The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the rate of digitalization and flexibility in workplaces. Organizations are developing their existing HR practices to stay relevant. As the millennials (age 26 to 41) make up the maximum percentage of the workforce and remote working has emerged as the norm, HR professionals are forced to embrace upskilling of employees. Upskilling is the process of uplifting existing skills to the next level. Common examples of upskilling include digital skills, analytics skills, learning multiple foreign languages etc to close the skill gaps.

Typically, upskilling occurs along a set career path, giving employees clear opportunities for advancement as they level up their skills. Upskilling can include “soft” skills that can be advanced and specialized to fill workforce skills gaps.

Reskilling means teaching employees new set of skills. Examples of reskilling are digital marketing, public speaking, data analytics, multimedia modelling etc. It provides a creative approach to employees while solving problems. The World Economic Forum estimates that half of all employees will require reskilling by 2025 due to technological advancement.

Employees become the valuable assets of an organization, because of their abilities, knowledge, and experience that cannot be replaced. So, going forward, organizations need to place emphasis and importance on the contribution that employees that they have in order to drive themselves ahead.

According to Mercer’s 2022 Global Talent Trends study, the Human Resource departments in India Inc are prioritising workforce upskilling and reskilling post pandemic as they are faced with challenges that include talent acquisition, employee engagement, loss of employees and sickness and reduced productivity during and post pandemic. The study highlights that difficulty in hiring the right talent, at the right price, and in time remains a top concern to the effect of nearly 71 per cent in 2022. In res­ponse, organizations are reforming their talent strategies focusing more on internal talent.

In India, the leading private sector bank Axis Bank in 2019 teamed up with Coursera to offer world-class learning programmes to its employees. The course offers training in subjects such as data analytics, leadership, innovative thinking and many more. These courses are being offered by some of the top universities across the globe and all the Axis Bank employees are encouraged to take up the course. 

TCS has teamed up with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) to establish an MTech programme in Industrial Artificial Intelligence (AI) for working professionals. It is an 18-month course to upskill corporate workers in AI applications.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced two new free training courses aimed at providing hands-on cloud computing skill training in a fun and engaging manner. The first initiative is AWS Cloud Quest, a new game-based role-playing experience designed for early-career or new-to-cloud adult learners. The second initiative is AWS Educate, which provides self-paced training and resources, and ten hands-on labs in the AWS Management Console, to allow learners to practice their skills.

According to a global talent search report 77 per cent of Indian HR professionals whose organisations undertook reskilling and upskilling had to request their employees to do so. Indian organizations don’t rely much on gig economy. They use gig employees just to fill gaps.

India’s New Education Policy 2020 has taken a significant step of shifting its focus to skill-based education. Skill based education is the need of the hour. Multiple reports of HRD ministry have indicated that more than half of employees will require extensive retraining and upskilling. Not just in terms of technical ability, but also knowledge of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. However, soft skills such as communication, attention to detail, and listening must also be improved. The list also includes manners and etiquettes, hygiene and knowledge of current affairs.   

The employment opportunities in Industries such as intelligent automation and artificial intelligence are on a rise and it is said that these industries are expected to disturb the global workforce, necessitating the reskilling of up to 120 million workers. Organizations are always in search of employees with skillsets having both hard and soft skills are the ones who can lead the organizational success. Another fact is that the best candidates will always settle in organizations that offer upskilling and reskilling opportunities. Employers who provide professional development through on-the-job mentoring will attract better workforce.

A Forbes report says that the top trending jobs will be high demand: Blockchain Programmer, Specialist in Artificial Intelligence (AI), JavaScript Programmer, Robotic Process Automation, Back-end Programmer, Innovation Manager, Design thinkers, Engineer for Site Reliability, Customer Service Representative, Specialist in Cybersecurity, Python Programmer etc.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), 60% of the formal employment in India will be prone to automation. Thus, automation implies at a micro as well as a macro level. Automation will also bring changes in skill demand, gender disparity in workforce and re-organization. The concept of ‘skill’ will increasingly denote worker’s adaptability to work with or around automation. Automation involves reskilling the workforce. Furthermore, the concept of ‘smart’ work and demand for specific skills will encourage educational institutions to redesign higher education and training and train students to be job ready. The challenges that this digital transformation taking places before the Indian policymakers is both technical and ethical.

Post covid majority of workforce is experiencing “Burn-out” which is a syndrome resulting from chronic job stress that has not been successfully managed. Employees are seeking new places because of burnout and also because they don’t feel respected and protected by employers. I am of a firm opinion that reskilling, upskilling or continuous learning is need of the hour. Lifelong learning is an indispensable tool for every career and organisation.

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has taken a biggest step towards helping its employees to battle domestic abuse. For the first time in India Inc, HUI has coded a policy to protect its staff from domestic abuse. This is significant as it extends the responsibility of a company towards employees’ well-being beyond the office and into the employee’s personal and home life. HUL has designed and implemented this policy at a time when a significant number of its workforce is working from home. The HUL policy aims to protect and provide assistance to staff members who are fighters of abuse, or acts of emotional and physical abuse beyond the office.

Anuradha Razdan, HUL executive director (HR), says “We want to stand up as advocates for change that we would like to see in society by proactively coming up with a policy which calls out to our employees: ‘If you are someone who has faced this and wants to come out and talk, the organisation is here to support you’.”

The UN has described the worldwide increase in domestic abuse as a “shadow pandemic” alongside Covid-19. Globally cases have increased by 20% during the lockdown, as many people are trapped at home with their abuser.

Workplace is evolving; in the area of human resources organizations are adopting and encouraging practices to improve employees’ well-being. Working from home affects every employee perversely depending on their responsibilities and living situations. For example, workers with younger children need to balance keeping them occupied while trying to keep up with work tasks. And the same goes for those with elder-care responsibilities. Understanding employee needs is crucial. For the first time in history, organizations have realised that they need to have open conversations with their employees about how and when work can be accomplished without intruding on employees’ privacy. Organizations are offering a wider range of options for flexibility, such as more freedom when assignments need to be turned in or adjusting work hours per day to allow more time to care for children and elders. Employee mental and physical health is important for effective work – life balance. 

Domestic violence cases are increasing, as employees began working from home after worldwide lockdowns imposed to combat covid-19, and has become a greater concern for organizations. According to HUL, one in three women and one in seven men are abused at some point in their life. HUL looked at this fact, which is the right direction. The new policy will certainly increase productivity positively and contribute to the well-being of their employees.

According to a law firm DSK Legal, the policies of harassment, the POSH Act, are limited to workplace harassment. Now, as the home is extended workplace, it may be a good idea to actually cover up even those bullies. HUL’s initiative could set a precedent for India Inc., which has adopted HR policies with the aim of making workplaces fair and inclusive.

Standard Chartered has developed a toolkit that provides examples of the various mechanisms that can be taken into attention when attempting to support victims of domestic abuse. It also provides a range of available resources for doing so. Standard Chartered Bank has made announcement for its LGBT + employees. It will extend medical and domestic relocation benefits to its LGBT+ employees and their partners in India. All personnel will now be able to declare an LGBT+ partner as an eligible beneficiary under the bank’s medical reimbursement policy. The declared partner will also get covered under the domestic relocation policy. Organizations are showing they care for their employees.

Last year Tata Steel introduced a policy on employee partners who identify themselves as part of the LGBT + community to take advantage of HR benefits permitted by law.

LaliT Suri Hospitality group too proudly identifies itself as an LGBT-friendly workshop. The idea is to provide more appropriate opportunities to people in the community and to stop any form of stigma attached to them that could prevent them from getting employment.

More recently, cricketer Virat Kohli’s decision to leave the on-going India-Australia tour as his wife Anushka Sharma expects their first child has also highlighted more men seeking paternity leave and increasing participation in chores at home. Kohli truly personified a perfect example of how men must be evolved in wife’s pre and post childbirth event.

In a new policy announced in August, Zomato’s food ordering platform allowed all women (including transgender people) to use up to 10 days of periodical leaves in a year. Zomato wants to foster a culture of trust, truth and acceptance. Zomato understands that men and women are born with different biological realities. The organization wants to make sure that it brings out innovative HR polices as 35% of Zomato’s employees are female.

Today, organizations are faced with an ever-increasing complexity on their side of the employment pact. Purpose for working and respect has gathered central importance for employees. This fact calls for strong relationships between employer and employee and is expanding the management thought process in strengthening employee value. Success is not simply about creating a good customer experience; it is also about generating a more engaging and rewarding employee experience.

Today’s workforce which includes a cross-section of Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z has distinct wants, needs and ways of thinking. This has increased the level of leadership complexity and requires more tailored solutions catering to desires for both flexibility and sovereignty in terms of Employee Value Proposition (EVP). To attract and retain talent, leaders must demonstrate their commitment to the needs and success of their incongruent workforce.