In every business cycle, the cycle has multiple stakeholders in any business. It’s the business owner, team, customers, and business. It all begins to move in the right direction when the business owner takes care of their team, and the team takes care of customers; the customers take care of the business as they make purchases, and then the business takes care of the management, essentially business owners and the cycle keeps repeating.
Your people, staff, and employees are one of the most crucial parts of a business because they are always at the forefront of interacting with the customers. However, how can one expect the team to look after the customers properly if they are not the best at what they do?
According to McKinsey, nearly 70% of companies focus mostly on skill-building for their team, especially after the pandemic. Upskilling your team allows them to be on their feet as soon as the business faces a challenge, preparing them for situations they’ve never seen before.
Hiring new talent is a lot costlier than upskilling the existing team. According to Gallup, the cost of hiring a new employee is almost as much as twice the annual salary of a current employee. And according to SMRM’s skills gap research, 83% of HRs in companies have trouble hiring new employees for their respective companies. 75% of those surveyed said they faced challenges finding suitable candidates for the company. It is essential to look within before hunting outside.
And even apart from the money and the effort, there are plenty of reasons that explain why it may be better to focus on upskilling your team than to depend on a new member to improve a company’s operations.
Reduces The Process Of Familiarity
If an existing team member has spent six months at an organisation, they are there for a reason. They are already familiar with and motivated to take the company forward and are willing to put in the work for it. This is why business owners must focus more on spending their resources on their existing teams.
Additionally, a business owner must allow and help their team to achieve better personal growth. The personal development of the group through continuous upskilling will automatically lead to better performance for the company.
[Also Read: Why Is Planning Critical For Success?]
Doubles The Retention Rate
If a team member feels their company’s management and owners are working to unleash their best potential, the company’s retention rate automatically shoots up. Team members need to think that apart from helping a company achieve its goals, they are also working towards upskilling themselves.
As a company takes the betterment of their employees into high consideration, the team members prioritise their skills and learnings better than a better salary.
Creates A Happier Workplace
As a company puts its employees above all else, the workplace becomes better and happier. The team members must never dread coming to the office; instead, they must feel calm and composite while working.
As your team feels happy and satisfied while at the workplace, their efficiency and service to the customers improve.
Turns Your Team Into A Brand Advocate
Because your team is satisfied with the company’s work culture, they are sure to talk highly of the company with others. And when they act as brand advocates through their positive notions about the company, the perception of the brand becomes much more substantial.
The perception of the brand plays an essential role in the sales pipeline of a company, indicating the positive attitude of the team towards the company as an absolute necessity.
What do they say when their friends and family ask, “Where are you working?”. That answer is going to define your business’s value, and that is the moment where brand advocacy kicks in.
[Also Read: Your Employees Are Your Best Brand Advocates]
Builds Immunity To Your Business
Business immunity can be defined as the ability of a business (read team) to face the challenges that may crop up. Higher immunity means low chances of collapsing a business. Building the immunity of a business is directly proportional to building the team’s strength and capabilities. And that automatically happens when the team prioritises upskilling themselves to be their best self. Your team must always be immune to the market changes that constantly occur to be able to stay ahead of the competition.
Conclusion
The era of technology has made it much easier for everyone to constantly look forward to upskilling themselves. YouTube, Coursera, Udemy, and there are 100s of sources where upskilling can be started at the tap of a button. If leveraged correctly, these resources can take your business to the level you have always wanted to achieve & beyond.
Hiring is a difficult nut to crack, and these platforms are going to make it smoother for a business to streamline its operations without spending too much time and money.
