L&D: The Skills Your Employees Will Need in the Future
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Advancing technology is so rapid that it can be hard for businesses to keep up. Employees have to quickly adapt and learn how to use these technologies. As a result, HR leaders carry the burden of devising training programs and systems for efficiently teaching people. There are many challenges when devising appropriate learning and development programs, and leaders must give much thought to planning.
Recently, Lya Icaza, Head of Talent Marketplace at USAA, talked to HR Exchange Network about what skills employees need to remain competitive and relevant and how to ensure employers provide the correct type of L&D. Icaza will be a speaker at the 2022 Corporate Learning online event, which will take place September 28 and 29.
HREN: What are the top skills people will need in the next five to 10 years? Why?
LI: The top skills people will need in the next five to 10 years include:
- Digital
- Analytics
- Risk
- Innovation
- Emotional Intelligence
We are seeing the need for these skills now. Digital skills are needed in every profession, every level, at different responsibilities, and proficiencies. These have become the ticket to entry, to just be able to function in your workplace. It is no longer enough to be proficient in Word Suite. If you want to flourish, you must go beyond that, you must be curious and have courage, to put yourself out there.
You must learn how to use technology to close a business gap, to lead the business, to anticipate, needs and gaps. You must innovate, know when or which risks you must balance, mitigate, accept. Use data to inform you. Above all, use emotional intelligence to regulate dialogue, to increase collaboration and innovation, to create safe space for growth, curiosity, and risk taking.
According to an August 4, 2022, Wall Street Journal article by Lindsay Ellis, students will need these five skills for their future careers:
- Entrepreneurship in the Metaverse
- Ethics and AI
- Networking
- Designing for Natural Disasters
- Building a Personal Brand
HREN: What is the best way to deliver training on new technologies? Why?
LI: The best way to deliver training on new technologies is through the technology itself by use of job aids or vignettes. If your new technology does not have that capability, there is technology out there that can integrate easily into most other technology to walk employees through new functionality.
Additionally, learning should be in the flow of work, employees should not have to get out of the technology to learn how to use it and then get back into the technology, or even take hours long course on how to use the technology. You should consider the technology that you are purchasing. If you need robust training to implement a new technology, you might be using the wrong technology. Employees are more and more savvy on how to use technology (see skills needed for the future) and if they still need robust training, then something has gone wrong.
HREN: How can HR professionals determine if someone has the potential to learn new technologies?
LI: We are using new technology all the time. Think about it, our phones update regularly, Excel, Power Point, all provide us with additional functionality every few months or every few years. Learning new technology is EXPECTED and I think is one of the things that keep us relevant. How you can determine if someone has the potential to learn new technology, ask: Are they curious? What happens when they do not know the answer to something? Are they resourceful? Do they fear the submit button?
HREN: What message do you hope to deliver to the audience at the Corporate Learning event?
LI: Remember the reason you exist. Remember your purpose. As HR professionals, it is all about helping the business advance, to reach strategic objectives while enhancing the employee experience. As we roll out programs and solutions, the business must be your partner in creating those programs and ultimately owning the programs. Think about a pull not a push. The business should be pulling the solution to the forefront. We should not have to push programs to the business. If you position your objectives and projects in that direction, then you have a purpose. It does not make things easy, nothing great is ever easy. Just easier and purposeful. If purposeful, then it energizes you, it energizes your team, and the business.
HREN: Is there anything else you'd like to share with readers? If so, what?
LI: As long as you and your team know your purpose, the next thing you need is to know when to pivot, when to release programs or projects. Work with the business on best timing, not right timing, but best timing. Be agile, not just in your project methodology, but in your thinking as well. Do not wait until you have all the answers, do not wait until you feel 100% ready. Pilot and learn, then pilot some more and keep growing. It is OK if you look back 12 months from now and see how much more you can improve. "Take that first step before you look at the staircase," says Kendall Toole, Peloton Coach.
Don't miss Icaza's session or the others at the Corporate Learning online event, September 28 to 29. It's free to register, and those who join us for the live event are eligible for SHRM credits.
