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No more learning silos

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Photo courtesy of Skillsoft via Facebook

I’m a self-professed word nerd. In college, I loved leaving classes with a new nugget of information. And now that I’m a working professional, I get giddy at the thought of attending conferences.

 

And, even better: My employers not only encourage professional development, but expect it.

Why? Because they know educated employees drive success.

According to Kieran King, vice president, global customer insight, at Skillsoft, currently there’s a “war for talent.” And many HR departments are losing.

Some HR departments have been pretty lax in encouraging professional development and education, because, quite frankly, it wasn’t deemed important. But with workplace dynamics changing and younger, better-educated professionals coming on board, that’s no longer the case.

“The demographic shifts, revamped business models, digitization of products, rise in big data analytics and new forms of competition require organizations to fuel perpetual skill upgrades,” King said in her new whitepaper. “HR must evolve to apply new paradigms toward talent attraction, mine for unrealized capability, build rapid development tactics, implement highly effective engagement strategies and unveil succession pathways with far more innovation than they have demonstrated to date. Old assumptions and stale practices need to be abandoned. Organizations that successfully compete for talent will exploit technology to achieve a smarter way, build a healthier culture and develop a more resilient workforce.”

How?

Break down the silos between talent management and learning.

Training employees, especially with an event-centric approach, isn’t enough, King said. Instead, companies should create an environment that fosters learning and employee development. It’s about much more than setting up educational programming in an LMS and conducting performance reviews. It requires HR to adapt new roles.

kieran-king

Kieran King

“Achieving this type of symbiotic relationship between talent and learning not only dissolves silos, it also creates competitive differentiation,” King said. “Organizations that apply this modern approach build superior employer brands, entice a higher level of talent to join their ranks and optimize the existing workforce in new ways.”

 

Enter a self-developing organization.

A self-developing organization allows individuals to control their own personal development and career trajectories, King explains. This involves making information available and actionable and connecting employees with the appropriate resources.

And it starts with the top. Leaders of self-developing organizations establish and monitor goals and stay abreast of industry trends and opportunities, passing that knowledge on to their staff.

However, King said, that’s only possible by leveraging smart technology – technology that customizes individual employee needs and delivers recommendations.

In short, in a self-developing organization:

  • Learning and talent management efforts and technologies should be coupled together.
  • High-quality, curated content delivered in the context of job performance is essential.
  • Fluid talent mobility is key to keeping employees engaged and it is a competitive lever.
  • Ubiquitous access to learning – delivery at the time and place of need – is critical to knowledge acceleration.
  • The user experience must be frictionless and compelling.
  • Technology provides the ability to manage talent and deliver learning in innovative ways.
  • The power of analytics provides insights that can predict demand and serve-up hyper-personalized experiences.

“Organizations that apply higher levels of talent and learning maturity will be better able to respond to business change and will be better positioned to innovate,” King said. “Their HR direction is highly purpose-driven, with clear objectives and multi-faceted strategy. They will be undoubtedly more successful in handling dynamics that will affect adaptation and ultimately, organizational competitiveness.”

Do you have questions for Kieran King? Connect with her on Twitter.


Filed under: Learning, Organizational Behavior, Professional Development, Young Professionals Tagged: education, employees, human resources, Kieran King, Learning, LMS, Professional Development, Skillsoft, training, whitepaper

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