Employer convention is limiting skills growth (and workforce retention)

Attitudes on investing time and energy into upskilling teams are often entrenched in the broader convention surrounding innovation. Like Socrates' paradox, many employers only learn and upskill when they absolutely have to.

Showcased during the initial COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, entrenched truths, such as the predominant view that physical presence in the office preserves productivity, have been categorically disrupted. Employer convention, in this case, is to blame. While many employers have embraced scaled flexible working for office or support staff, they have not dedicated time and investment to upskill their workforce accordingly in craft or adaptive capabilities as workforce needs change.

Even before COVID-19, new technologies were changing the skills employees needed to do their jobs for some time. In fact, it is predicted around 50 percent of workers will need to have some level of upskilling by 2027, expanding reported skills gaps to unprecedented levels. (Piecing together the talent puzzle: When to redeploy, upskill, or reskill, McKinsey Global Institute, August 23, 2021, McKinsey.com).

Surprisingly, many employers in Australia remain steadfast in choosing to compete for prime office locations as a means of sourcing talent to fill skills gaps. Or, even worse, they only focus on historic learning programs with little flexibility. To empower employees to take control of their skills advancement and support career growth longer term we need to think differently and provide programs that can be customised to build individual skills related to ambition.

We live in a world shaped by global competition. Now that flexibility is the new norm, increasing skill shortages in technology, data, and digital product development will only get worse. Employers that are already investing in upskilling their workforce will prevail, as they can better attract, grow and retain top talent.

Having worked at Woolworths for over seven years, I know first-hand how building a diverse, passionate, and intrinsically motivated workforce directly correlates to meaningful career development. At WooliesX, our investment in employee skills development equates to 20 per cent of a working week which is dedicated to upskilling team capabilities or cross-skilling based on their interests. Providing clarity on what capabilities someone needs to progress their career journey also creates visibility of opportunities and the power of building breadth, mitigating the tendency for women to avoid applying for roles until they are over-qualified (Harvard Business Review, Why Women Don't Apply for Jobs Unless They're 100% Qualified)

Another benefit of focussing on upskilling is the autonomy, accountability, and empowerment our team has within their roles. As Tribe lead, my role is to entrust customer and business problems to my team. Diversifying and uplifting employee skills enable everyone to think outside the box, providing new and existing value opportunities for our customers that differentiates us from our competitors. Adaptive skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and a thirst for learning is how we instil a growth mindset throughout the business, as is integrating upskilling into our ways of working as a whole.

So what about the costs or productivity trade-offs? How can WooliesX teams deliver effectively when a percentage of their time is spent away from their job? There is no question that a commitment to upskilling your workforce requires investment. However, that investment, compared to productivity loss due to skills gaps, burnout for employees stretched to fill those gaps, as well as subsequent lost revenue or market share as a result of the rapid pace of change globally, prove an untenable alternative.

An employer that focuses on building an enduring workforce - one with the ability to adapt, grow and learn new capabilities and skills through upskilling its existing teams, will lead in the new war on talent. So how can you defy convention as a leader and embrace upskilling within your own business to maximise retention and build an enduring, fulfilled workforce?

Here are some key considerations to get you started:

• Establish an organisational structure, and culture, that embraces learning, trust and empowerment in its bones - like agile models where dedicated Practices and Chapters have the sole purpose of building the skills and capability of existing talent.
• Prioritising capacity for your team to focus on upskilling their capabilities demands commitment - there is no point offering this to employees if you can't fulfil your promise. Not only will it demotivate, but it will also negatively spread through word of mouth, impacting your ability to attract new talent.
• Focus on the individual - it's fine to identify skills gaps that the business needs. However, a one size fits all approach will not inspire your employees to want to grow and increase their skills, especially any new and challenging ones that sit outside of their comfort zone.
• Upskilling needs to be holistic - learning or adopting new technology is as good as ticking a box; teams also need to have diverse skills that support resilience, adaptability, communication, and creativity to succeed.
• Lastly, create an active sponsorship model to support on-the-job experience and rotation for your team - mentoring, particularly for women, is not enough.

Defying employer conventions takes courage. However, to retain and engage top talent investing in upskilling your team is essential. As Dr Seuss, aptly wrote, ‘The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go’. It is never too late to start.

About the author: Kathryn Vaux is general manager, media platforms and products, WooliesX