In a recent study, Forrester found that employees tend to fear not only change, but specifically finding themselves underskilled for the future of work. In an age defined by industrial and technological disruptions, this could be a pervasive source of anxiety. But embracing those very changes, of course, can be critical to an organization's health—as well as its workers'.
Your employees—your greatest asset—can't perform at their best if they're stressed about being left behind. Your LMS platform could be a critical tool in easing your employees' fears of being underskilled.
Understand the underskilled workforce
The workplace is changing thanks to automation, robotics, customer expectations and labor markets. Required skills are also shifting rapidly, making it difficult for companies and employees alike to keep pace. According to a Wiley Educational Services and Future Workplace joint study, the skills gap among workers rose by 12% from 2018 to 2019.
Rapid transformation is not easy to navigate, especially when the future remains unknown. The anxiety some employees experience is tied to the uncertainty of their roles following such changes. If they don't know what skills and knowledge are needed to remain productive, they can't stay ahead of the curve.
Being employed without a clear, stable definition of one's role could lead to a case of impostor syndrome—the feeling of false competence bound to be discovered by one's peers. According to Forbes, that feeling lurks below the surface of even the seemingly most confident leaders and employees. One key way to break the habit of self-doubt is to learn and practice new ways of thinking, such as how to adapt to change and stay resilient.
Face your employees' fear
To support your employees' growth in the face of so much change, you must help them overcome their fear by offering adaptable solutions.
For example, in employee reviews, ask your workers to express the skills they wish they had. This will give you more insight into your workforce's concerns. The better you understand what skills your employees covet, the better you can lead your employees through transformations. You can leverage your learning management system for this input and use it to tailor future training.
Additionally, help your employees by meeting the needs of a modern learner with your LMS platform. Give your employees specific learning directives for growing in and beyond their current role. Create learning modules or integrate a content library to help your employees become more adaptable and resilient, boosting their self-confidence. And don't forget to offer skills training modules, whether they target the newly employed or your most senior workers.
A training curriculum highlighting what's coming next, such as changing client demands or the implementation of automation, can also give your employees a larger picture of your organization and the industry as a whole. Employees can then drill down to how they contribute to their employer day in and day out while focusing on the skills needed to meet future trends.
If you're ready to unleash your human capital, sign up for a live Absorb LMS demo.
