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| | Brought to you by Alex Panas, global leader of industries, & Axel Karlsson, global leader of functional practices and growth platforms
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| | | | As technological innovations reshape the workplace, the need for stronger tech skills extends far beyond the IT department. Everyone from frontline workers to C-suite leaders can benefit from upskilling in the digital technologies that can boost productivity and growth, both for individual employees and their organizations. The speed and breadth of technological change are increasing pressure on companies to help their people become digitally fluent, as the gap between firms with leading digital and AI capabilities and their competitors grows wider. This week, we look at how organizations can upskill their workforces to take full advantage of tech’s business benefits and nurture their top talent. | | | | | | | |
| | | In the age of AI, a one-size-fits-all approach to employee tech training won’t suffice. McKinsey’s Brooke Weddle, Bryan Hancock, Heather Stefanski, Maisha Glover, and their coauthors observe that companies with the most effective upskilling efforts are creating targeted initiatives to close skills gaps in strategically critical areas. They advise leaders to identify the most important skills that will help their organization compete, ensure that executives are aligned on upskilling priorities, and create a holistic learning strategy that will work best for their teams. The authors note that successful organizations establish cultures of continuous learning to engage top employees and attract new talent—and they connect upskilling to business outcomes, which incentivizes leaders to foster learning. In addition to boosting their teams’ digital skills, companies must help their executives become more tech savvy. “With greater technical knowledge, business leaders can prioritize rewiring their organizations—deeply integrating technology across all core processes—to gain competitive advantages,” the authors say. | | |
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| Will technology replace mentorship in the workplace? Matt Beane, associate professor of technology management at the University of California, Santa Barbara, says apprentice-style learning will remain vital even as technology and automation advance rapidly. “Building the capability to get results under pressure remains unambiguous. If you observe the research, this happens through bandwidth—high-contact, high-frequency interaction between experts and novices as they collaborate,” Beane, author of The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines, explains in an episode of Author Talks. He stresses that technologies such as robotics and AI can produce short-term productivity gains but also can interfere with three key components of learning: being challenged, understanding the complexity of your work system, and forging connections with others. “The daily mantra for a senior leader at this moment should be, ‘How can we get our productivity up and enhance human skill in the same move?’” Beane says.
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| Understanding how to work with AI and other new technologies can feel daunting, but there’s a very practical reason to embrace learning in the workplace. The skills that people learn on the job contribute an average of 46 percent of earnings over a typical working life, according to McKinsey Global Institute research. Providing upskilling opportunities pays off for employers, too. Companies that excel in people development see more consistent earnings, are more resilient during crises, and have more success in attracting and retaining high-performing talent. Senior Partners Dana Maor, Olivia White, and Sven Smit, and their coauthors note that training programs are a key element of establishing strong organizational capital—that is, the management practices, systems, and culture that help bring out the best in people and produce results. “When these elements are effective, they can turn a collection of talented individuals into a cohesive team,” the authors say. | | | Lead by fostering learning in the digital age. | | | | | — Edited by Eric Quiñones, senior editor, New Jersey
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