Ninety percent of corporate leaders know they will face a skill gap in three to five years, according to a report from McKinsey & Company. The challenge is giving workers a sense of urgency about addressing their own skill gaps.

“The world is changing with new demands. We see this every single day. Skill development has not kept up with the pace of change,” said Steve Gilman, co-founder and CEO of OneRange, during a thought leadership spotlight session at From Day One’s September virtual conference. OneRange’s mission is to ensure employees receive the right resources.

Workers are also aware of the skill gap. A PwC report found that 77% of employees know they need to upskill and do it today. However, many company leaders say that although they offer employees online courses they can take at their desktop or allow them to go back to school to build their skills, their workers aren’t engaged, Gilman said.

So, what’s the disconnect, and how can businesses overcome it? Gillman said the key is to remove barriers to upskilling so all employees can participate and unlock their true potential.

The Problem of Low Engagement 

One reason employees aren’t participating in upskilling opportunities is a mismatch of professional development content, says Gilman. 

“If you think about everyone’s diverse functions, their needs, their flexibility, where they are in their careers, the advancement level of everyone, there’s no possible way that one format or piece of content could satisfy everyone,” he said.

A lack of time is another barrier to taking advantage of professional development programs. Employees might say, “It’s difficult to find time for training and upskilling. It gets in the way of my sales process,” or “It’s the end of the month. We’re trying to close this out. How can I possibly work on soft skills?” 

Gilman said the obvious answer to this issue is flexibility and making sure people can get the resources they need to work on professional development in a way that fits their schedule, which may be different than other employees because of the time of work they do or the fact they are in a different time zone than everyone else. 

Managers also must be aware that barriers to upskilling impact employees with less power and fewer resources disproportionally, says Gilman. 

“We often talk to enterprise companies that have reimbursement type programs, right up to a certain dollar amount (for professional development),” he said. However, “not everybody’s able to access those dollars, flip the credit and wait for reimbursement.”

What Talent Leaders Can Do 

Democratizing learning is one of the most important ways for companies to ensure everyone has access to professional development, according to Gilman. He said decentralizing discovery is an essential way to accomplish this.

“Where do I find those elements that helped me get used to the tech stack that my company operates on?” Gilman said. “If you can centralize it, you’re more often going to get the utilization that you need from people looking for anything.”

To make sure internal skill development content is flexible and personalized for employees, company leaders should consider personal interests, cultural context, job roles, learning styles, and schedules.

Another critical step is to streamline approvals for employees to access the outside tools they need, whether it is grad school classes or professional conferences.

Managers have a key role in aligning what employees want and need with what the company needs, says Gilman.

“Those are the folks that know that work functions the best, the folks that can identify the next skills that are needed, and also have the unique ability to tie it to company strategy,” he said. “They are able to give recommendations and learning pathways, things like team-based learning to get that culture going. And then learning should be instilled throughout team meetings, regular check-ins quarterly, and annual reviews.”

At OneRange, “we have seen the barriers, whether they are obvious or not, within your organization,” Gilman said. “But if you concentrate on them, and you believe your role is to make sure you take them down, you’ll have your hands full, at least for some time before you start to feel the impact. But when you do, everything gets easier and better.”

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, OneRange, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. 

Mary Pieper is a freelance reporter based in Mason City, Iowa.