Skill-based training for employees is rapidly becoming the preferred training method in successful organizations. For some companies, training is confined to disseminating basic knowledge about the product, processes, and policies. Such training tends to overlook the skills required to deliver optimum performance that drives significant business outcomes. For example, a lack of specific leadership skills can result in an ineffective team manager, leading to unmet goals and unsatisfactory outcomes. This instance clearly illustrates the value of driving skill-based training to enhance your employee development initiatives.
What is skill-based training?
Skills-based training is an employee development strategy that focuses on providing employees with the specific abilities they need to perform their job effectively. Unlike traditional training methods that prioritize knowledge or theory, skill-based training focuses on the practical application of specific skills.
This type of training can cover a wide range of skills, from technical abilities like coding or machinery operation to soft skills like communication or leadership. The primary goal is to enable your employees to apply these skills directly to their work. This will enhance their performance and productivity, and in turn, drive your business outcomes.
Why is skill-based training important?
The importance of skill-based training in today’s fast-paced business environment cannot be overstated. With the need for new and improved skills constantly changing, continuous skill-based training is the key to safeguarding employee stability and business growth.
It’s a strategic investment that leads to substantial benefits for your organization and your workforce. In fact, a study by the American Society for Training and Development found that companies that offer comprehensive training programs have 218% higher income per employee.
What types of skill-based training are available?
There are four types of skill-based training:
1. Hard or technical skills
This training involves specific expertise and knowledge, usually gained through formal education, training programs, or practical experience.
2. Soft skills training
Non-technical abilities such as people skills, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, teamwork, time management, and decision-making.
3. Proprietary skills training
Unique to your organization and specific to its context, making them unattainable elsewhere.
4. Transferable skills
Training encompasses hard and soft skills that can be applied across various settings, sectors, or industries.
Difference Between Skill Vs Competency-Based Frameworks
Misconceptions about skills and competencies methods are widespread, with many confusing the two terms. However, a fundamental difference between the two is that Competency-based frameworks can be inadequate in identifying the source of an employee’s performance challenges, lacking the specificity to differentiate between, for example, a communication skills issue or a product knowledge gap.
A skill-based learning offers a more precise, tailored approach to employee development by breaking down abilities into specific skills, such as active listening and conflict resolution. This enables easier identification of improvement areas and more targeted training, making it a more effective method compared to competency-based frameworks.
Benefits of Skills-based training for employees
Additional benefits include:
Increased productivity
By training your employees in the specific skills they need for their roles, they are better equipped to complete their tasks effectively.
Employee retention
Employees often feel more engaged and valued when their employer invests in their development. This can lead to improved job satisfaction and higher retention rates.
Quality improvement
With skills development training, employees can produce higher quality work, leading to improved products, services, and customer satisfaction.
Adaptability
In a rapidly changing business environment, skills-based training can help employees adapt to new technologies, processes, or market conditions. This ensures that the company remains competitive.
Career development
For employees, skills-based training can lead to personal growth and career advancement. It can open up new opportunities within the company or in the broader job market.
Reduced supervision
Skilled employees often require less direct supervision, freeing up management to focus on strategic issues.
Limitations of Competency Frameworks
Competency development frameworks have a prominent flaw that hinders their use and effectiveness. As per a survey, 69% of organizations shared that a competency-based approach to learning and development is ineffective and insufficient.
Enlisted here are the shortcomings of competency-based frameworks:
Inflexibility
The framework is rigid and doesn’t accommodate the requirements of each role in an organization.
Oversimplification
Competencies may not fully capture the complexity and nuances of an individual’s skills and abilities.
Time-consuming
Developing and maintaining a comprehensive competency model is time-consuming compared to a skill-based approach for an L&D professional.
Limited scope
The purview of this framework is narrow, solely focusing on specific knowledge, abilities, and skills while disregarding other crucial aspects such as values, attitudes, and behaviors. For instance, assessing a financial analyst for promotion with this framework is only based on technical skills, overlooking the ability to work under pressure, handle ambiguity, and make quick decisions. This leads to the advancement of an individual without these vital skills.
Difficulty in measuring
Measuring and evaluating an individual’s competencies can be challenging, as there may be subjectivity in determining the level of competency.
Resistance to change
It’s often met with pushback from employees and managers who see it as rigid and a mere formality.
Examples of Skills based training
The skills-based training examples are:
On-site practical training
On-site practical training offers hands-on experience, enhancing employees' task performance through active participation. This method involves direct manager supervision, making instruction interactive and effective. It’s particularly useful for helping employees transition into new roles or onboarding new hires, ensuring smooth adaptation and successful integration into their positions.
Job Shadowing
Job shadowing is a passive training method where trainees observe experienced workers to learn specific tasks and techniques. It's particularly useful for new hires to understand their roles better. For instance, in telephone skills training, a new customer representative can watch seasoned reps handle calls, gaining insights into customer service strategies and tool navigation.
Simulation Training
Simulation training immerses employees in a controlled environment, allowing them to practice skills without real-world risks. Methods like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mock-ups, and training models are commonly used. This approach is especially vital in fields like aviation and healthcare, where hands-on experience with equipment or tasks could be dangerous for those still developing their expertise.
Role-Playing
Role-playing, though not involving AR or VR, resembles simulated training by recreating real-life scenarios for practice. It’s ideal for preparing employees to handle various workplace situations, especially in customer-facing industries like sales and hospitality. For instance, retail staff can role-play dealing with difficult customers, allowing them to explore solutions in a controlled setting, thus equipping them for real-world challenges.
Hackathon
A hackathon is a popular tech event where participants collaborate on a project, coding it within 24 hours, often with minimal sleep. Themes might include creating new software features or solving client issues. This engaging activity promotes learning, teamwork, and interaction with colleagues. The competitive nature encourages participants to push boundaries, think creatively, and enhance collaboration skills.
Challenges in implementing skills-based training
Implementing skills-based training programs can pose a complex challenge for organizations, involving several common obstacles to address:
Identifying skill gaps
Identifying specific skill gaps or learning needs within the workforce demands a thorough assessment. This can be supported by sources like employee performance reviews, feedback systems, and industry standards.
Designing relevant training content
Develop engaging talent development materials by collaborating with experts. Leverage LMS and technology to deliver competency-based training in diverse formats. Offer personalized learning paths aligned with individual skills and career goals to ensure relevance and motivation.
Measuring effectiveness
Assess training success using clear metrics like pre- and post-training evaluations, performance metrics, and feedback surveys. Utilize LMS and technology to monitor progress and measure effectiveness. These tools offer essential data for continuous improvement, aligning training with performance goals.
Scaling skills-based practices
Adjusting skills-based practices to meet the demands of a growing or changing organization often presents skills-based training challenges. Implementing strategies like modular training programs, scalable technology platforms, and decentralized training delivery can help overcome these challenges and scale initiatives more effectively.
Resistance to change
Adopting a skills-based approach in training and recruitment deviates from traditional methods. Address leadership resistance by aligning training with organizational goals and clarifying benefits to employees. Facilitate a smooth transition and secure support with continuous feedback and evaluation.
6 Steps to Implement Skills-based Training for Your Employees
Each role is unique with a different set of challenges, requiring special attention and in-depth skilling. Role-based skill building is a practical approach that helps disseminate appropriate information and skills for each role.
Here are the 6 essential steps for effective skill-building in employee training
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Map the skills in your organization
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Identify the skills gaps
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Define clear, measurable goals
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Create engaging and relevant content
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Roll out your skills training program
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Monitor and iterate the training program
Map the skills in your organization
A skill-based training approach begins by analyzing the necessary skill sets and proficiency levels for employees' roles, providing a clear path for development. Using the right learning solution, you can easily map out individual skills within your organization. For instance, the Disprz platform allows learners to declare their skills for current or future roles and update their mastery level for each skill.
Developing a skills ontology provides a comprehensive view of your organization's workforce skills. You can create and refine your skills ontology with input from relevant stakeholders to ensure it aligns with your organization's context.
Identify the skills gaps
After mapping all the skills in your organization, the next step is to identify gaps between current and required skills. Skills gaps can be present at the individual, team, and organizational levels. To pinpoint these gaps, you can use methods like team member surveys, employee skills assessments, skills audits, or AI-powered L&D tools.
Define clear, measurable goals
To effectively close skills gaps and help employees develop the necessary skills, it's essential to set clear training objectives. A skills gap analysis will assist in pinpointing where to focus your efforts, based on the required skills identified by your skills ontology.
Create engaging and relevant content
For upskilling, focus on the content that matches the role's expected performance level and the skills needed for immediate improvement. For reskilling, prioritize the skills required for new roles. Collaborative learning is particularly effective for upskilling and reskilling, as it allows for the sharing of internal expertise and institutional knowledge across the organization.
For instance, 47% of companies invest in career mentoring and coaching to enhance employee retention.
Roll out your skills training program
Begin your upskilling and reskilling training campaigns to address critical skills gaps. Utilizing a learning solution with an AI-powered recommendation feature allows you to deliver targeted skills training to employees precisely when and where it's needed.
For instance, you can integrate relevant training content into the onboarding process to help new employees upskill effectively.
Monitor and iterate the training program
Now, measure how well your skills training is closing skills gaps and plan for future needs. Track metrics like new skills acquired, proficiency levels, certifications, sales figures, and retention rates. An AI-powered skills platform can automate updates and provide a dashboard for monitoring progress.
Skill-based training allows your employees to develop the vital skills needed to perform and excel in the digital-first world. Moreover, the right skills are a necessity in a hybrid work model. With real-time upskilling and reskilling opportunities, the hybrid workforce can address unforeseen challenges with confidence.
Be sure that your L&D programs focus on end-to-end skill development. Cutting-edge technology like Disprz not only helps identify the right skills needed for different job roles but also assesses the current levels, drives personalized learning, and makes available insightful analytics that link back skilling to business performance.
For implementation, consider using Skills by Disprz, which simplifies large-scale upskilling and helps track skills across the organization.
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