Beat Time & Manager Barriers: Unlock Engagement with Employee Upskilling

If it feels like every conversation in HR and leadership circles revolves around upskilling lately, you’re not imagining it. The pace of change is dizzying: by some estimates, about a third of the skills needed for the average job have changed since 2021, and the World Economic Forum thinks almost 60% of the global workforce will need to be reskilled by 2030.

Yet on the ground, most employees are not keeping up. Gallup’s latest U.S. workplace research shows fewer than half of workers engaged in any training or education for their current job in 2024. CHROs are sounding the alarm too: nearly six in ten say employee development is one of their biggest challenges, up sharply from the year before.

That disconnect isn’t just an HR headache; it’s a business problem. Gallup’s meta‑analysis suggests organizations could see 18% higher profits and 14% greater productivity simply by doubling the share of employees who feel they have opportunities to learn and grow.

Think about what your team could achieve if everyone felt confident to take on the next challenge. Right now, only one in three employees hoping to move into a new role strongly believe they have the skills to excel. No wonder turnover is a constant worry.

Below are three critical insights from Gallup’s research and related studies that every manager, HR leader and business owner should consider when designing career development strategies.

1. Time and Manager Support Are the Biggest Barriers to Development

When Gallup asked employees, managers and HR leaders why development stalls, a single theme emerged: time away from daily responsibilities. 89% of CHROs, 37% of managers and 41% of employees cited lack of time as the top barrier. Many workplaces still view training as something that happens off to the side, after hours or on the employee’s own dime. It’s tough to learn a new skill when your inbox is overflowing.

Time isn’t the only obstacle. Lack of supervisor support can be even more damaging. Workers who feel their manager is blocking their growth are the most likely to start looking elsewhere. Roughly two‑fifths of CHROs say the absence of direct manager support is a major obstacle to learning.

The irony? Many managers themselves have never been developed. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report finds that less than half of managers worldwide have received management training, and untrained managers are much more likely to be disengaged. If leaders don’t know how to grow, they can’t grow others.

This section of the research underscores a sobering fact: only 45% of U.S. employees participated in job‑related training in 2024. Without intentional efforts to make learning a priority and equip managers to champion employee development programs, employees will continue to view development as optional — and attrition will follow.

2. Training Is Misaligned With Business and Employee Needs

When CHROs were asked which skills matter most, leadership and management skills and technical/digital skills topped the list. Employees agree: after role‑specific training, leadership and technical skills are the most frequently cited as beneficial for career growth. Yet the trainings delivered most often last year were compliance, harassment prevention and other mandatory sessions. These classes are essential for legal and safety reasons but don’t build future‑ready capabilities.

This mismatch represents a huge opportunity. Rather than spending the bulk of the development budget on checkbox trainings, organizations can reallocate resources toward the skills that actually move the needle: leadership, communication, project management and emerging digital tools.

In fact, employees overwhelmingly value growth: 93% say well‑planned training boosts their engagement, 68% see training and development as the most important company policy and 94% would stay longer if their employer invested in their learning. When training aligns with business goals and personal aspirations, everyone wins.

3. Employees Are Seeking Growth Outside the Company

If employees can’t find meaningful growth opportunities internally, they will look elsewhere – or leave. Gallup found that 58% of workers sought learning experiences beyond what their employer offered. Popular choices included external technical courses, certification programs, professional conferences, continuing education and mentoring or coaching. This self‑directed learning reflects both a hunger for growth and frustration with in‑house programs.

Forward‑thinking organizations are responding by building broader ecosystems of development. Several of Gallup’s Exceptional Workplace Award‑winning companies go beyond formal training, offering perks like tuition reimbursement for graduate degrees, structured mentoring programs and AI‑driven talent marketplaces that match employees to open roles, project opportunities and personalized learning paths.

These initiatives connect learning directly to career mobility and business outcomes. They also provide the variety and flexibility that employees crave: 68% prefer to learn at work, 58% want to learn at their own pace and 57% expect on‑demand, just‑in‑time lessons.

Companies that encourage outside learning and integrate it with internal pathways create a win‑win: employees get the development they want, and the organization builds a pipeline of future‑ready talent.

Building a Culture of Continuous Growth

What does it look like to respond to these insights?

• Integrate learning into the flow of work. Make short, modular content available when people need it, not months in advance. Encourage on‑the‑job coaching and job‑shadowing.
• Equip your managers. Invest in management training so leaders understand how to support growth. Provide them with tools to track progress and have meaningful development conversations.
• Prioritize skills that matter. Balance compliance with leadership training, communication and digital upskilling. Involve employees in choosing topics – they know where they’re struggling.
• Remove logistical barriers. Embed learning into paid working hours to eliminate the “I don’t have time” excuse. Offer stipends or partnerships with external providers for specialty skills.
• Celebrate progress. Recognition matters. Employees are more likely to engage with learning when their efforts are acknowledged.

Making Recognition Part of Development with Gift Card Rewards

That last point – recognition – is where many organizations stumble. When time is tight, celebrating someone for completing a course or mentoring a colleague can fall by the wayside. Yet recognition is a powerful motivator. Enter the Engage2Reward™ Gift Card Ordering Platform, a rewards and incentives suite designed to make acknowledging employee effort simple and flexible.

The Engage2Reward Platform isn’t just about sending gift cards for birthdays. It offers tools that dovetail perfectly with learning initiatives:

• A self‑service portal that lets HR teams and managers purchase gift cards in bulk from over 300 brands. You can hand out a small token the moment someone earns a certification or completes a challenging module.
• The Engage2Reward™ Choice Card, which gives recipients the freedom to redeem their reward across more than 250 e‑gift card options. Employees can choose something that truly motivates them.
• The Reward Connect™ Gift Card API, which integrates directly with your existing HR or learning system. That means you can automate rewards: when an employee completes a course, the system triggers a gift card without anyone needing to log in.
• Reporting and analytics dashboards that show you how rewards are being used and which programs drive engagement. Data helps you fine‑tune your approach.
• Simple integration and dedicated support, so administrators don’t get bogged down. Your team can focus on strategy rather than logistics.

Using the Engage2Reward Platform, you could set up micro‑incentives for completing modules, a larger reward for earning an industry certification or a recognition program for managers who invest time in coaching. Because everything can be automated via the API, employees get immediate, meaningful reinforcement without manual tracking.

The Bottom Line

Upskilling isn’t a buzzword – it’s a business imperative. The skills employees need today will be different tomorrow, and your people know it. Half of U.S. workers did no training whatsoever last year, yet they’re craving growth and are willing to invest their own time when companies make it possible. Organizations that remove barriers, align training with real needs and recognize progress will enjoy a more capable, loyal and engaged workforce. Those that don’t will watch talent walk out the door.

By combining robust development programs with strategic incentives through tools like the Engage2Reward Platform, you can shift learning from an afterthought to a core part of your culture. Your managers, HR team and business results will thank you.