To modernize by 2022, companies must retrain their workforce

The global economy is rapidly shifting to a new service-based model that requires rapid development and broad flexibility to meet a highly demanding consumer. While technology is certainly vital to this transition, organizations must also recognize that the workforce is in dire need of new skills and new organizational structures – and this will prove to be far more important to success in the coming years.

According to Infosys’ Modernization Radar 2022 report, most CIOs have identified a lack of skills as the main deterrent to modernization. More than 88% of assets are expected to undergo substantial upgrades over the next five years, leading to: high demand for internal skills in virtually every aspect of existing business models. To successfully manage this transition, organizations will need to implement a multifaceted strategy focused on people, processes and technology.

But how can organizations make these changes in time to take advantage of the new opportunities offered by the emerging digital economy? And more importantly, how can this be without disrupting the carefully tightened relationships that exist within the current business model?

To make this transition effective, organizations must implement a skills modernization strategy around three key elements:

Upskilling programs

refresher training is an important factor in driving the technological growth of any organization, but if not done in a coordinated, strategic manner, it can lead to a waste of time and cost, and to the development of skills that do not fully benefit the company.

One of the most effective ways to refresher training is creating a digital talent pipeline that guides both the retraining of existing employees and the hiring of new hires based on targeted skills for the digital age. Through a combination of continuous learning, digital upskilling, specialized programs, and collaboration with learning institutions and other organizations, the company can create a more holistic approach to employee development that builds on existing knowledge and the natural drive for self-improvement.

Upskilling programs should start with a fundamental model that first identifies critical workforce needs and then develops a strategy to meet them. This requires a careful analysis of the skills that will be in demand in both the short and medium to long term, as well as detailed plans to implement and scale these skills into the business model.

However, keep in mind that further training should benefit both the employee and the employer. Things like professional certifications and awards are helpful, but a clearly defined career path within the organization that allows employees to plan their progress based on the skills they have mastered will go a long way in building loyalty and reducing staff turnover.

Niche Skills

Some skills will be highly specialized and therefore difficult to acquire and maintain. But it is these niche areas that will provide a competitive advantage.

One specific area to focus on is software and application re-engineering – a critical tool in transitioning from legacy environments to next-gen, cloud-native architectures with microservices, containers, and a wealth of emerging technologies. These environments require a steady stream of repurposed applications, as well as brand new ones, targeting key capabilities such as high speed/high volume transaction processing.

Artificial intelligence (AI) should be high on the list of desirable skills, even as this technology is quickly losing its niche status and joining the enterprise mainstream. The need to quickly gain insights from massive amounts of data will be a clear competitive advantage in the future, enabling the enterprise to capitalize on emerging opportunities, optimize revenue streams, and provide more robust security and compliance in a rapidly changing world.

Organizations should also provide opportunities for knowledge workers to hone a wide range of open source skills, even those that may not seem directly applicable to the business model at this point. This includes any number of emerging development techniques such as DevOps, UI/UX design, and mobile, omnichannel and personalization approaches.

The gig economy

Not only is the gig economy growing at a rapid pace, it’s also fostering new approaches to recruiting, workforce management, and retention. At a time when finding the right workforce is a challenge, let alone those with the right knowledge and talent, handymen can fulfill critical roles as temporary and permanent workers.

Part of this transition requires changes in corporate cultures and hierarchies. Rather than a strict top-down approach to task responsibilities and authority, the gig economy is likely to create a more flattened, democratized organizational structure, one that emphasizes collaboration and rapid, dynamic blending of specialized skills to quickly tackle problems and profit. of emerging opportunities. Central to this change will be a redefinition of performance metrics and the way success is defined and evaluated, as well as new measures to protect data and preserve intellectual property.

Upskilling staff will not be easy for established companies with a long history. Entrenched practices, technologies and centers of power can withstand change under normal circumstances, let alone when it has to happen dramatically and in a relatively short period of time. But the emergence of new service-based business models like e-commerce and ride-sharing has shown how easy it is to upset long-established industries with little more than an app.

Currently, modernizing the workforce is a defensive move for many companies. However, if handled properly and in a timely manner, it can quickly be used to go on the offensive by accelerating a forward-thinking business model that seeks out new markets and even defines them from the start, while others are still trying to right their ships. .

However, the need for further training is both a sprint and a marathon. It’s important to start the process right away given the speed at which the digital economy is evolving, but this is not a one-time upgrade. It must evolve over the long term with a view to improving both the individual and the organization so that in the end everyone wins.

Gautam Khanna is the Vice President and Global Head of Modernization Practice at Infosys.