital initiative, which the World Economic Forum says will mean most staff need significant re-skilling. So where do you start? Here are a few important points that may help.

A Bot’s Best FriendDigital Skills

The growth of intelligent automation means that just under half (46%) of employees are already working with software robots/digital assistants, and the trend is set to soar in the coming years.

Today, tasks like finding and extracting data from physical documents are automated by solutions, such as robotic process automation (RPA) and intelligent document processing (IDP).

However, employees need to be trained in working with these bots. Research shows that a huge 36% of US digital transformation projects failed because staff were not given the right training. It is imperative that any organization undergoing DX has reassurances from the tech vendor/partner that there is sufficient employee buy-in, and tailored training/ on-going support provided – long after deployment.

Also, with the growth of low-code/ no-code platforms now fuelling many digital transformation projects, employees must also receive training in more advanced IT skills to address the growing demand for citizen developers. These ‘plug-in’ sophisticated AI tools allow companies to go digital quickly and easily, saving time and money.

What used to take months of coding can be achieved in a matter of days. Gartner estimates that by 2024, 75% of large enterprises will have four or more low-code development tools for IT application development and citizen development initiatives, so upskilling workers in this field is an imperative.

And do not be worried that employees will not welcome the change. A survey commissioned by ABBYY showed a huge 72% of respondents would be willing to use no-code drag-and-drop AI “skills” that understand the content and context of documents to reduce errors and increase efficiency, while four-in-ten (41%) say that this would allow them to work on more fulfilling, creative tasks and alleviate them from manual data entry.

It’s an Age Thing

No, I am not saying that older workers are in need of tech training! In fact, the problem lies with companies and systems not keeping up with technological changes:

A recent survey of WFH employees showed young executives complained of being exasperated with outdated business processes, saying they wasted their time (85% versus just 20% of those 55+) and made them want to quit their job (55%) compared to only 11% of baby boomers, while 20% more young executives like to use digital workers.

This shows the need for leaders to empower younger executives with the right technology to have a better user experience. The feedback from remote workers is that around a third (33%) blame not having the right IT tools to do their job efficiently. It is, therefore, crucial for organizations to offer new tech learning programs that will upskill their workers with the AI tools that are being introduced into the workplace.

Continuous Learning and ‘People Skills’

Most of the office automation happening now is centered on taking away mundane, repetitive tasks which frees up workers for more meaningful responsibilities, ones that may involve creativity, empathy, strategy, and building trust, or strengthening relationships with clients, for example. This shift in responsibilities will require more interpersonal abilities that are essential for success in the workplace.

They are often referred to as ‘soft skills’ but I think it is time to retire this outdated term and start calling them what they truly are: ‘people skills’. Calling them ‘soft’ implies that they are less important than technical skills, when in reality, they are just as vital. People skills are what allow us to connect with others, build trust, and collaborate effectively.

They are the foundation of good communication, leadership, and teamwork. They are what create positive, productive, and inclusive cultures that drive results.

At ABBYY, we introduced a free LinkedIn Learning provision which was a success, both in terms of improving people skills and in-depth technical knowledge. More than 70 percent of our staff signed up in 2022, completing 29,782 videos and undertaking 1,151 courses. They included specialized topics, such as ‘Learning Kubernetes and JavaScript’, but also personal development programs like ‘Speaking Confidently and Effectively’, ‘Project Management Foundations & Goal Setting’, and ‘The Six Morning Habits of High Performers’.

It is also important to know if your training is actually working. ABBYY uses an employee engagement tool that provides results and assesses our training initiatives. Our managers can review scores and be alerted of anything unusual – such as a low score by one team compared to another. The manager is offered ways to address this, for example, through videos that will provide specific action points. Having access to this sort of data has been a tremendous benefit for management at ABBYY and for the success of our training programs.

By investing in the development of your employees, you are not only equipping them with the skills they need to succeed today, but also preparing them for the challenges of tomorrow. A culture of continuous learning also promotes engagement, innovation and ultimately drives business success.

As you can see, investing in upskilling and employee learning needs to be a major priority for companies worldwide, especially with a recent Gallup survey, showing just a third of workers reported feeling engaged on the job. Employees need to feel the company is invested in their future and provides them with the right training and personal development to ensure growth.

After all, it is a win-win situation - organizations providing staff with the right IT tools and training report higher productivity and profit.

Weronika Niemczyk is the Chief People Officer (CPO) of ABBYY. Weronika leads all aspects of improving the employee experience for ABBYY’s 1,000+ global team members distributed across 15 countries and five continents.