“The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.” — Henry Ford, Founder, Ford Motor Company
The present market climate is fast-paced, challenging and constantly evolving. Global leaders in the top echelons of management need the skills to meet ever-new conditions, so their development as leaders and as well as that of the organization cannot be left to chance. Employee training provides a good learning and growth approach, so their leadership skills are constantly sharpened. This constant upskilling is provided by the Learning and Development function of the HR department. By developing talent, honing skills and providing expertise, it aims to enhance group and individual performance. Research shows that having strong learning functions helps in employee retention too.
Why do we need to train?
Learning and development, also referred to as training and development, is part of the talent management policy of an organization and is intended to integrate group and individual goals and results with the overarching vision and goals of the organisation.
Hence the HR function is responsible for:
- The growth of talent
- Recognising the gaps in skills between groups and teams often by SMART goals
- Doing performance assessments and one-to-one interviews and
- Finding appropriate training to fill these gaps.
Evolution of talent development
Over the past decade, due to a variety of factors, the global workforce has been continuously changing. The mix of workforce is being reshaped by
- Increasing competition in the market
- Growing uncertainty
- Digital revolution
In the meantime, continuing ambiguity, a multigenerational demographic, and a shorter shelf life for skills have put a premium on reskilling and upskilling. Naturally, technology is a driving force behind a lot of change, revolutionizing workplaces and learning. Over the past few years, it has itself undergone a constant revolution.
Earlier corporate learning happened face to face in front of the trainer in a classroom. Today, there are many ways in which learning can happen, and chances are, unless it’s virtual, it won’t be in a classroom and it won’t be one trainer delivering a certain piece of content while everyone else is listening. Most definitely, it will be tech-enabled, i.e. either virtual or peer-to-peer learning. It could be a podcast, a TED talk, a YouTube video, and the alternatives in today’s world are infinite.
Organizations today are using new and evolved learning and development strategies and have basically divided the function into 5 key areas.
L&D executives aim to develop and shape a learning strategy based on the company’s business and talent strategies. The learning plan aims to encourage professional growth and develop skills around the enterprise, on time, and in a cost-effective manner. In addition, the learning approach tries to reinforce the culture of the organization and motivate employees to live the values of the company.
Recently, reskilling has become an integral part of any organization’s growth. Often, many positions remain empty for months or even years due to a lack of the right talent to fill them. This affects not only the organization’s productivity, but interferes with team dynamics as well. While the supply of applicants in the market is continuously increasing, there is a dearth of skilled talent and hence the organization cannot depend solely on recruitment and talent acquisition. The need of the hour is to constantly train, develop and upskill existing workforce. This helps in keeping them relevant with the recent trends and saves the company’s hassle of hiring new employees. Further, internal movements are faster and more efficient. It is in line with Maslow’s Theory, where personal growth of the employee leads to greater job satisfaction and better productivity. These needs are met by dedicated, personalized learning and development modules developed for the organization.
Organizations effectively training their employees
Few organizations are performing quite well in the learning and development front.
- Amazon’s ‘Career Choice’
A program that provides employees access to educational benefits after being a part of the company for as little as one year. The program also provides up to 95 percent tuition and fee coverage along with textbook reimbursement rates. While receiving a certification or associate degree, applicants may have access to up to $12,000, as long as they take classes in in-demand niches.
- Pixar
Learning and Development offers a boost to creativity in organizations as well. Consider Pixar, which has a dedicated L&D wing called ‘Pixar University‘. It provides training and other learning programs for various disciplines to its employees. As a result, employees feel empowered to make better decisions. The company believes that learning is more effective as a team, and hence runs dedicated programs. As a result Pixar often produces marvelous pieces of work that gathered great success. Further, an ecosystem of learning encourages more and more employees to enroll for such learning programs, creating value for the organization.
Thus companies that prioritize Learning and Development have seen changes in terms of attraction of talent, employee engagement, market position, and more. Furthermore learning and development leaders believe that the skills required for today’s workforce have changed due to the rapidly shifting demands of the industry and would change even faster in the coming times. Companies would be focusing on individualized training which would enable their employees to create an ever-growing constellation of nano-degrees that would supplement their skills and interests. There would be a paradigm shift from Learn-to-Work to Work-to-Learn models and instead of providing training on need-to-know or an as-needed basis employees will be able to pull down training anywhere and anytime.
Written By
Shristi Shukla
Under the tutelage of The HR Club
IMI-New Delhi
HR Panorama 