What are organisations doing to ensure staff have the right skills?

Organisations have long claimed that employees are their greatest asset but the mixed quality of training suggests otherwise, according to recent research.

As organisations struggle to find workers with the right skills, and technologies including artificial intelligence require workers to “upskill”, or learn new skills faster, what does good training look like?

What are companies doing to train employees?

With about 1.5mn employees worldwide spanning online retail, streamed entertainment, logistics and cloud computing, Amazon has diverse skill requirements.

And, despite claims of gruelling working conditions for Amazon warehouse workers and criticism over a perceived anti-union stance (denied by the company), many training experts praise the group’s extensive skills and career development schemes. 

For its part, Amazon says that it listens to its employees and invests heavily in upskilling. In the US alone, the company has said it will spend more than $1.2bn to upskill 300,000 employees by 2025, including: paying for university tuition costs; funding industry certifications for roles including in technology, healthcare and transportation; and offering career coaching.

The training covers technical skills — including “mechatronics” (a combination of robotic, electronic and mechanical engineering) — and “soft” skills, such as communication and adaptability, Amazon says.

“Folks need generally good communication skills,” says Tammy Thieman, Amazon’s director of career choice. “They need good analytical skills. We’re not going to see those things going away.”

Amazon is also analysing labour market data to identify in-demand jobs now and in the future and where skills gaps exist. The success of the training is measured largely by the participants’ success in getting a job after they have finished a programme or course.

Cognizant, a global IT services and consulting company, is also investing heavily in upskilling its workforce. 

Last year, it said that it would train more than 200,000 of its employees in digital skills, including AI and use of GitHub, an open-source computer coding platform, by 2026. The traditional approach to skills “isn’t keeping pace with the evolving workforce”, said Cognizant chief executive Ravi Kumar when announcing the training.

The upskilling programme is run in partnership with education organisations, governments and companies including Google and, besides employees, Cognizant is also aiming to train hundreds of thousands of members of the public around the world in IT skills.

The company began its internal training partly in response to a “crisis in confidence” among some workers who provide IT services to clients, says Kathryn Diaz, Cognizant’s chief people officer. 

These employees — ranging from graduates to experienced IT professionals — were often concerned about whether managers were sufficiently knowledgeable about generative AI and other technologies that will change careers and create new types of jobs.

“Things are going to be changing rapidly . . . especially with generative AI,” says Diaz. Younger workers want to follow a leader who “understands the future” and take their career in the right direction, she adds.

For Cognizant’s IT managers, this has meant learning about generative AI — including the technology itself and how to provide the “prompts” to produce the desired text, images or computer code.

Employees are now learning in shorter bursts at work, says Diaz. Rather than the traditional half-day of classroom training, tech workers are doing online training — as little as five minutes — when faced with a coding conundrum during the working day. 

“You’re writing a line of code, then you’re going to get some learning and then you’re coming back and finishing that code,” explains Diaz.

How do skills platforms work?

AI can help automate and co-ordinate large training programmes.

Mastercard uses an internal “talent-management” platform to match employees to skills, including project management and mapping business processes. The platform also connects workers to projects, volunteering, job openings, and mentors at the global payments provider.

Since the start of 2022, Mastercard says about 90 per cent of its employees have registered with the platform, which is called “Unlocked” and was built by training software company Gloat.

Benefits of the machine-learning powered platform include an increase of between 10 and 20 per cent in employee satisfaction with Mastercard’s career development opportunities among those using the platform, says Michael Fraccaro, chief people officer at the company.

About one in three of those who have used the platform have subsequently made a career move within Mastercard, the company says.

“This [talent platform] is an investment that we believe has a significant return because . . . employees that engage in the platform, tend to stay within the organisation,” says Fraccaro.

There are also financial benefits. Using more internal expertise for projects, rather than paying external consultants, has probably saved Mastercard millions of dollars, says Fraccaro.

What is virtual training?

Public sector organisations are also using technology to deliver training in new ways. 

Tameside hospital, near Manchester, north-west England — has been using virtual reality (VR) technology to train its intensive care nurses in how to use a machine for treating patients with critical kidney injuries.

The VR technology, developed by Cassette Group, a UK software company, includes a virtual 3D model of the machine, made by Baxter, a healthcare company that makes critical care, kidney care and other medical products.

Nurses equipped with VR headsets and hand “paddles” learn how to use the machine in an online course, including videos and assessments of their knowledge. 

Staff learn how to set up the machine, input a prescription and patient details, and what to do in an emergency. Nurses and managers can track training progress through an online hub.

The hospital says that the VR training has saved it time and money because nurses can learn more flexibly, in shorter periods of time, without having to take days off work for training. 

“ . . . Trying to get staff to complete training days, it’s time consuming,” says Emma Rowley, a critical care technician at the hospital. “It takes them away from the unit. It’s expensive.”

Learning by doing, rather than watching in a classroom, also helps staff remember more of the training, she notes. “It’s hard to retain that information when you’re just watching somebody. There’s a lot to take in.”

How can corporate culture promote training?

Good training does not need to be tech focused, though. Torani, a US maker of syrups and drink flavours, encourages employees to switch roles and different departments to learn new skills. 

“We had a food scientist for many years, and she was interested in marketing,” says Melanie Dulbecco, Torani chief executive. “She . . . did a project in marketing. She decided that she really loved the work, she changed skills and became . . . a brand manager. We have people that start in customer service and have moved to accounting.”

Making training integral to strategy and culture has paid off. The company believes it has been a factor in achieving double-digit revenue growth for more than 30 consecutive years and an employee retention rate more than 50 per cent above the national average.

“Our staff retention rate . . . is incredibly high and the turnover is super low and that is really valuable, especially in these skilled manufacturing jobs. I think [it also helps make] better quality product [and] better service to the customers,” says Dulbecco.