6 strategic workforce development tips to boost organisational productivity

Don’t slip off the productivity path – prepare for change today with actionable skills-oriented advice from our specialists.

The pressure to close the skills gap and boost productivity continues to intensify. The City & Guilds Making Skills Work – The Path to Solving the Productivity Crisis report reveals that 74% of business leaders see workforce development as a key lever for productivity gains.

As the global skills partner that’s supported organisations through evolving skills landscapes for almost 150 years, we know that embedding a proactive workforce development strategy not only future proofs your business, but also drives innovation, resilience and long-term growth.

Don’t wait for change, stay on the path to productivity to ensure you remain relevant and competitive.

Follow these six actionable tips - designed for HR & L&D professionals

1. Take stock with a skills audit

Why? To form a targeted plan, you need to know what your organisation’s long term business goals are, before identifying what workforce capabilities you have and what weaknesses need addressing. We asked Gemma Edwards, our City & Guilds Skills Specialist why this is so important, she told us:

“I frequently encounter organisations that are worried about ensuring their workforce is equipped for the future and are seeking ways to proactively address the job roles and skills they will require moving forward. The initial step in this process is conducting a skills audit. A skills audit enables organisations to align their business strategy with the skills necessary to achieve their objectives. This analysis not only highlights transferable skills but also identifies gaps in the current workforce. By focusing on training and upskilling, organisations can effectively leverage their existing talent to build a future-ready workforce.” 

How? Understand what each department’s needs are, and how skills development can help support their challenges. Conduct a detailed skills audit that addresses what critical skills you need for the future mapped against the current skills within your workforce. Use sources like Skills England to align to market and industry focused demands and speak to your skills development partner to assess needs and explore solutions. This will ensure your strategies, plans and skills solutions are tailored and aligned to business strategy and will remain relevant and supportive of business growth.

2. Think like a skills-based organisation

Why? A more fluid, skills-oriented approach to workforce management and development maximises employee potential and adaptability. 

According to our Making Skills Work report, one in four employed adults lack confidence in their ability to maintain or progress in their careers due to skills gaps. As job roles evolve, offering pathways for reskilling ensures employees can transition into new or emerging roles. 

How? Focus on what your people can do and the skills they have or need, rather than job titles or experience. Develop a framework that encourages mobility within your organisation and offers structured upskilling and reskilling programmes to support staff retention, satisfaction and career changes.

3. Make flexible lifelong learning your DNA

Why? Because it’s not optional. Employees must continuously adapt and will actively seek opportunities to learn, so flexible learning cultures are vital for attracting and retaining talent. 

How? Define learning pathways for all levels and positions, including upskilling and, reskilling. Make them accessible, through diverse learning options such as online modules, microlearning, face to face delivery and mentorship programmes. Adopt learning experience platforms (LXP) to enrich the offer with personalised and on-demand content and ensure impact and efficacy across your in-house training programmes. Work with your skills development partner to ensure quality and impact, from planning, to content, to delivery.

Joe Bell, a City & Guilds Skills Specialist, says: “A flexible approach to learning is absolutely essential, particularly in organisations with mobile and hybrid teams who may find the traditional ‘classroom time’ impossible to manage. The investment in any learning programme must have some tangible impact on the individual, and organisation – although this is not always easy to measure. We help address this challenge by working with our partner employers to support the development of impact measurement frameworks and setting clear and realistic targets.”

4. Lead with heart and mind

Why? Strong emotional intelligence (EQ) has become the most pressing of human skills. Leaders and managers require essential skills to navigate transformation, disruption, multi-generational workforces, and the integration of AI.

More broadly, workforce development is not solely about technical and functional skills; it must also focus on employee well-being, because continuous learning, adapting to change, and hybrid working can all take their toll on employees' mental health.

By prioritising EQ, organisations can create a more empathetic and supportive workplace culture that supports mental health alongside enabling collaboration and innovation. Furthermore, promoting psychological safety allows employees to express their thoughts and concerns without fear, which is crucial for fostering creativity and engagement.

How? Begin by recognising that leadership works at all levels, focus on developing a talent pipeline of leaders and managers throughout your organisation. And then invest in leadership and management development programmes that focus on emotional intelligence.

Incorporate initiatives that support work-life balance, stress management, and personal resilience and consider equipping your teams with coaching skills as an in-house mechanism of support. Joe Bell highlights that, “Organisations we work with are increasingly investing in coaching skills for their teams as a way to support colleagues' well-being and confidence, leading to a more resilient, engaged and productive workforce.”

Additionally, implement regular check-ins and feedback loops to ensure that employees feel heard and valued. By creating an environment where emotional well-being is prioritised, leaders can enhance team performance and drive sustainable success.

5. Be digitally and data fluent

Why? Adapting to emerging technologies is at the core of future business success, regardless of role. And the role of data in workforce development can help to monitor the effectiveness of your learning programmes, employee engagement and performance, which is essential for optimising impact, gaining business buy-in and demonstrating return on investment.

How? Ensure access to digital literacy training across the board, in particular frontline workers that may have not had prior opportunities to develop these skills. Include basic IT skills to more advanced competencies like data analysis. Leverage data to identify high-performers and then tailor their development opportunities. Highlight where training is not performing and adjust accordingly.

6. Make friends with your skills partners

Why? Sarah Turner, our City & Guilds Skills Specialist hears from many organisations that find keeping up to date with skills policy, understanding what funding is available and knowing how and where to access it can be time consuming and confusing.

Our employer partners really appreciate our help with simplifying all of this, interpreting what it means for their organisation and how they can leverage what’s available to help them solve the challenges they are facing.

City & Guilds Skills Review sessions are a great starting point as they help to unlock those challenges and uncover the many ways that we can support them on their journey. They truly appreciate having a single point of contact to address all their skills-related needs. By strengthening relationships you’ll have access to the latest information on funding opportunities and technical and vocational skills development solutions, and you’ll feel the benefits of customised and co-designed solutions, from skills audit to impactful delivery.

How? Speak to your skills partner specialists, you can chat to ours by booking a free Skills Review session below.

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