Why Upskilling and Reskilling Your Marketing Team is Critical
And how to make it a priority for a successful 2023
Change is inevitable across every industry, but we’ve all been on an incredible journey of immense and rapid shifts over the past few years. So I wasn’t too surprised to learn that HR leaders are more concerned about their employees in 2023 than ever before.
With ominous headlines and trends like the “great resignation”, “great reshuffle”, and “quiet quitting”, it’s a tough time to be recruiting and equally daunting to be tasked with repairing a generally poor employee experience and culture.
The solution for both the near and long-term is to invest in employee educational opportunities: ongoing training, certifications, workshops, upskilling and reskilling. According to research and interviews with CHROs across various industries by Human Resource Executive, ongoing training, leadership development, and career development are major focuses for 2023.
“The most important thing will be to continue to upskill, professionalize and enhance the experience” – Lisa George, CHRO of Help at Home
Many companies put the brakes on this aspect of the employee experience during the pandemic and shift to work-from-home. However, companies now have the opportunity to bring back in-person training, and if this isn’t done promptly and effectively, many employees will begin to feel devalued and less prepared to contribute to the company in meaningful ways.
Upskilling is Future-Proofing
Providing opportunities for your employees to learn new skills not only improves their lives and career outlook, but simultaneously improves your company via their input, productivity, and overall value. Upskilling is a holistic investment in your company.
Upskilling is no longer a “nice-to-have” but an absolute necessity. According to LinkedIn’s deep insights into today’s workforce (800+ million members around the world) and market movements, the skills workers need have completely changed over time and will continue to change in years to come.
Take a look at this chart from LinkedIn’s data on how the Brand Manager role has changed since 2015:
It’s not just Brand Managers, but if you explore any job, any position (and I highly recommend you do, especially for HR leaders, it’s a fun and insightful tool!) you’ll see that the skills required have changed across the board.
If your marketing team is resting on its laurels, it’s time to light a fire and bring the passion back to your most valuable department. There are so many new channels to bring a product to market or advertise on, each with its own intricacies, and even marketing fundamentals from brand positioning to marketing strategy framework need to be constantly honed and reinvigorated.
When you provide a training opportunity on a topic that your team is interested in or something they use regularly, they will eagerly absorb the knowledge and the results can do more than bring fresh ideas and new perspectives. It can increase your revenue and bottom line.
Reskilling Opportunities
Stop losing your best talent and start providing them with new opportunities within your organization. This could be a simple switch of roles and responsibilities resulting in new tasks and goals. If someone has lost their interest or passion for their current position – as a leader you need to be in tune with that and offer them options that may not always follow the traditional linear career path.
Between upskilling and reskilling it’s entirely possible to retain employees longer, find untapped reserves of talent and inspiration, and ultimately increase employee morale and company profits.
If you’re not sure where to begin, I am offering custom training sessions built around the most requested topics and in-demand skills for marketers and leadership teams.
Contact me to get started with your upskilling and reskilling initiatives and make the most of 2023 for your business.
