Digitalisation now more accessible to SMEs, but rapid change means upskilling is key: panel
DIGITAL technology has become accessible and affordable even for small businesses, but up-to-date skills are crucial in this transformation, said panellists at the annual SkillsFuture Forum on Tuesday (Jul 4).
“Some years ago, it would have been a lot more expensive for a small company to even host its own website, have its own database,” noted SkillsFuture Singapore chief executive Tan Kok Yam. “But now with cloud technology and software-as-a-service, suddenly that becomes accessible not just to companies, but even to individuals.”
This “democratisation of technology” has opened more possibilities not just to large companies, but small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well, he added.
Yet rapid technological change means that workers need to regularly update their skills, said panellists at the forum, which was on the theme of “Digital Upskilling for Business and Career Growth”.
There is always a risk that skills may “depreciate” in value, said Aslam Sardar, CEO of the Institute for Human Resource Professionals.
He cited a LinkedIn study, which found that 25 per cent of the skills listed in 2015 were no longer relevant. For Singapore, that figure is higher, at 36 per cent.
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“It is almost existential, and a competitive advantage for both the enterprise and the individual, to upskill,” said Aslam.
However, upskilling does not have to require large financial or time commitments, noted the panellists.
Instead of formal training courses, workers can consider free online resources online and the possibility of “micro-learning”, said Aslam. Training providers could break up their programmes into smaller, “bite-sized” sessions.
At hospitality company Deli in the Park, formally recognising a wider range of training types – which could include micro-learning – has helped workers to continually attend training, said its CEO Lee Kian Chong. “I think it’s a balance between informal training, through methods such as on-the-job training, and various forms of formal learning, micro-learning, et cetera,” he added.
To meet their own demand for digital talent, companies can take four approaches, said Lee Hui Li, managing director of Microsoft Singapore.
The first two approaches are recruiting new talent, and developing existing employees by upskilling them in digital technologies.
Third, they can “borrow” expertise by collaborating with partners outside of their organisation. Finally, they can automate their processes, which frees employees up for “more value-added” and human capital-related skill sets, she added.
Indeed, in the digitalisation journey, non-digital skills such as communication, critical thinking and collaboration are critical too, said the panellists.
With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) that can do things faster and more accurately, it is not enough for human employees to be accurate and hard-working, said Aslam.
But thinking can provide an edge: being able to analyse AI data and draw lessons from it.
Human resources (HR) expertise is also helpful. For instance, when automation means that workflows and processes must change, HR can look at how to redesign jobs accordingly, said Aslam.
HR is “indispensable” in ensuring that employees are on board with business transformation, he added. He cited a Stanford study’s findings which showed that for every dollar spent on machine learning technology, companies needed to spend nine dollars on human capital areas – change management, training, reskilling, communicating and persuading employees.
Ultimately, mindsets are key to effective upskilling, stressed the panel.
Said Microsoft’s Lee: “Technology is not the challenge – it’s already available, and there’s a lot of support from government grants that’s helping our SMEs to embrace it.”
Rather than wondering whether or not to engage in upskilling, companies should see the need for a culture of innovation, because innovation has become critical for survival, she said. The motivation for upskilling cannot just be top-down, and workers themselves must see upskilling as part of their career development, she added.
“Put the onus on individuals to say, ‘I want to invest in myself because this is critical for my career progression’,” she said. “Then it becomes a partnership, versus ‘So-and-so asked me to do it, I have to clock thirty hours so that I’m checking the box’.”
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