What exactly is "reskilling"?
"Reskilling" is an English term that is similar to "retraining". It is the transfer of an employee within one company to another position, during which the employee in question fundamentally changes the scope of their work. Thus it is a horizontal transfer, not a vertical one, and often takes place between different teams. A salesperson may become an IT specialist, an assistant may become a sales representative, and so on. Reskilling also includes the retraining of an employee, who subsequently moves elsewhere in the company.
Why is reskilling useful?
As Forbes states, the benefit of reskilling is the fact it offers an option to employees who are not happy in their current position but would still like to stay at the company. After a while, some people simply grow tired of the field they have been working in and look for a new job.
If these people are both skilled and valuable to the company, it is advantageous for the employer to keep them, albeit in another position. The reason is that the costs of finding, onboarding and training a completely new employee are eliminated. An already established employee knows the company's processes, its management and many practical details that will help them orient much faster in a new position (and perhaps even in a new team).
Tips on how to use the power of reskilling at your company
- Offer such an opportunity. Many companies do not even offer the option of reskilling or encourage employees to go through the process.
- Let workers know the option is there. Do not be afraid to communicate the reskilling option to employees across the whole company. Those who are happy in their positions will not take advantage of the possibility, while those who are dissatisfied will know it exists.
- Consider whether to participate actively in reskilling. Consider to what extent as a company you will participate in reskilling, or whether you will pay for retraining. For hard-to-fill positions, such as IT or technical staff, such an investment can pay off many times over.
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