FRpodden #13 – Employee satisfaction, upskilling and leadership

Employee satisfaction, upskilling and leadership

A conversation with Allan Nygaard

In this episode I talk with Allan Nygaard, Nordic Regional Director at Talentsoft about employee satisfaction and company leadership. We also spend some time on how companies should work with upskilling and reskilling of employees.

What is Talentsoft?

Talentsoft is a seamlessly integrated HRIS (Human Resources Integration System). Covering the client’s needs, from sourcing of candidates, to hiring, to onboarding to performance and talent review. This tool allows companies to efficiently place their employees where they can create the most value for the business.

“Every single employee as of today have aspirations /…/ and the organization is a machinery producing opportunities, conquering new markets, and opening new business entities.”

The importance of self-management

Talentsoft conducted a survey during 2021 amongst Swedish employees. One of the key findings of the survey was that 12 out of 16 important managerial qualities were perceived to have deteriorated during the covid pandemic.

The one quality that had deteriorated the most was the ability to create community and cohesion in the workplace. With more staff working remotely there is less guidance and hands-on management being done. The absence of natural everyday encounters such as lunch, coffee or afterwork socialising affecting colleagues the most.

The role of the manager has become more important than ever.

“A result of the pandemic is that we indirectly made our employees autonomous. “

However, there were also signs of increased efficiency and engagement. Employees reported to have freed up time by working from home and were using this resource to reach back into their organisations to assist in other projects. People making themselves available and stepping into other teams to collaborate.

Allan exemplifies with Talentsoft, where new departments and entities have started to speak with each other. Efficiency in the organisation have increased by cutting lead time and middle management. A result of the pandemic is that we indirectly made our employees autonomous says Allan.

Upskilling and reskilling

Another insight that was generated during the pandemic is the importance of upskilling and reskilling employees. Many companies per default try to recruit new employees, instead of considering upskilling and reskilling. It’s common to believe you organisation have a skills gap, but how can you know if you haven’t thoroughly mapped the skills and knowledge of the current workforce. There are many upsides and untapped potential within organisations.

You have a lot of assets in your employees. It will also show that you care about your employees and be a statement for your employer branding.

This is achieved by combining the overarching strategic vision of the company with the people strategy. Companies need to identify the skills gap and at the same time prepare themselves for what kind of skills will be most important in the future.

A huge thank you to Allan Nygaard for taking his time to join the FRpodden Podcast.