Upskill – Don’t Fire
When you upskill an employee rather than opting to replace them, you are investing in your business.
Changes within the workforce are inevitable. Successfully navigating these changes can help you maintain stability and even grow your business in the long run.
PwC has successfully launched an initiative to upskill 50,000 of its employees.
Carrie Duarte, workforce leader of the future for PwC says, “Upskilling is being able to work socially in a digital world. Technology allows people to post things and communicate ideas so they can innovate quicker. It’s about making an improvement system accessible to everyone. This is not your grandmother’s upskilling.”
The Value Of Upskilling An Employee, Versus Training A New Hire.
Allow a dedicated existing employee to improve themselves and become capable of fulfilling an alternative or even increased role in your business. This mindset holds some innate benefits.
An existing employee is already a trusted part of the business and understands the company culture. New hires are always a risk since no amount of due diligence will ensure that what they claim on their CV is actually true.
It also creates a sense of permanence and reassurance to fellow employees and existing customers. We humans like seeing familiar faces around us! When you upskill an employee can also open doors to filling vacant positions within the company and take the sting out of succession planning.
Upskill To Up-grade Your Up-and-comers!
Investing in an upskill opportunity that leads to a promotion can also be seen as a reward for dedicated service. And therefore motivate employees to prove themselves to management, building on existing company loyalty.
Although a new hire can bring in much needed fresh ideas and innovative thinking, it isn’t always the best way forward. New ideas are wonderful, but allowing the platform for existing ideas to flourish is even better.
Why Not Just Hire An Expert?
As you will very well know, the hiring process can be fraught with politics and pitfalls. Every new hire is an unknown entity and even the most well-vetted employee can turn out to be a liability. Even with the most well-drafted contract, getting rid of someone who is not benefiting your business can also be an expensive and time-consuming process.
The cost implications of hiring an “expert” can not be ignored. Very few highly skilled employees are willing to take a pay cut to get a new job, and it’s often much more cost-effective to give an existing employee an increase (even a substantial one) instead of hiring a new guy at an inflated salary off the bat.
Trust Your Team
Upskill from your own trusted pool of employees and allow your company to refresh its workforce from the ground up. You can then consider appointing new people to initially fill lower-profile jobs, thereby greatly mitigating their impact and risk on your business should it all go south.
Hiring and firing is never fun, just as upskill initiatives and developing employees also isn’t without its drawbacks. But maintaining stability within your business and boosting employee morale through recognition of valuable service can be a force for good, allowing you to expand and excel as a business.
