The Double-edged Sword Of Technology in Eye Care and The Increased Reliance On Skilled Staff

Dr. Gilbert Nacouzi

26 Apr, 2022

The Double-edged Sword Of Technology in Eye Care and The Increased Reliance On Skilled Staff

The Double-edged Sword Of Technology in Eye Care and The Increased Reliance On Skilled Staff

In a previous post, we emphasized the importance of upskilling and reskilling over hiring new people. The World Economic Forum estimates that in response to the changing nature of jobs, more than half of all employees around the world need to upskill or reskill by 2025. As a result of the pandemic, new research revealed that among the top companies managers, upskilling and reskilling are at 59% priority, leadership and management at 53%, and virtual onboarding at 33%. Two-thirds of the research participants agreed that learning new skills makes them more adaptable. Among the most noted skills, resilience landed the number one slot, and digital fluency came in second. Despite the fact that many optometrists have shifted to digital and been using telehealth and telemedicine before the pandemic, for the majority having to embrace telehealth and telemedicine during the pandemic was a challenge not to create a business opportunity but to prevent a skill gap from happening.

In healthcare and eye care, in particular, the skill gap resulting from the advancement of technology is not restricted to the pandemic. We’ve always been challenged by new technologies storming the market and putting our practice at the challenge of creating a competitive edge or preventing others from having a competitive advantage over our practice. Besides telehealth and telemedicine, remote working and the role of automation and Artificial Intelligence have put forward how leaders can reskill and upskill the workforce to deliver new business models in the post-pandemic era. A McKinsey research during the pandemic revealed that companies should reskill their workforces to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis. Yet a 2020 global Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study showed that “talent and skills” was the second-most underinvested area in the corporate transformation efforts. BCG study showed that to be successful, leaders of agile and digital transformations adhere to six behaviors:

  • Aligning and Empowering. Set the vision, explain the why, and then let go.
  • Continuously Learning. Seek and act on feedback.
  • Acting as One Team. Prioritize the goals of the organization over the objectives of individuals or business units.
  • Always Helping. Help teams with what they need to succeed (no request is too small).
  • A Bias to Action. Start by doing rather than planning or discussing.
  • Outcome Oriented. Talk to customers to understand what matters to them.

The World Economic Forum’s latest Future of Jobs Report outlines that half of all employees around the world will need reskilling by 2025, which means that we have a pressing societal problem to train people with the right skills to participate and take part in the current and future economy. Based on Mckinsey and BCG research there are six practical insights that can be used to upskill employees and reduce the cost of having to hire new employees:

1- Driving real business impact by Treating skilling as a business investment, not an expense;

2- Creating a blend of different skills in a specific context delivered in a single program rather than creating a module for each topic and skill;

3- Bringing the joy and curiosity of learning that children experience to adult learners;

4- Powering up reskilling by employing data to inform decision-making in every step of the learning journey;

5- Assemble your own skilling stack and identify which skills can be found and acquired in the market and which skills will need to be taught using personalized programs;

6- Empower employees to learn by providing them with the right tools, flexible resources, and supportive context to own their personal reskilling journeys.