Employee Upskilling – The Role of the Human Resources Department

 

INTRODUCTION

For the success and growth of an organization, it is essential to have an active and always trained workforce. It is also essential to develop the knowledge, skills and mental well-being of employees. Fulfilling all of this is the responsibility of the Human Resource Management department, and one of its functions is “Employee Upskilling/Reskilling” (Armstrong, Michael & Taylor, Stephen. 2014).

 

Employee development is the process of providing employees with new knowledge, new skills, upgrading existing skills, or allowing for change. This impacts an organization by providing greater resilience to future challenges including technological changes, acquisitions, changes in roles, new analytics, and data-based decision-making.

1.   Main Functions of the Human Resources Department

            Talent Analysis: Considering the organization's ideas, market trends, and technological changes, new skills needed by employees should be identified.

• Training Program Planning: Creating various training programs (on the job training ,e-learning, mentorship, workshops) that are suitable for employee advancement.

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•Performance Analysis : Determining training needs based on the capabilities and performance of employees.

• Mental Development: The mental and physical health of employees should be maintained for promotion activities.

2. Importance of Promotion

As new investments, new technologies, market changes occur for the continued survival of an organization, promotion is very necessary for employees to adapt to those changes. Also, promotion–

• Increases employee competence,

• Helps employees to work proactively with the latest knowledge and skills,

• Increases the ability to deliver more results during the time they are engaged in work,

• Increases employee satisfaction and engagement.

3. Promotion processes and challenges;

• Human Resource Management - K.M.Nandasena (1999).

• Human Resource Management Theory and Practice – In.W. K. Dushardayaratne (2016).

• Human Resource Management (Student Transcript) – (For Learning Level) Practice: Grade 13 and Advanced Level.

A solid pattern, a comprehensive plan is essential for the successful implementation of promotion. Here, employees can be selected based on previous skills, but there are also challenges. Namely,

• Reluctance to participate in training

• Having to bear the costs of training programs.

• Difficulty in continuously measuring the results of promotion.

• Cultural resistance— Employees think that “I am so capable now, training is unnecessary.”

4. Tips for successful implementation of promotion.

·       The need for new skills should be monitored and market and technological changes should be analyzed.

·       Training programs should be designed to suit the needs of employees as well as the organization.

·       An environment should be created that makes employees have a clear interest in the goals of promotion.

·          KPIs   should be used to measure training outcomes.

5. Conclusion

In the future, due to the importance of training, technological advancements, increased employee turnover, etc., all organizations are giving immense importance to the development of their employees. In such situations, the HR department should plan the way forward by keeping the vision and performance in mind.

 

REFERENCE

• Armstrong, Michael & Taylor, Stephen. (2014). Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice
•  Human Resource Management – ​​K. M. Nandasena (1999). Kandy. ISBN9559678108.
•   Human Resource Management Theory and Practice – In.W. K. Dushardayaratne (2016). Publications: Author's Publications.
•    Human Resource Management (Student's Text) – (For Learning Level) Practice: Grade 13 and Advanced Level.