The benefits that upskilling your workforce brings to your company

The regular feature updates in widely-used Autodesk apps like AutoCAD and Revit, and Adobe’s creative software, bring many benefits. You have access to the latest features, you can do more with your software and work more productively.

However, keeping up with the latest developments presents challenges. As technology advances, it creates skills gaps, and you’ll find that once-useful knowledge soon becomes out-of-date and irrelevant.

The answer to these challenges is upskilling.

In this blog, Lyndsay Mann looks at how regular training, done well, benefits your company as a whole as well as the individuals undertaking the training.

1. Employee Retention

Any HR manager, Director or business owner knows that employee turnover is costly. It’s not just the upfront recruitment fees. You need to factor in an employee’s learning curve, the time it takes them to find their feet in their new team, the short-term drop in work output, and so on.

Companies that encourage upskilling and personal development are more likely to retain key staff than those that care little for personal growth. It’s a fact that employees who are challenged to develop are often the happiest and most motivated within an organisation. By investing in an employee’s training, you’re demonstrating that they’re valuable to you, you care about their career and they have a future within your organisation.

Upskilling your team comes at a far lower cost than hiring a replacement. By expanding the skillsets of your current employees, you’ll find yourself with a more diverse, innovative, well-rounded workforce.

Funding an Autodesk Certification exam as part of an employee’s personal development is a good example of how a low-cost outlay can both reward the employee’s hard work and benefit your company. For as little as £100, your employee can attain an industry-recognised credential, and your company can advertise that design work is carried out by Autodesk-certified staff. Put simply – it’s a win-win situation.

2. Customer satisfaction

At the core of any business is their customers. If you have happy, motivated employees, they’ll provide a better all-round service to your customers and promote your corporate brand.

If your marketing teams are truly invested in your company, they’re more likely to come up with better and more imaginative content. And our Adobe creative courses can teach them the skills they need to turn these ideas into reality!

3. Boosts team morale

This clearly goes hand in hand with employee retention; teams with learning and development opportunities have higher workplace morale and feel motivated and engaged in their roles. Reskilling or upskilling your workforce helps them see the path to career advancement, and gets them excited about what could be next. Knowing they’re working towards something that will accelerate their career progression will enhance their sense of purpose within your organisation.

Imagine the buzz your newly trained colleague will feel once they’ve produced an original, unique social media video in Adobe Premiere Pro, or their first 3D model in AutoCAD or Revit.

If you fail to support your employees’ growth, they’ll feel expendable, unchallenged and unfulfilled, and be more likely to leave.

4. Higher levels of productivity

By now, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that upskilling increases your company’s productivity. The more skilled your teams are, the less time it will take them to carry out a task or ponder how to approach a project. This results in lower costs and reduced lead times.

They can also carry out tasks that may not have been able to previously. For example, your CAD team may only have 2D drawing expertise, meaning that you have to outsource any 3D design work. Upskilling your existing staff to gain 3D skills will ultimately save you a lot of money (our AutoCAD 3D course is only £295 + VAT).

Or maybe your marketing team has great graphic design skills and ideas, but their lack of motion graphics knowledge is holding them back? If so, why not train them in the use of After Effects so they can incorporate animations into their work, taking it to the next level.

5. Attract and retain talented candidates

Should you be in the fortunate position that you need to expand and recruit new employees, studies have shown that workplaces which offer upskilling and development opportunities attract candidates with a more positive, constructive attitude to work. This is because it naturally attracts job seekers who have a clear career progression plan and value learning opportunities. Candidates such as this are often the most productive and easiest to work with.

You will find that, in general, employees who are keen to continuously develop their skills go above and beyond and listen to others for feedback on how to improve. Not only this, but it means that they are going to be more likely to recommend your organisation to their network of friends, past colleagues, and family members. You should never underestimate the value of ‘word of mouth’.

We are always looking to work with new companies and organisations, and we’d love to help you with your staff upskilling. We offer great discounts of multiple place bookings, and a wide range of course dates across our CAD and creative courses.