Upskill for the Future
Drive performance and future readiness through strategic upskilling.
- Organizations often struggle to identify critical future skills and align learning initiatives with long-term goals, resulting in wasted efforts and ineffective programs.
- Upskilling efforts often face employee resistance due to fear of change and job insecurity, while organizations struggle to justify the time and budget required without immediate ROI.
Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst.
- Get on-demand project support
- Get advice, coaching, and insight at key project milestones
- Go through a Guided Implementation to help you get through your project
Our Advice
Critical Insight
Upskilling initiatives that begin with training often fail to deliver results because the learning exists in a vacuum. Strategic upskilling begins with a clear purpose rooted in organizational priorities and focuses on the specific learning employees need to drive meaningful impact.
Impact and Result
- An intentional and targeted upskilling program will increase overall productivity and engagement and lead to an agile, skilled workforce that can adapt to organizational growth or changes.
- Perform an assessment of current capabilities and identify future critical skill needs, leading to a competitive workforce that is prepared to advance shifting organizational goals and priorities and provide a competitive advantage.
- Foster an organizational culture that enables continuous growth and learning by investing in employee development and, in turn, promotes loyalty and increased retention.
About McLean & Company
McLean & Company is an HR research and advisory firm providing practical solutions to human resources challenges via executable research, tools, diagnostics, and advisory services that have a clear and measurable impact on your business.
What Is a Blueprint?
A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your HR problems.
Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.
Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst
Get the help you need in this 4-phase advisory process. You'll receive 12 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.
Guided Implementation 1: Identify the driving need for upskilling
- Call 1: Understand the organization's strategic plan, scan external factors and industry trends, and articulate the specific reasons behind the need for an upskilling program.
- Call 2: Discuss the plan to set up a dedicated team to drive the upskilling initiative, select a pilot function or roles for the program, and set clear goals and metrics to measure success.
- Call 3: Define the scope of the upskilling program, whether it is organization-wide or specific to certain functions or roles, and establish goals and metrics to guide the program and measure its impact.
Guided Implementation 2: Anticipate future skill needs
- Call 1: Discuss how to use external reports to identify future skills within the industry and remain informed about external workforce trends.
- Call 2: Plan on meeting with functional leaders to present the list of identified future skills and gather their input on which skills are most relevant to the organization’s success.
- Call 3: Discuss how to review all insights gathered from internal and external analysis to identify, define, and prioritize future skills based on impact and urgency.
Guided Implementation 3: Conduct a skill gap analysis
- Call 1: Establish the degree of technology investment needed to support a skill gap analysis and determine how skills data will be stored and managed.
- Call 2: Identify the most suitable method to assess employee skill proficiency and identify skill gaps.
- Call 3: Discuss how to translate skill gaps into learning needs.
Guided Implementation 4: Develop learning initiatives
- Call 1: Discuss how to design and implement learning initiatives that address skill gaps.
- Call 2: Discuss how to continuously monitor the progress of learning initiatives and assess their effectiveness to ensure the goals of the upskilling program are met.
- Call 3: Review future skills identification process.
Contributors
- Ben Cowan, Director of Skills & Talent Strategy, Degreed
- Heidi Kirby, Founder and Learning & Development Consultant, Useful Stuff
- Jon Kaplan, Principal and Founder, Corvantus Consulting
- Mark Peters, Learning & Leadership Development Specialist, Public Health Ontario
- Siobhan Calderbank, Vice President, Talent & Performance, Element Fleet Management
- Ted Kitterman, Content Manager, Great Place to Work US
- Vinutha Kini, Lead Upskilling and Reskilling, E.ON Technology
- One Anonymous Contributors
Create a Learning and Development Strategy
Develop a Leadership Strategy to Drive Organizational Results
Upskill for the Future
Reimagine Learning
Integrated Leadership