Reskilling to help Businesses Prosper and Employees Thrive

Last week, Google announced it would invest $1 billion over the next five years in reskilling the American workforce. This donation would go to nonprofits that provide skills and education for the modern workforce. In a speech in Pittsburgh, PA, Google CEO, Sundar Pichai said:

“The nature of work is fundamentally changing. And that is shifting the link between education, training and opportunity. One-third of jobs in 2020 will require skills that aren’t common today. It’s a big problem.”

Thankfully, Google is not alone in its commitment to solving this problem. Companies like AT&T, Accenture, Motorola and Yelp are also investing in the reskilling of their own employees to better meet technological and business advancements and remain competitive.

The Importance of “Thriving” Employees

What these companies, and others like them, recognize is that employee development and business performance are interdependent. For businesses to prosper, employees must thrive. In fact, a recent report from SHRM demonstrates that when people are thriving at work, their job performance improves, and they become good organizational citizens, going above and beyond the call of duty.

The report also states that one of the most prominent characteristics of thriving employees is an interest in learning new information and skills. That’s why we put such an emphasis on turning employees into learners. Our software is designed to help employees thrive by supporting their intrinsic motivation to learn.

“When people believe they are getting better at what they do, a cycle of growth begins and is self- perpetuating. Employees who are thriving actively seek opportunities to learn and develop, experiment with new ideas to propel their learning forward, and take initiative in developing their careers. They also exhibit more innovative work behavior and creativity.”

It’s a virtuous circle: the more companies invest in the development of their employees, the more interest the employees have in learning new information and skills. This, in turn, improves the productivity and performance of the company, and increases its ability to invest in its employees.

What are you Experiencing?

On this blog, we’ve often discussed the powerful role that technology can play in educating and reskilling employees. And we’ve shared how our adaptive, personalized learning platform has helped organizations train their employees more effectively and efficiently. Now we want to hear from you:

How is your company thinking about reskilling or upskilling its workforce? What challenges are you encountering as you try to keep the skills of your workforce current?

We’d love to connect and hear more about your experience!