¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ

What is upskilling?

Up-skilling is the acquisition of new skills to enable the employee to better manage his or her tasks. Skills upgrading can also enable employees to broaden their knowledge in order to progress within the company. In all cases, it allows employees to gain autonomy, motivation and increase their performance. And that's not all: for many people, including High Potentials, progress is an essential source of fulfilment.

What are the benefits of upgrading skills? Why take professional training? Simply because it is a real springboard for companies and their employees. There are many advantages to upgrading professional skills. Trained employees, having the opportunity to acquire new knowledge, come out of this experience stronger. They are better integrated into their jobs and their companies, and are more motivated at work and perform better. There is a variety of training courses that can be used to upgrade skills. They can help the company to anticipate technological developments and thus prepare their employees for them. They are also real talent developers and help management to control costs.

How to support the development of employees' skills?

Developing the skills of employees is a real challenge for the hierarchy and managers. Following a few steps is essential to the success of this project. This project must be carried out on a daily basis, as half-yearly or annual reviews are not sufficient to enable employees to develop their skills effectively. Close management is a particularly effective management technique for this type of business project. It consists of accompanying employees throughout the year, during micro interviews. These are the common thread in the successful development of skills. They enable a final objective to be set, after an individual skills assessment, intermediate objectives to be set and adjustments to be made. This type of support enables employees to be guided effectively and to offer them a maximum chance of success. Of course, it is important to appoint a mentor with strong managerial skills to support employees.

Assessing the skills of employees

Assessing the skills of each employee is essential. This will enable you to become aware of the individual needs of each employee and to adapt skill development projects. Do not hesitate to value employees' strong points to increase their motivation and to create an adapted skills' development plan for them.

Define the needs of the skills upgrade

Your employee needs to know what exactly you want from him/her. The company's wishes are important, but so are those of the employee. The objectives of the skills upgrading must be defined according to the employee's current skills and professional project. The choice of the professional training to be followed must be made according to the needs of the company (desired availability of the employee at his or her workstation, short or long training, future developments) and those of the employee (professional career, key skills, sources of motivation, career objectives within the company, etc.). We explain which training to choose in our complete dossier on the subject.

Set intermediate and concrete objectives for increasing skills

The objectives must be concrete, precise, feasible and measurable. You can use several methods, such as SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) objectives to check that the objectives set are reasonable. We also advise you to set milestones, i.e. to set several micro-goals over a long period of time rather than one final goal.

Define the tools for monitoring the development of skills

Choosing the right performance analysis tools will allow you to move forward serenely and to go faster in managing the skills of your employees. The tools must be accessible to both the manager and the employee. Many digital tools and competency management platforms can be used.

Monitor the development of skills on a daily basis

Skills development takes time. It is therefore necessary to carry out regular monitoring. The employee must not feel left to his own devices, nor discouraged by the scale of his task. These meetings will allow the tasks to be adapted to the employee's progress.

Gathering constructive feedback on skills development

Communication is one of the keys to successful skills development. The employee must therefore be able to express himself freely and feel listened to and understood. Regular, friendly reviews are essential to keep your employees motivated and to make them operational as quickly as possible. The role of the manager is essential in the acquisition of new skills by employees.Do you need more information? Discover our complete file "Everything you need to know about professional training" to implement your training project and define your action plan.