As companies brace for tighter budgets in 2023, one talent acquisition strategy might be sitting right under your nose–if you’ve developed a coaching culture along the way.

The strategy is reskilling: the act of training existing employees to prepare them for lateral or departmental moves within the company–and it’s one of the most cost-effective ways to bolster your talent bench.

“Reskilling is different from upskilling,” said Nicole Husband, VP of people and culture at Warner Bros. Discovery. “Upskilling refers to developing skills that make you more effective in your current role. Reskilling refers to developing skills that would enable a transfer into a different job or department altogether.”

Recession buzz has led many companies to keep their budgets conservative for 2023, forcing some professionals to get creative with their learning and development initiatives. By cultivating a reskilling culture now, talent leaders will not only give themselves more flexibility; they’ll also be able to identify and cultivate the cream of the hiring crop early on in the onboarding process.

“We look for people who raise their hand for new challenges,” said Jennifer Rice, SVP of learning and organizational development for Universal Music Group.

Reskilling and coaching culture were a hot topic of conversation at From Day One’s recent conference in Los Angeles. Here were some of the insights shared by industry leaders in a session entitled “How to Make Reskilling and Coaching Part of a Corporate Culture of Learning,” moderated by USA Today editor Pamela Avila.

Start with What (And Who) You Already Have

Reskilling doesn’t require additional programming. Before you try to incorporate new approaches or curriculum, first take an honest look at how well your current employees retain existing resources. “Research shows that we lose about 75% of the knowledge we gain from traditional, class-based learning,” said Kevin Meyer, PhD, an industrial organizational psychologist and VP of people insights at BetterUp, which provides coaching and development for employees. “We have to give people bite-sized pieces of learning more frequently, rather than deep intensives.” Meyer said that mixed modalities get better results, because they appeal to a number of learning styles, according to industry research.

“Budgets were tightened during the pandemic, and L&D was one of the first things to go,” said Mark Allen, PhD, professor and academic director for the graduate HR program at Pepperdine University. “When most people think of a coach at work, they think of an executive coach. But executives already have the most experience and career success. Everyone has a manager, though–the manager can fill that coach role.”

As you reskill, panelists agreed that an experiential approach yields better retention and overall results. “Seventy percent of what we learn and know how to do, we learned experientially. Try to give [a mix of] experience, coaching and mentoring, and actual instruction,” said Allen.

Of course, if your program does require funding, panelists agreed that aligning your pitch with overall enterprise objectives will be the key to getting things off the ground. “It has to drive business outcomes,” Allen added. “You’re not there just to create better leaders; you’re in business for a reason. Choose outcomes like customer service.”

Husband agreed. “Reskilling has to address the fact that we are in a labor shortage. The research says it’s much cheaper to train someone internally, reskill them, and move them, rather than try to find that person externally.”

Document Your Results, Then Share Them Loudly

The panelists spoke to shifts they’ve seen both across the industry and within their own companies. “At UMG, I oversee “U.M.SHE,” a women’s development program,” said Rice. “It’s a nine-month cohort that you apply to join.” Rice reported that 56% of participants were promoted within two months of the cohort ending, a success rate she attributed to “a blended-learning approach.” She encouraged HR leaders in the audience to be rigorous about tracking and reporting to better advocate for their departments.

“Get with your marketing departments to figure out how to spread the word on your programs,” Rice said. “Get into the habit of producing impact reports to document what worked and advocate.”

“Also shout from the mountaintop that this was a great use of your time,” added Husband.

As leadership professionals grapple with tightening budgets, it can be tempting to put learning and development investments on pause. A closing quip from Allen illustrated why such a decision sets teams back in the long run. To the hypothetical bean-counter who might ask, “What happens if we train these people and they leave?” his ready answer would be, “What happens if you don’t educate your people, and they stay?”

Nick Wolny is a senior editor at NextAdvisor, in partnership with TIME. He has previously written for Fast Company, Fortune, Business Insider, Entrepreneur Magazine, and OUT Magazine, and was named a “40 under 40” by the Houston Business Journal in 2021.