Is Upskilling your team Risky?

One of my goals as a founder is to ensure my team is continuously learning, upskilling and quickly applying the knowledge gained.

I wrote about it while ago about how I helped my team upskill and contributed to what they are today. Feel free to read about it here.

Yet, a question lingers in the minds of many business leaders whom I have spoken to: Is upskilling your team a risk?

My thoughts below..

The Risks?

1. Talent Loss

   One of the primary fears is that once team members acquire new skills, they might seek greener pastures. The investment in training could feel wasted if an employee leaves.

2. Potential Competition

   The people whom you developed may become your competitors. The recent things from Open AI is a prime example. The founder members of Anthropic came from open AI.

3. Upskilling can be Expensive

   Depending on the training needed, upskilling is usually an expensive thing - company size does not matter much. Its not just the money involved, but the time and effort involved to make it right is huge.

The Benefits

1. People First Approach

   Companies that invest in people for upskilling, the team members feel valued and see personal growth opportunities, they are more likely to stay engaged and committed to the organization.

2. Accelerated Innovation

   Without any doubt, Upskilling brings fresh ideas, perspectives & expertise to the team, enables better contribution in a more meaningful way.

3. Growth Mindset attract the right people

   A company known for upskilling its team often attracts more skilled professionals. Skilled people want to work where they are heard, where they can grow. This beats everything including a better package.

But, Is it risky??

Every time I talk about this subject, I cannot help but think off this interesting discussion between a CEO and CFO (I think it was originally shared by Peter Baeklund?) and the dialog goes like this:

CFO: What if we invest in developing our employees, and they leave anyway?

CEO: What if we don’t develop our employees, and they stay?

Funny isn’t it?

Here is what I believe in.

Richard Branson: “ Train people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don’t want to”.

And also, to quote from Mark Z.

The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”

This is how I sum up this discussion usually.

The Truth

Companies train people, then “some” people go off for greener pastures (which is fine), or go into business for themselves (also fine) and sometimes become your competitors too (Why not). This happens Irrespective of the size of the company - Old or new, big or small.

But remember, people moving is not only due to upskilling. Here are more relevant reasons why people quit.

Simply put, As leaders, we need to learn to live with reality and go along with the flow. Continue to focus on those who are “married” to the idea/challenge being solving.

Fun Fact: As on today, only one employee has quit my team at Techvito. When I learnt about the resignation, I felt I was partly responsible for the person who was leaving (We didn’t have an office at that time). I couldn’t sleep for four days. There after, I have learnt, I have moved on and now I am better prepared for such challenges.

Remember, everything happens for the greater good.

Let’s hear from you?

Have you ever felt that upskilling your team’s journey has been a risk or reward? What benefits or challenges have you encountered along the way?

Drop a comment below, or share your thoughts.

Thank You

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Let's Connect

Hi, I’m Sandeep Gokhale, and I'm passionate about building high-performing teams at my company, Techvito and I write about Technology, People, Processes and some more fun stuff.

Is upskilling on your agenda and need a tailored approach? Let’s connect — Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Until Next time!