SLOANREVIEW.MIT.EDU FALL 2019 MIT SLOAN MANAGEMENT REVIEW 9
of older current and retired subject matter
experts to provide instruction to field-
based technicians. This upskilling was
particularly crucial when technicians
encountered problems with legacy tech-
nologies unfamiliar to them.
In some cases, the experts worked with
the technicians in the field, but geographic
dispersion of expertise is increasingly a
challenge — so the link between the two
is now often virtual. While virtual commu-
nication via telephone, emails, and chat
rooms has been important, in some cases
it was not enough.
Sunderman told me that he and his
team have partnered with augmented real-
ity technology companies to develop new
equipment and software tools that supple-
ment the conversation. For example, some
field technicians are equipped with aug-
mented reality goggles that enable their
office-based expert coaches to see what the
technician sees in the field. The experts can
then talk technicians through the solutions,
assisting them in real time to become more
skilled in the older technologies.
THERE IS MUCH we can learn from these
three examples. They show the real bene-
fits of thinking creatively about these
challenges while considering them from a
wider systems perspective. This creativity
is crucial if we are to support the many
millions of people around the world who
will rely on upskilling or re-skilling to
remain productive.
Lynda Gratton (@lyndagratton) is a professor
of management practice at London Business
School and director of the school’s Human
Resource Strategy in Transforming Compa-
nies program. She is coauthor of The
100-Year Life: Living and Working in an
Age of Longevity(Bloomsbury, 2016).
Comment on this article at http://sloanreview
.mit.edu/x/61109.
Reprint 61109. For ordering information, see page 4.
Copyright © Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
- All rights reserved. A version of this article, titled
“New Frontiers in Re-Skilling and Upskilling,” was
published online.
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