Upskilling employees: where to start?

Download the PDF version here.

Employees need both hard skills and soft skills to navigate a fast-changing world and steer your company in the right direction. Here are some pointers to get you started.

Digital literacy can potentially help your organisation prepare for tomorrow's changes.

Examples of digital skills critical in your business:

• Digital Marketing
• eCommerce
• Handling Digital Payments
• Digital HR/payroll

Meanwhile, data-driven decision making skills empower your employeers to make sense of data using their analytical skills, so that they can respond quickly to your fast-paced business environment.

Here are some skills your employees should master:

• Analytical Reasoning
• Business Analysis

While hard skills are essential, soft skills have a longer shelf life, and not only help employees work with others, but also bring new ideas to the table.

Highly rated soft skills in the workplace include:

• Creativity
• Collaboration
• Persuasion
• Emotional Intelligence

Selling skills are just as essential as ever to most enterprises, whether it is selling to consumers, effectively managing a sales team, or conducting business at the highest level.

Some useful sales skills your employees need:

• Product Knowledge
• Strategic Prospecting Skills
• Active Listening
• Demo Skills
• Closing Techniques
• Post-Sale Relationship Management

Consider investing in cross-functional skill sets such as creativity, innovation, design thinking, collaboration, and problem solving.

A few areas your employees should consider:

• Understanding your industry's trends and paradigms.
• Basic knowledge of the ins and outs of business.
• A broader context for your employees' specialised skill set.
• Understanding human behaviour through psychology or sociology.
• A broad knowledge on relevant topics like law, economy, and software development.

Invest in adaptability.
Change is the only constant in business, and your employees need to be responsive and resilient in the face of changes.

Skills that boost adaptability include:

• Collaboration
• Problem-solving
• Creative and strategic thinking
• Critical thinking
• Research

myClass by British Council Malaysia helps your employees improve their English proficiency level.

Web Development Bootcamp by The Next Academy teaches the ins and outs of the web and app development.

edX offers free online courses from computer science to marketing.

Open University Malaysia offers a Diploma/Degree in Human Resources Management for self-learners.

Quorse is a course marketplace platform with courses on various industry-relevant subjects.

The CrashCourse YouTube channel offers free video courses on subjects like economics, statistics, and psychology.

Leverage free and HDRF-claimable programmes by MDEC-approved trainers.

GrowthX helps your enterprise master today's in demand skills such as growth marketing, UX design and business growth.

Beyond4 provides IR4.0-related training in line with the national agenda, including system integration and process digitisation.

Cybiant offers certification programmes for agile project management, digital transformation, service automation and more.

PMO Innovations has a self-paced online programme providing a structured approach for developing workplace compentencies.

Complement your efforts with these MDEC programmes to stay afloat.

SME Digital Quickwins connect SMEs with technology solution providers for instant access to free and discounted services that enable business continuity and better management of day-to-day operations.

Register at bit.ly/SMEquickwins

100 Go Digital provides in-depth assistance that helps traditional Malaysian SMEs in key sectors integrate and familirise themselves with today's latest digital technologies. Launched in Langkawi, going nationwide soon.

SME Business Digitalisation Grant provides a 50% matching grant of up to RM5,000 per company for the subscription of digital solutions such as ePoint-of-Sale, digital marketing and eCommerce
Apply at mybsn.com.my