It’s easy to think of upskilling your team as an added cost that won’t necessarily result in a tangible return. However, investing in the education and training of your employees can have a major impact on the success of your company over time.
At Globig, the investments we have made in upskilling our team members have led to a broader range of services we’re able to offer our clients, higher adaptability to changes, more client satisfaction, the ability to work in a variety of sectors, improved morale, reduced turnover, and a talented, creative, and motivated team.
Let’s take a deeper look at why upskilling is so important in today’s competitive market, and at some real-world examples of how upskilling can benefit your team.
Upskilling can help your business:
1. Meet the Need for Adaptability in Today’s Fast-Moving World
To stay competitive, companies must constantly evolve and innovate. The best way to do this is by having an agile team that can adapt quickly to changing market conditions, and that isn’t afraid to learn new things.
At Globig, we realize that talent and even training aren’t enough to keep up with our clients’ needs, and we are all constantly learning new platforms and especially honing our skills when using AI and software to build velocity. We’re always developing new skills and helping upskill our team members and our clients. As a team, we work hard to keep up with the most current technological advances and integrate them into our workflows whenever appropriate.
This agility and desire to always be learning gives us an edge over and gives us the ability to work with clients in a broad range of industries all over the world: from tech, to governments, to business development, to social enterprise, to education.
Another company that stays on its toes by upskilling is Adidas. The company created an in-house program called “The Academy”, providing employees with access to training on different topics such as retail operations, visual merchandising, product design, and customer experience management.
This allows employees to develop their skills while learning from those who have already achieved success in their field. As a result of The Academy’s success, Adidas Originals now has a team of skilled professionals who are well-equipped to meet the demands of an ever-changing market.
2. Increase Employee Retention Rates (and Save Money)
Investing in skills development increases employee retention rates because it shows your team members that you value their contributions and are willing to invest in them even when times are tough.
This type of investment can help foster loyalty and make employees feel like part of an extended family rather than just another cog in the wheel. Additionally, since these types of investments usually cost less than recruiting and training new hires, upskilling is a great way for companies to save money while still ensuring that their teams are equipped with all the skills necessary for success.
At Globig, investments in building skills within our team have paid off and we experience significantly lower turnover than is typical for marketing firms, which experience an average yearly turnover of 30%. In contrast, many of our team members have stayed with us for many years.
Amazon also takes employee development very seriously; so much so that it has implemented several initiatives over the years that focus specifically on helping employees learn new skills and advance their careers within the company. As a result, Amazon is 6th on the list of US companies with the lowest turnover.
3. Increase Contribution
One of our partners, The Breakthrough.co – a leading management training company – has found that contribution is one of the most important metrics to monitor in every organization. Even more important than measuring engagement, they found in their research. By challenging each other to learn more and contributing more to the needs of the organization and to each other, there is a real sense of accomplishment and a positive impact on all metrics. People who are well trained and feel confident in their roles are more likely to contribute. If your team is not comfortable in their role, they may not be able to contribute as much as they would like to.
4. Improve Morale
Providing relevant training and development programs can help improve morale amongst staff members as they feel supported and appreciated by their employers. When employees feel valued, they are more likely to stay engaged in their work which increases productivity and further encourages loyalty toward the organization.
This positive feedback loop creates a strong sense of motivation throughout the workplace which leads directly to improved performance both individually and collectively as a team.
During 2020, when the COVID pandemic was at its worst (affecting everyone’s morale and mental health), Globig offered its employees free training opportunities, and each team member could choose several courses or certifications that pertained to their position. This not only helped us improve our marketing skills for our clients during a slow period, but it helped us stay positive and engaged during the most challenging years of the pandemic.
And as a result, most of the employees who were with us during that time are still on our team.
5. Attracting Top Talent
By upskilling your current staff members, you’ll demonstrate to potential hires that you’re committed to fostering their growth within the company by investing in their professional development. This will give you an edge over other employers who aren’t offering such opportunities and make it easier for you to attract top talent when needed.
At Globig, we have been able to build a team of creative go-getters because of our emphasis on continuous learning. Creative, intelligent people thrive in positions that allow them to grow and companies that invest in each team member’s individual growth. We understand this. The best employees thrive in stimulating environments, which is also why upskilling can help attract top talent.
In today’s competitive market, developing your team is vital to remain competitive and successful, long term. Not only does it meet the need for a greater level of adaptability in today’s marketplace, but it can also lead to increased employee retention rates, improved employee morale, and can help your business attract and maintain top talent.
Upskilling is an investment well worth making!
Because we have gotten such fantastic results from upskilling our own team, we are now building out our Globig Academy offerings. Our vision is to help grow our partners and individuals, so we’re taking all the things we do and have learned over many years and are packaging them up into training programs that can boost your existing career and may even launch a new career. We’ll share more about the new training programs soon.
Do you need advice on how to move forward with upskilling your team? Reach out to us at Globig and let’s talk about how you can grow and train your team in growth sales and marketing to align with your company’s goals and values.
