Have you asked yourself how your people feel about developing their capabilities now? Are they invigorated and have they caught the learning bug? Are they sharing new ideas and innovations with the team? Are they more efficient learners, finding new ways to get the essential facts faster than ever?
Or are they jaded, and exhausted by constant demands to divert energy when feeling under pressure from work?
If your team is anything like mine, it is a combination of all the above responses on any given day. But as a leader it is evident to me — and hopefully to my team members too — that not learning is not an option. However, we also need to be smart, and always get the best content, effectively delivered, at the best price.
More than ever, leaders need to be nurturing bosses who show team members how and where to develop their capabilities. We also need to give them a better answer to when this learning needs to take place.
Before Covid, research suggested that people had an average of 24 minutes per week to learn. What is the implication of that? Not much time for learning? Should people learn rather than work? Or learn on their own time?
Some people will learn on their own time, but many will not. Even if they did study outside work hours, the learning is effectively divorced from the work. It then needs to be filtered and placed in a work context, often unguided. The results are often less than spectacular.
During the pandemic, the experience of having people develop the skills that they — and the organisation — needed to survive was transformative. Leaders had to rethink how their people could develop in the virtual workplace. This created an entirely new understanding of what they needed to learn and when. Technology showed us what was possible.
Rapidly changing business conditions meant that our people could not take a traditional course as they would before. More time online meant they could quickly and easily find what they needed to learn without going through a centralised HR procurement process. Leaders learned to direct people where to go, and what to look for to make an immediate business impact.
Wise leaders know these changes are permanent and they will apply them to develop their people more effectively in the future. The challenge is ensuring quality, applicability, and finding the right fit in the workplace. Today there is no reason to accept less than optimal quality learning experiences or outdated approaches, even if they come with a big-brand sticker.
So, what does a leader looking to support his or her teams’ development need to consider?
Delivery Planning: I am pretty sure your 2020 and 2021 development plans went out the window as soon as Covid hit. We have learned better ways now. We can reduce costs on materials and manuals, and we can replace in-person facilitators with videos. We can take advantage of scale for a fraction of the cost of an event. We do not have to suspend business for learning.
Needs Identification: Jobs, even traditional roles, have been transformed far faster than HR can keep up. Your people now know their jobs far better than anyone else, and I imagine that in many cases what they do barely resembles their job description. Leaders need to accept that their people know what they need to learn for today, and then emphasise sharing what they will need to learn for the future.
The When of Learning: The classroom is no longer king. Learning needs to take place on and around the job. Training needs to be a tool, not an obligation. It needs to be quick and relevant, not theoretical. Leaders need to advocate reflection, sharing, and developing the wisdom of the crowd over completing classes.
Truly Useful: So much has changed so fast for your people and your customers. Most leaders will find themselves with a new generation of people in their care. This generation has grown up in a different learning environment. They demand more independent yet collaborative learning opportunities rather than having content thrown at them.
As a leader supporting learning, ensure your efforts focus on:
Efficiency: Why should people ever return to sitting in a classroom for two days? Leaders cannot afford to have individuals or entire teams out for 40% of a workweek. We cannot expect our people to work all hours to catch up. In my company, we no longer run traditional workshops for our staff or our customers. The longest sessions we run last half a day, after which we get people using what they’ve learned in the workplace, as this is what every leader needs their team to be doing.
Effectiveness: There are far better returns on investment available than those provided by traditional approaches now. There is so much global-standard quality content available for free, or almost, that traditional investment in learning makes less sense. Invest in practical, up-to-date, technology-enabled learning opportunities for your people.
Arinya Talerngsri is Chief Capability Officer and Managing Director at SEAC — Southeast Asia’s Lifelong Learning Center. She can be reached by email at arinya_t@seasiacenter.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/arinya-talerngsri-53b81aa. Talk to us about how SEAC can help your business during times of uncertainty at https://forms.gle/wf8upGdmwprxC6Ey9