In the LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022, L&D (Learning & Development) professionals stated that upskilling and reskilling employees are the main focus of L&D programs. Developing employee skills helps them meet company standards, reduces turnover costs, and improves performance in the workplace. That's why, as a leader, it is important to maintain the "spark" of learning additional skills to keep them sharp.

Additionally, as professionals continue to adapt to remote work culture, many express their desire to learn more skills. The pandemic has given employees a lot of time to think about how they want to hone their talents and abilities in the workplace.

So, this is the right time for you to start designing a strategy to improve employee skills. Employee skill development is not only beneficial for employees, but also serves as a company's step in addressing the "skills gap" crisis. Almost one-third of employers surveyed in Monster's Future of Work 2022 agree that the skills gap has increased from last year, and 87% report difficulty finding candidates that meet their company's needs.

‍Then what is the most suitable skill to improve?

If you are unsure of what competencies your employees need to improve, consider the following:

1. Aware of industry needs

Keeping up with trends can be a challenge. Technology is changing faster than ever, so even the most enthusiastic learner can fall behind. Therefore, staying up to date with industry needs is essential to improve organizational performance and accelerate business operations. A comprehensive services bootcamp with the most relevant and customizable skill requirements can be very beneficial in this regard.

2. Soft skills

Sometimes, soft skills are more important than hard skills. Learning new skills will be easier if we have the right attitude and emotional and social abilities to support us. Having a good set of soft skills will help employees to grow personally and professionally. Good soft skills can make work easier, improve communication in the workplace, and enhance the quality of relationships in the office and in life in general.

Here are some of the most important soft skills according to LinkedInLearning:

• Creativity

• Persuasion skills

• Collaboration

• Adaptability

• Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Group coaching with reliable and trustworthy professionals can be a solution for you to develop the soft skills of your employees.

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Effective Ways to Improve Employee Skills

Improving employee skills can be done through various methods. Here are some effective ways and methods in developing employee skills that you can apply in your workplace:

1. Establish a peer-to-peer workshop

One effective way to promote a learning culture is through a peer-to-peer learning program. Employees grow and develop by teaching others, and people in your organization learn directly from their coworkers.

At Google, 80% of all training is conducted through a peer-to-peer program called "g2g" (Googler-to-Googler). g2g'ers (volunteers who participate) can participate in various ways, such as teaching courses, providing 1-on-1 coaching, and designing learning materials.

2. Provide adequate training facilities

Provide user manuals, guides, video tutorials, e-learning courses, as well as other educational tools and resources to improve job-related knowledge. Employees can develop new skills and improve existing ones to grow according to the ever-changing job needs.

Help them develop new skills by providing space for practical learning related to new tasks and roles.

3. Implement microlearning

Fun fact, the average human attention span is now shorter than that of a goldfish. It was initially 12 seconds but now it's 8 seconds. What doesn't change is the importance of learning in the workplace. A culture of corporate learning can make organizations more competitive, innovative, and adaptable. But how can employees absorb information with such a short attention span? Yes, microlearning can be the solution.

Microlearning is an organizational training method that provides short content according to the learners' needs to learn comfortably. By presenting information in bite-sized pieces, learners can retain information better.

Some well-known companies that have implemented microlearning:

• Google

• Walmart

• Unilever

• Uber

and many more.

4. Gamification

Gamification is one of the trends that has emerged in the L&D industry. Companies use game elements in their learning environments. These elements include interactivity, fun, and engagement.

The idea is that games create a conducive environment for developing new skills and promoting behavioural change. For example, interaction and engagement make learners more motivated, while fun elements make the learning experience memorable.

The result is a better completion rate for courses and better knowledge retention.

Improving Employee Skills with Mindtera, the Right Choice for You

That is why Mindtera now presents an end-to-end solution for managing employee engagement, wellbeing, and development. Our solutions and services provide personalized and engaging activities to build a positive workplace experience. We help companies solve problems of high employee turnover, low performance, and increase productivity.

With 500+ microlearning programs, 40+ Jeda Wellness contents, access to group and personal coaching, and an analytical dashboard to generate data-based insights, you can easily improve employee skills overall.

Let's start maximizing the potential, performance, and growth of employees by creating the happiest workplace with Mindtera!