Harnessing the skills of a workforce and leveraging them in the right direction is an important business strategy, Skills Australia has revealed in a study.
Adopting a skills utilisation approach can enhance a business’s productivity and efficiency – while also making employees and apprentices or trainees feel more valuable within an organisation.
“When an employee feels their skills are being used and their talent nurtured, our research has found that it pays dividends in innovation, business efficiency and productivity,” Skills Australia chief executive Robin Shreeve said.
Harnessing the skills of your workforce, including those completing school-based apprenticeships, can aid in the development of their abilities, maximising value and benefit for businesses.
Strategies for skills utilisation identified in the Better Use of Skills, Better Outcomes report include a number of practices which employers can adopt to capitalise on the abilities of staff members.
“By enabling measured risk-taking and providing opportunities for staff to have a say in business processes, managers can encourage creativity and innovation in their employees,” Mr Schreeve said.
Other practices highlighted by the report were knowing the current skill set and knowledge of employees through a skills audit, developing existing abilities through training and mentoring, applying new skills in a practical approach and allowing staff members to play a part in decision making.
