Organization Specific Upskilling

At Convernetics “upskilling” is the facilitation of learning new and necessary skills. The key to survival and growth within the contemporary business landscape is to be nimble and adaptive. Your teams members are all capable, intelligent and successful. However, it is unrealistic to expect that most team members will have all of the necessary skills to meet with the variety that the opportunity horizon may present. To capitalize on the fluctuation in the business domain it is essential for team members to acquire new tools and skills to meet with these fluctuating demands.

While, both popular and useful, “one size fits all” upskilling programs may not be appropriate for every situation. The Convernetics approach is designed to provide an environment custom tailored to the needs of the team. The members have input into what skills are required and those concerned help structure the curriculum before the learning begins. Only the pertinent aspects of a skills area are covered, providing an optimized skills acquisition environment. The end result is a faster, more complete and specific upskilling experience that delivers.

Good question. All of the team members are at capacity running the business successfully. So how do team members upskill to facilitate individual and organizational growth? How does the organization provide the necessary skill acquisition environment without vertically integrating the function?

If vertical integration is not an option, then, outsourcing may be the best alternative. However, each business is as unique as a snowflake. Canned upskilling solutions, while valuable, cannot possibly satisfy the specific requirements and subtle nuances of every business. Therefore, to be effective, the outsourced service must be capable of producing an organization specific upskilling environment. Input or vetting by team members regarding the upskilling material and structure maximizes the effectiveness while minimizing the time investment away from the core competencies of the business.

Simply put, if vertical integration of the upskilling function is not part of the current reality of your organization, then outsourcing specific to your organization is.

So… how does this business work?

Good question. The process is relatively straight forward and follows an intuitive path:

1 Identify any skills gaps.

You know your business and your colleagues. Work with your team to identify any new skills needed.

2 Design a skills plan.

Once the skills gaps have been identified, the team works with Convernetics to devise the content and the logistics of a program that will provide the desired results.

3 Vet the detailed plan.

The developed and detailed upskilling program is then scrutinized by the team to ensure that all members are in agreement that the gaps will be filled. The process begins only when all team members are clear on what the current situation is and what the final space will look like – how we know we have won.

4 Engage the plan and monitor the results.

It is essential that this investment be productive. Evaluation of the upskilling is critical to success. The team member(s) must be able to demonstrate the “what” and “why” of the newly acquired skill but also the “how”. Experiential learning outcomes are used to evaluate whether or not the team member has mastered the new skill to their satisfaction. At this point a toll gate ( “go” – “no go” decision is implemented. On a “no go” decision the program may be altered, amended or repeated and then reevaluated.

5 Graduation.

The process insures that upon successful completion the team member(s) have acquired a mastery of the new skill(s). The process also ensures a level of confidence in the “how to” use of the skill or skills. This leads to increased productivity and satisfaction and reduced stress as a result.