It’s no secret that people are changing careers in droves. 2020 brought upheaval to the world in unimaginable ways, and people lost jobs in record numbers. Fast forward two years, and it seems employers cannot do enough to keep staff.
As companies steer through these times, dubbed “the Great Resignation,” or “the Great Reshuffle,” they are getting creative in the ways they attract and retain talent. Some organizations tout bolstered benefits and hiring bonuses, while others take a long-view, redesigning or launching career training programs to attract and retain staff through career planning and development.
Global industry analyst Josh Bersin has stated multiple times that, “people are the only appreciating asset you have in a business.”
Bersin observes that there is power in creating candidates from existing employee pools instead of hiring externally. For this to work, organizations must be willing to hire people with the potential to grow and have the necessary resources to train, reskill and upskill their incoming workforce. This is even more important in rapidly changing industries like healthcare as employers seek to retain staff who may be experiencing burnout and feeling uncertain about the future of their careers.
Adding to the pressure is the compounded need to fill in-demand roles with qualified professionals. So it is no wonder that reskilling and upskilling are taking center stage in today’s workplaces. In fact, the “2021 LinkedIn Workforce Learning Report” indicates that upskilling and reskilling programs are the leading priority for organizations. Prior reports note that the majority of employees say that they would stay at companies longer if those employers invest in helping their employees learn.
Additionally, the way people approach work and employment has changed significantly over the last few years. People want more work-life balance, more flexibility and more upward mobility with their current companies. This paradigm shift puts increasing pressure on organizations to invest in their talent and give them reasons to stay for the long haul.
But, striking a balance between meeting current business needs and investing in the long-term development of staff can feel precarious to thinly stretched learning and development professionals. Perhaps the biggest mistake made by many organizations at this juncture is developing new programs on their own.
Some intrepid organizations and employers are responding to the current environment and taking advantage of online learning to retrain staff through professional development courses that meet critical, emerging needs.
As health care knowledge rapidly evolves and expands, some forward-thinking organizations — like CVS Health — work with e-learning companies to offer ongoing training and certification preparation for their employees. Through this action, they demonstrate a positive and ongoing commitment to employees. Further, they may make open positions more attractive to people who are looking for a career that enables them to grow into new roles in the future.
Training as a competitive employment differentiator isn’t new. Still, it is likely very attractive to talent affected by record-setting layoffs in 2020, or professionals who have decided to leave their current jobs for a better career. Offering employees the ability to learn new skills demonstrates a desire to help them create a career pathway that progresses, offering increasing value to the employer while also giving employees a brighter look at professional development within the organization.
When it comes to rapidly changing industries, professional development isn’t just a nice way to attract and retain talent, it’s a necessity. For many years, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the health care industry has been among the fastest-growing in the U.S. economy. However, it is also projected that the healthcare industry will take a long time to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
Many roles, like those in rehab and nursing facilities or in-home health services, are going unfilled in today’s market. And health systems across the entire country are feeling the hurt. Like any industry with too many unfilled roles and increasing demand for services, employers face the challenge of providing concrete career paths to attract qualified applicants and ensure the people they serve receive the services needed promptly. By offering ongoing training, or retraining staff to fill organizational gaps, employers are more likely to retain their current staff and attract new talent.
Retraining to retain staff is needed to combat the Great Reshuffle head-on and build a culture of innovation while also lowering the cost and challenges of ongoing attrition. As Bersin notes, since people are one of the leading appreciating assets in any field, investing in their professional development as a means to meet evolving business needs is a sure way to ensure workplace learning and fulfilling careers can flourish.
