4 Ways to Upskill Remote and Hybrid Workers
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While nobody particularly enjoyed the lockdowns we experienced in 2020 and 2021, it would be short-sighted to suggest that no good came out of them. Being trapped at home wasn’t super fun – but the advancements made to how we worked in that time were seen as a positive by almost everyone lucky enough to experience them.
Working from home became the norm, and it’s fair to say that many people greatly enjoyed this new approach to their professional lifestyle. One report even found that a whopping 96.7% of people who got the chance to work from home during the pandemic wanted to continue doing so even after restrictions were lifted.
While only some places of work would continue operating that way, plenty of businesses have decided to allow their employees to keep working remotely or offered them some kind of hybrid setup, balancing time between home and office.
But when a company is kind enough to provide this option, it can be challenging to guarantee that your team is upskilled in the best way. This guide will look at four of the best approaches to providing your team with the training opportunities and support they need to continue excelling and growing.
Bitesize learning isn’t something we need to forget about leaving school. Creating small training resources and materials can have a variety of benefits for your team. They’re quick and easy to digest and can be referred to at any point if you make them digital.
Ideally, these must be revisited annually or bi-annually to ensure they offer relevant information. If you need clarification on whether your resources provide genuine value, send anonymous forms to determine your team's thoughts.
While the buck ultimately falls on the employer, suggesting that your team can’t teach each other valuable lessons without your direct input would be wrong. Getting advice from someone an employee considers more equal can help make the message stick – rather than feel like higher-ups or third-party coaches are lecturing them.
One report went as far as to suggest that employees coached by peers experienced an 8% boost in engagement. Moreover, those coached via more traditional methods saw a 6% dip in the same metric. Coaching is an excellent opportunity to utilize technological solutions to reach out to colleagues, enabling fluent communication throughout the coaching process.
If we’ve learned anything in recent years, a one-size-fits-all approach is usually not the best way to get the most out of your staff. We all have unique learning requirements and absorb and process information differently. That means how someone needs to be upskilled will significantly vary, even within the same department.
For that reason, businesses need to offer blended learning experiences, which allow everyone to learn in a manner that makes the most sense to them. There’s no point lecturing someone for hours if they can’t remember anything when they come out the other side. Ask your team how they get the most out of training, then devise solutions accordingly. They may find it easier to remember information if they can review it in their own time, so why not take advantage of the recording feature within video conferencing?
A personal development plan is a roadmap that gives employees a clear, concise way to track their upskilling progress. A plan may also include a personalized mentorship element, which sees a worker given someone to help steer them in the right direction.
Statistics show that as many as 71% of Fortune 500 businesses – the largest 500 firms in the US – offer a personal development program. What’s more, those who are part of a program experienced an average 25% salary boost over workers who aren’t. The numbers very rarely lie.
Do you feel more confident that your team will get the support they need to continue to thrive? Make sure to keep all these factors in mind to guarantee that your employees grow and evolve professionally while they’re working remotely.
Categories: Remote & Hybrid Working
Elias Thorpe, Writer
Elias is a music graduate who turned his passion for rhythm into a lifetime spent scribing. He sees strong similarities between the two crafts, giving him the creative freedom to express himself. His other interests include wakeboarding, jogging, and abseiling.