How to upskill a team
You may need to build individual capability to get the most out of your multidisciplinary team.
Capability is the combination of skills, knowledge and attributes needed for a role.
In a multidisciplinary team you need people in specific roles to build a service. Ideally, the core team will stay the same through the service design and delivery process. Other roles may change depending on which stage of the process you’re in.
Find strengths and weaknesses
When you set up your multidisciplinary team, you’ll need to assess:
- what capabilities your team members already have
- where they may need to upskill.
You can use the Australian Public Service Commission’s digital learning standards to help decide which capabilities you need to build in your team. Once you are familiar with these, you can recognise existing and transferable skills.
Upskill
For example, you may have a team member who is working as a content designer. They also have some experience in user research. You can find out if that team member:
- is willing to build on their user research skills
- can upskill on the job
- needs training, mentoring or coaching.
Build on previous experience
Your team members may have come from other roles. They may have existing capabilities they can use in their new roles. Spend time with your team to find out what these capabilities are.
Consider the use of the Australian Public Service Commission’s APS Career Pathfinder Tool to explore digital career options across government.
For example, you may discover that a team member has written policy in plain English in a previous role. They can transfer this capability without needing to upskill.
Ways to upskill
By now you should have a clearer idea of where your team needs to upskill. There are a number of ways you can upskill your team.
On-the-job learning
People prefer to learn digital by doing digital. Team members can learn on the job from other people in your team or agency. Arrange for them to shadow those with existing capabilities so they can learn new skills.
You can also use secondments or temporary transfers to and from other agencies. This is a great way to:
- fill temporary gaps in your team
- upskill your own team members.
You can also bring in a specialist contractor on a short-term basis with the capabilities the team needs to work on your service. Make it clear that they will need to upskill team members as part of their work. Ensure they are aware of this from the start, so you get the right person for the job. This way, the capabilities stay in your agency.
You can also encourage your team members to join a cross-government community of practice on the Digital Profession.
Coaching and mentoring
Coaching and mentoring provide opportunities to learn and develop. Be clear on which one of these you need for your team.
Coaching is usually done with a peer of similar experience. A coach:
- helps work out goals and a plan to achieve them
- helps to identify obstacles
- works with people to solve problems
- checks in regularly until the goals are achieved.
Peer-to-peer coaching
Brainstorming ideas and working on solutions with a colleague is a form of peer-to-peer coaching. Mentoring is done by someone with greater expertise and knowledge in an area of learning. A mentor:
- upskills the other person by passing on knowledge
- knows how to ask the right questions
- empowers the mentee to achieve their objectives
- helps develop the mentee for current or future roles.
Find out what coaching or mentoring opportunities your own agency offers or explore opportunities outside your agency. You can then decide on the best option for your team. Your decision may also depend on costs and business objectives.
Training
Decide what training your team needs and consider how it will be delivered. This training can be:
- delivered in-house at your agency
- procured through a training provider
- completed through an existing course
- on the job learning.