How to upskill your employees and prepare your business for the future

By Brad Sibbald, Sr. Vice President - Science Domain Leader, Kelly

If you’re trying to figure out how to upskill your employees, start here: it’s not about fixing deficits. The best upskilling strategies build on what your people already do well—and give them the tools, coaching, and experience to keep growing. 

For example, a data analyst might develop AI tool proficiency to enhance their existing analytical capabilities, or a sales professional might learn conversation intelligence platforms to amplify their relationship-building strengths.

That’s especially important now. With AI reshaping how we work, the age of the generalist is nearly obsolete. Technology is raising the bar on human contribution. Specialized, adaptable teams are what drive results. About half of workers say they’ve taken a class or received extra training in the past 12 months to learn, maintain or improve their job skills.

And companies that don’t invest in developing their people? They risk losing their competitive edge. They struggle with turnover, hiring gaps, and cultural stagnation.

I’ve spent the last two decades helping organizations build future-ready science and clinical teams. In this piece, I’ll share what I’ve seen work—plus what to avoid—when it comes to upskilling your workforce in a way that actually delivers ROI.

Key takeaways:

• Build on existing strengths by aligning upskilling to current capabilities, such as AI proficiency for analysts, to boost adaptability and retention.
• Invest at scale like IBM's AI Skills Academy with 10,000 learning assets, driving mobility and reducing external hiring needs.
• Tie learning to business goals by tracking metrics like time to proficiency and internal mobility to prove ROI and accelerate performance.
• Prioritize human capabilities such as emotional intelligence and cross-functional communication to strengthen collaboration in digital, decentralized organizations. 

• Avoid one-size-fits-all training by offering varied learning formats and evolving content to match shifting business needs and employee input

AI is a multiplier - but only if people know how to use it

There’s no shortage of hype around AI, but here’s how I see it: AI isn’t replacing people—it’s raising the bar for what people can do. In life sciences, AI tools can model hypotheses or surface patterns in massive datasets. But that’s only useful if someone knows how to interpret those outputs and act on them.

In fact, 69% of executives say the greater risk to jobs isn’t AI itself—it’s the failure to adopt and use AI tools, according to data from Kelly’s 2025 Re:work rReport. And yet, only 26% of employees strongly agree that their organization encourages learning new skills, according to Gallup. But a few have gotten this right at scale (or are making great efforts to).

Major companies go big on upskilling investments

We’ve seen major companies get serious about upskilling. 

IBM, for example, invested in internal upskilling at scale. That meant building AI-powered skills profiles for employees and a digital ecosystem that recommends training based on each employee’s role, interests, and future career goals. They also introduced an AI Skills Academy, giving employees access to more than 10,000 learning assets in fields like machine learning, cybersecurity, and blockchain.

Amazon’s Career Choice program pays frontline employees to pursue credentials in high-demand fields like IT, healthcare, and data analytics—often while still employed. It’s a long-term bet on mobility and retention.

And AT&T invested over $1 billion to reskill its workforce, partnering with universities to create nano-degrees in areas like cloud computing and cybersecurity.

These companies understand what’s at stake: when you don’t invest in your people, you fall behind.

The cost of doing nothing

If you don’t invest in upskilling, you’re going to pay for it elsewhere and see cultural stagnation. You’ll constantly be hiring from the outside, looking for “unicorn” candidates who tick every box. You’ll build silos instead of pipelines. You’ll lose high-potential employees because they don’t see a future with you.

We’re living in a time when most workers—especially Millennials and Gen Z—crave growth. A recent survey found that 74% of younger employees would consider leaving their job within a year if their employer didn’t offer upskilling opportunities. 

What upskilling looks like in practice

So how do you actually upskill employees in a way that works? I’ve seen a few strategies deliver real results:

1. Give opportunity for self-reflection

A few years ago, we introduced Gong, a conversation intelligence tool, to our sales teams. It records calls, surfaces coaching insights, and gives reps a chance to review real conversations. New hires could watch tenured reps in action, self-evaluate, and improve rapidly. That one shift helped our new sellers ramp almost twice as fast. 

2. Offer variety in how people learn

Not everyone learns the same way. That’s why at Kelly, we use a mix of formats—peer-led workshops, stretch projects, cohort-based learning, and even microlearning sprints or hackathons. Our Kelly Academy of Science is a great example. We bring in internal leaders, contract talent, and even clients to share insights and create learning loops across our teams.

3. Tie learning to the business

Upskilling shouldn’t happen in a vacuum. It needs to connect to the actual goals of the team or business. That’s why I encourage things like upstream/downstream awareness—knowing how your role impacts others. It makes people better at their jobs and helps the business move faster.

We also measure things like time to proficiency, internal mobility, and manager feedback post-training. If you’re not tracking those metrics, it’s hard to prove impact—or improve outcomes.

4. Make it visible and accountable

You can’t just launch a program and hope people show up. You have to build accountability—tie learning to performance reviews, give people leadership moments (like moderating team calls), and make it part of your culture.

We’ve even experimented with micro-badging and incentive systems, which we plan to expand. When people feel like their development is recognized and rewarded, they lean in harder.

The soft skills in highest demand

While technical skills like data literacy and AI tool proficiency are essential, I’d argue some of the most critical upskilling areas right now are what we sometimes call “soft skills.” Call them soft skills if you want—I think that sells them short. These are the abilities that help teams solve problems, build trust, and get things done when everything around them keeps changing.

We’re talking about:

• Emotional intelligence: Reading the room matters. Understanding how your colleagues feel and managing your own reactions helps teams work better together. It's the difference between a meeting that goes nowhere and one that actually moves things forward.
• Virtual collaboration: Remote work isn't going anywhere. Teams need to know how to use digital tools effectively, run productive video calls, and keep projects moving when everyone's in different time zones.
• Critical questioning: Good questions beat good answers. Knowing when to challenge assumptions, dig deeper, or reframe a problem can save months of wasted effort.
• Active listening: Most people listen just enough to formulate their response. Real listening—where you actually hear what someone's saying and what they're not saying—changes everything.
• Cross-functional communication: Engineers need to talk to marketers. Finance needs to understand operations. The ability to translate between different parts of the business keeps projects from getting stuck in silos.
  
  

These are the skills that help people navigate complex, matrixed organizations. And as companies become more digital, decentralized, and team-based, those human capabilities are what make the difference between good teams and great ones. Companies that prioritize these areas in their employee upskilling efforts will reap the rewards: stronger collaboration, faster problem-solving, and teams that exceed expectations.

What to avoid when upskilling your team

If I had to name the biggest pitfalls I see, they’d be:

• Top-down design: Upskilling programs built by leaders without input from the people doing the work almost always miss the mark.
  
  
• One-size-fits-all: People have different learning needs and styles. Your program needs flexibility.
  
  
• Lack of follow-through: If you offer training but don’t tie it to goals or outcomes, it becomes a checkbox. And people notice.

Upskilling can’t be static. It needs to evolve with your business. If you’re not talking about it quarterly—or better yet, building it into your everyday leadership conversations—you’re probably falling behind. Incorporate these efforts into your training programs, measure their impact, and celebrate their value.

Aim for progress, not perfection

At the end of the day, upskilling isn’t about building the perfect program. It’s about making space for people to grow—and giving them meaningful ways to do it.

It’s about showing your team that they matter, that their skills are valued, and that the company is willing to invest in their future.

Because the truth is, your people are your greatest asset. And if you want to stay competitive in a world that’s changing fast, you can’t just hire your way into the future. You have to grow it from within.