The 5 challenges businesses face in upskilling their workforce

Businesses from across South Yorkshire came together to discuss the skills challenges they face when looking to upskill their staff and improve productivity.

The round table discussion, sponsored by Sheffield City Region’s Skills Bank programme, kicked off by examining the obstacles business leaders and HR managers have to overcome when they look to upskill their teams.

1. Finding time among the business as usual

“It’s still meeting business as usual,” said Natalie Buckley, head of HR at Synetiq, the £120m-turnover car salvage group created earlier this year by the merger of Motorhog, Car Transplants, FAB Recycling and DH Systems.

“Our ‘business as usual’ spiked massively because of the merger and we are one of the best in the industry too. So dealing with business as usual, and still finding time to grow and develop is hard.

“Even in our own roles in HR, you are dealing with the business as usual and running the business, and the L&D is always seen as a bolt-on but it is a fundamental part of the role really. It’s easy to say, but to do in practice can be a challenge.”

It is a challenge also faced by Diane Bunting, HR manager at Doncaster Sheffield Airport, in delivering a bespoke leadership training programme.

She said: “We managed to get 13 people through that training, and the management team have now delivered workshops to show the business plan for the airport, and also to roll out our vision and values.

“The issue was the time – managing to get people all together in sufficient numbers, minimum of 10 in one room at the same time for two to three hours away from the day job.”

2. Demonstrating value and ROI

Aleksandar Stojkovic, right

Even with that long-term commitment, there is still a requirement to show the value in each investment in skills development.

Aleksandar Stojkovic, HR Project Manager at Keepmoat Homes, said: “The board want to see tangible outputs, they want to see a return on investment, whether that’s short term or long term.

“Long term is very challenging, isn’t it? So what is short term? In our sector, short term might be 12 months, but in some sectors it might be three years. It’s trying to convince people, making the business case that it is creating and adding value.”

3. Resistance from the team and showing it’s worked

Getting people on board with the need for and value in training isn’t always easy, with most people remembering previous experiences that weren’t worthwhile.

Rob Shaw, managing director of Glu Recruitment: “I find an issue sometimes with my team’s reluctance with training.

“We are a small business and you do a lot of on the job training and coaching. But we did a couple of external training courses last year, and they felt like it was a waste of time.

“Once they’ve had that experience, it’s very difficult then to get them back bought in again saying this one will be different.”

“From a management point of view, it’s measuring their learning impact when they’re back in the workplace and seeing that embedded. Is there a change? Is there a difference? How can we talk about that, celebrate that, and measure that?”

4. Finding the right training programme and partners – at the right price

Once there is the commitment to invest time and money, businesses must then find the right training to deliver the improvements they are seeking at a price they are comfortable with.

Steve Manley

“Last year I sent a couple of people on a training course that was free, and both came back and said it was a complete waste of time. Another person went on a Dale Carnegie course, and she thought it was amazing, but it was really, really expensive.

“There is the cliche that there’s nothing more expensive than not spending money on training, but finding a balance of the right trainer or training organisation at the right level of cost is the challenge.”

Melanie Oldham, chief executive of cyber security business Bob’s Business, finds the process gets bogged down by the time it takes to identify what’s available and how that matches up with business requirements.

“For me it’s simplifying it because every business has core functionality and has core members of staff whether that’s HR, whether that’s sales,” she said.

“If you could just give me an A4 piece of paper which is the list of the individual roles, what skills training there is, and funding available that links to that, then I could just turn around and circle it – with the dates preferably.

“But the whole process of getting to that point can be weeks or months and then business gets in the way.”

5. A disconnect between the priorities of individual businesses, the local area and the Government

There are challenges for the funders and training providers too, who have to work within the confines of an ever-changing landscape.

Krysia Wooffinden, assistant director for skills and employment at Sheffield City Region, said: “Our biggest challenge is the complicated system and inflexibilities from government.

“As a region we know where we need to target investment around training. But it doesn’t always fit with the national priorities.

“Locally, we want to have that public-private commitment. We know as an economy where we need to invest in skills and training and you as a business know.

“We want to be allowed to do that locally as a joint investment. At the moment, the government system doesn’t really allow us to do that.”

If upskilling your workforce could drive growth in your business, Skills Bank can help. Part of Sheffield City Region’s business support offer, Skills Bank provides a wealth of support for upskilling your workforce. This includes support from specialist skills advisors, access to a bank of quality training providers, and funding to contribute to the cost of training. Find out more about how skills training can help your business grow at skillsbankscr.co.uk or call 03330 00 00 39.