Case Study: Do We Reskill or Replace Our Workforce?

This fictionalized case study explores the dilemma being faced by many businesses to either reskill or replace their workforces to maintain a competitive advantage in line with rapidly evolving technological advancements in the internet-of-things era. The CEO of SolidTech Innovations, a leader in elevator manufacturing for more than 80 years, believes the best course of action is to reskill the existing workforce through an opt-in program that trains the employees while the company secures the talent it needs without having to hire thousands of new software engineers. Only three years into his tenure, however, CEO Alex Rivera faces pushback from shareholders who doubt whether or not existing employees can be trained to a skill level that makes them retainable. They are concerned that SolidTech will spend millions of dollars to train existing employees only to find the need to hire new software talent, regardless. Other shareholders voiced concerns over losing the cumulative experience and essential knowledge of those employees who would reject the training and leave. As Alex weighs the pros and cons of enacting a reskilling program, two real world experts -- Paddy Hull, the global head of talent, culture and leadership at Heineken and Hayden Brown, the CEO of Upwork-- offer their advice