How to enable the learning revolution at the workplace
Not only are millennials driving the experience economy, they want to derive valuable experiences at work too which is why they are invested in learning and development
Technological advancements are disrupting established business processes and this has interesting implications on workplaces. Finding the right candidates who not only meet the current needs of the job but also adapt and acquire new skills is posing to be a big challenge. It is also important to bear in mind that learning is contextual i.e. organizations are increasingly becoming more and more complex and hence, job performance is not only about skills but also about deep understanding of the business context. Hence, organizations must work to instill an end-to-end cultural focus on learning if they want to meet the talent challenges that lie ahead.
HOW DO EMPLOYEES LEARN?
As early as 1910, psychologists have been fascinated by how people learn and have conducted multiple studies to understand this. Over the years, Talent Development practitioners have tried to incorporate learnings from these studies to come up with theories like Experiential Learning (Learning by doing), Communities of Practice (Social Learning) etc.
However, in an organizational setting, people learn most when faced with a challenge or need to understand something relevant to their role.
For organisations to cultivate a workforce that’s relevant and loyal, learning and knowledge transfer must integrate channels that go beyond traditional classroom techniques.
According to a Deloitte study, employees expect on-demand personalized digital learning experiences that ensure career growth and personal development.
The past three decades have had leading organisations incorporate the 70:20:10 model, suggesting learning and working should not be separated but synergized. The strategic model suggests boosting employee performance by combining all 3 types of learning: experiential (70), social (20), and formal (10).
Learning on the job (through challenging work assignments), mentorship, career and skill development programmes that promote lateral and geographical opportunities for job advancement should be key L&D practices that every organisation should offer.
For example at Uber, employees have the option of identifying an internal coach basis their specific coaching requirements and work with them to bridge the identified gaps. Along with this, they have an opportunity to participate in live sessions on specific areas which are conducted by Harvard Professors to learn using real life case studies.
WHO SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR LEARNING?
While a great deal of responsibility falls upon the employers to ensure an environment conducive to employee learning and growth, it can only extend as far as instituting policies and practices. Employees ultimately need to take charge of the career path they desire and define personal aspirations and areas of interest.
A Linkedin survey conducted in 2018 found that the biggest challenge for talent development was to get employees to make time for learning.
To overcome time constraints learning and training on-the-job must occur simultaneously. This is where the 70:20:10 principle comes to life.
Companies can provide flexible work options, where employees can choose multiple projects to work on that align to their areas of interest.
They can offer virtual learning programs that are time efficient, and talent mobility programs that optimize skilled employees and cater to career growth opportunities.
With the advent of Artificial Intelligence, the relationship between a learner and the content is also changing.
The new age tools curate and push content that is relevant, timely and customized to an individual’s learning needs and is powered by AI to become even more relevant by observing the learner’s data consumption pattern.
The content itself is now available in many formats and can be consumed on-the-go in bytesized chunks which makes learning easy and fun.
DEALING WITH THE M WORD
Not only are millennials driving the experience economy, they want to derive valuable experiences at work. Millennial employees see learning and development as growth opportunities. According to a global study, about two-thirds of millennials prefer a job that provides professional development and helps them learn advanced skills.
We are at an interesting juncture in Learning@workplaces where both organizations as well as employees are looking at career and development with a new lens.
For the millenials, career progressions also means continuous learning. This means the organizations are increasingly abandoning conventional career paths and are continuously trying to provide stretch assignments to the employment to keep them motivated.
Some organizations are also creating internal talent marketplaces which help employees identify short term and or long term opportunities to increase the depth of their expertise of current skill or build new skills and experiences. Uber is currently experimenting with creating such a platform which offers short term projects to employees and the initial results are encouraging.
Creating a learning culture that provides employee growth and development is the only way forward.
Technology might be disrupting status quo in organisations worldover. We still have the opportunity to harness its power to deploy innovative tools that ensure continuous employee learning and development.