93% of CEOS who digitally upskill their employees benefit from increased productivity and improved talent acquisition and retention, a recent PwC Annual Global CEO Survey reveals. Increasingly, businesses have to adopt the latest technology in order to remain agile and stand out in an ever-competitive market. That means you should replace outdated legacy systems with cloud-based software, AI automation, and cybersecurity practices, to name just a few. Yet, at the same time, your employees have to know how to use these tools in order for them to be impactful. By digitally upskilling your employees to bridge any skills gaps, you can successfully fuel productivity, efficiency, and innovation across your organization.

This is a guest post by the wonderful Lucy Rose. Thank you, Lucy, for writing this for me.

Digital upskilling frees up time, boosts productivity.

Employees who know how to use digital tools can get more done in less time. For example, around 60% of employees in current jobs could save 30% of time if they automate repetitive and protractive tasks, McKinsey reveals. In turn, employees have more time to dedicate to more important tasks — ones that require creative thought, personalization, or a human touch. This, in turn, fuels innovation and growth within the company. For instance, when routine administrative tasks are automated, employees can instead put their energy into in-person meetings, customer service, and problem-solving — which all benefit from the full attention of motivated, engaged workers.

Digital task management can also boost efficiency and productivity, which makes it another useful area to upskill employees in. In particular, 35% of executive leaderssay this type of digital tool is imperative to success. “By going digital with your tasks and to-do’s, you can make them much easier to capture, sort, prioritize, and reprioritize”, explains Alexis Haselberger, Owner of Alexis Haselberger Coaching and Consulting. This digital skill can help employees improve productivity and beat deadlines as they’re no longer bogged down with paper lists.

Assess employee digital skills gaps.

Before you can successfully upskill your workers, you first need to assess their current digital skill levels to see where improvements need to be made. So, study key performance indicators (KPIs) to check that your workflows are set up to achieve organizational goals. Any areas that have underperformed will show you where skills gaps are. You can also ask your employees if they have suggestions of digital skills they could learn to improve workflow productivity. For example, all employees, regardless of their roles, should have basic digital skills like computer literacy. This means they should be able to type efficiently, save and store files correctly, and access digital channels like email, Microsoft Teams, and Slack.

If they’re already proficient in these skills, they can move onto more advanced ones like digital organizational tools. Employees can learn to use tools like Hive, Asana, or Trello to allocate specific tasks to individual team members, and keep projects on track. Alternatively AI skills can also drive employee productivity. Workers who know how to program the tools that use AI (such as, automation tools) are therefore able to improve their own workflows themselves — they no longer have to ask IT for help and wait for a response.

Ways to digitally upskill your workforce.

Learning and development (L&D) programs are probably the most common way employees digitally upskill, and these are typically taught through a mix of interactive online courses, lectures, and in-person workshops. Whichever skillset you want to teach employees, there’s bound to be a suitable L&D course out there. For example, Udacity works with tech companies to create digital upskill courses that cover topics like AI, programming, data science, and cloud computing. There’s also the option to study specialized subjects — such as, deep learning with AI and python, healthcare AI, and AI for business leaders.

Alternatively, newer employees can be taught digital skills by experienced employees. Mentorship programs such as this give employees the chance to learn from mentors in a relaxed, one-on-one environment where they have the mentor’s full attention. Plus, mentorships can also be particularly effective at teaching skills that are best learned via repeated, in-person practice.

Digital upskilling can boost employee efficiency and productivity. As long as you support your employees in bridging their individual skills gaps, your businesses will be able to successfully maintain a competitive edge into the future.

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