A featured contribution from Leadership Perspectives, a curated forum for enterprise technology leaders, nominated by our subscribers and vetted by the CIOApplications Editorial Board.
ICF
The Upskilling Imperative: Agency and Workforce Transformation Go Hand-in-Hand
Concerns about workforce development are top of the mind for IT leaders. 94 percent of federal IT workers are concerned about staffing, with 39 percent struggling to attract qualified staff and 40 percent worried about personnel turnover. After all, with turnover comes the loss of institutional knowledge, and a higher risk of burnout for remaining employees.
To address these concerns, federal agencies must invest in upskilling their workforce and reskilling employees to evolve alongside modernized tech and cloud platforms. As technology evolves, it transforms how missions are operated.It is crucial that federal employees have the skills to effectively embrace these advancements and deliver high-quality outcomes. Agencies that deprioritize upskilling risk not only falling behind, but also greater turnover in an already sparse workforce.
Benefits of Upskilling
When faced with an aging workforce and consistent vacancies, federal agencies must work to retain employees. Presenting staff with consistent growth opportunities is an effective way to maintain existing teams and expand an agency’s tech capabilities -- all while continuing to deliver missions.
Helping staff fill skills gaps and maintain a competitive edge can increase both employee and overall organizational morale. Employees want to feel cared for and challenged. As development opportunities evolve from a ‘nice to have’ to an expectation among technical employees, investing in employees’ success can generate higher productivity and retention.
For agencies, advancing employees’ skill sets will also help optimize workflows and embrace more advanced technological capabilities. In doing so, agencies can complete missions quicker and more efficiently, a feat that yields higher quality work and lower costs.
Another plus? When employees stay at their jobs, agencies avoid the ripple effect caused by turnover. This spans the costs associated with recruiting and onboarding, to disruptions related to loss of labor and institutional knowledge, and the time it takes for new recruits to get up fully to speed. Ultimately, when IT leaders take the time to improve employees’ digital literacy and build upon their skills, they’re not only investing in an employee’s personal development, but are future proofing their workforce.
Addressing Common Pitfalls
To unlock these benefits, however, there are common pitfalls agencies must tackle.
Resistance to Change
Before initiating upskilling efforts, communication is key. 33 percent of federal IT workers admit their culture is resistant to change. To dispel fears around job automation, federal agencies must view workforce optimization as an agency-wide effort, not something that a CDO or CIO spearheads on their own. Federal leaders should take time to educate employees on the benefits of upskilling and reskilling, carefully explaining the development and career opportunities available.
Decision Fatigue
Decision fatigue can be an unexpected side effect of upskilling. To ensure upskilling programs are relevant and specifically targeted toward mission delivery, agency leaders must hone in on development priorities. Before offering upskilling opportunities, it is essential to first identify which underdeveloped skill sets are best aligned with the organizational need and will directly translate into job success. IT leaders can determine these priority areas by conducting agency audits, assessing the areas where teams are falling short and figuring out the right skills needed to improve efficiency. Analytics can also enable upskilling programs to be more targeted and personalized, leveraging data on organizational needs. This alignment will not only help secure organizational buy-in, but will ensure the strongest return on investment.
Plug and Chug Programs
Upskilling is not a one-size fits all approach. While there are seemingly infinite online learning opportunities, these experiences are not tailored to the individual or the organization. Without the proper guidance or context, technical training can feel impersonal, overwhelming, and discouraging. Instead, agency leaders should offer hyper-personalized opportunities and experiential learning to help employees expand their skills in a way that directly dovetails into their day-to-day.
Agency leaders can build fusion teams, which is a learn-by-doing model that brings people from different professional backgrounds together around a common goal and allows people to learn in short, two-week sprints. Successful fusion teams would provide employees with access to hands-on training and development opportunities on an ongoing basis. This can include job rotations, on-the-job training, and specialized projects. The ability to apply learning in a controlled setting is an effective way to measure and evaluate the impact of their development. For example, in conjunction with ICF, the Air Force Civilian Leadership Development Program recently introduced an action-learning program that provides participants to address real-world challenges while collaborating and problem solving with peers. Over the course of the year, leaders meet in facilitated sessions to develop solutions and leadership skills while networking and forming relationships with their peers.
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When done correctly, creating a culture around upskilling can have profound effects on productivity, retention, and overall efficiency
Creating a Culture around Upskilling
For the best results, agency leaders must not treat upskilling as a one-and-done. To obtain the maximum impact and pave the way for continued momentum, leaders must take strides to build a technology-first culture. This requires a commitment to baking upskilling into everyday routines and organizational norms. Important considerations include:
● Embrace Learning in the Flow of Work: IT requires investigating, learning, and expanding into new platforms on a daily basis. Upskilling programs should seek to understand and empathize with the learners and develop practices that align with the needs of the work. This can include tiered strategies with micro-learning focuses on current roles, as well as opportunities to practice relevant skills more broadly.
● Integrated Workforce Strategy: Leaders should create a workforce strategy that aligns the people, processes, and technology required to translate acquired skills into enhanced mission performance.
While skill development is important, in order for an organization to grow and learn collectively, employees need opportunities to stretch into new positions that align with their organizational strategy. Strategic initiatives include leveraging learning tools and capabilities in human resource departments, as well as incorporating programs such as job rotations and fellowships, with the goal of ensuring alignment with the agency’s strategy as a whole.
● Build A Development Tracking Strategy: As upskilling is implemented, IT leaders must keep track of progress made and its institutional impact. This includes asking for employee feedback, productivity and efficiency tracking, and analyzing work output. Where appropriate, leaders should make adjustments based on their findings to optimize the upskilling experience.
When done correctly, creating a culture around upskilling can have profound effects on productivity, retention, and overall efficiency. Ultimately, upskilling and future-proofing go hand-in-hand, offering agencies newfound capabilities, optimized workflows, and more developed and empowered workforce.
