As we are reminded every day, everything has changed. It’s been disrupted. From the way we communicate
to the way we learn; we are all dealing with the realities of the new normal.
In our new normal, I have been working on many talent development engagements that embrace the many new ways to learn like virtual business simulations, asynchronous content paths, pod projects, whiteboards, Teams rooms, and many other cool and effective ways of learning.
One huge issue that doesn’t seem to be addressed in this new environment is clearly defining the level of accountability of today’s employee in the corporate learning process. In recent times, if you were an employee within a big company and were selected to go to a leadership development program, you would travel to some nice place, eat nice food, sit and a big room and have someone talk at you. You probably took notes, but in general, the instructors did most of the work and your company paid the bill. Now, we have multichannel delivery modes of learning and there seems to be a shift in this dynamic and more pressure on the learner to be accountable for participating and applying their learning.
According to McKinsey & Co, “Workers across industries must figure out how they can adapt to rapidly changing conditions, and companies must learn how to match those workers to new roles and activities”. That is a very different approach than most employees are ready for. If this is true, and I believe it is, then the question to be answered by us all is, “Who is responsible for the upskilling and reskilling of employees – the employer or the employee?
If people are a company’s greatest asset, then is human capital management part of the overall business strategy and something that is most critical for continued success? We have seen and experienced many great companies using this time to rethink their entire approach to work and learning. I have consistently called this the “Work-Learning-Life Balance.”
Employers around the world have realized that upskilling and reskilling employees during disruptive times is absolutely critical to both long-term and short-term success because they will help you navigate the disruption strengthen the business for the next one.
As we know from the shortage of talent, employees with highly developed skills and tools are extremely hard to find. And that is not going to change for years if not decades. As a result, companies are forced to invest in the talent development of their workforces just to stay competitive.
But that’s not where this conversation ends. There is another conversation to be had about employees and their role in the disruption and process of talent development. Employees need to understand that the business is changing rapidly, and they can’t sit back and wait for their companies to provide them with training. Employees need to take much more ownership and position themselves for the disruption of the business now and into the future.
The biggest difference today is that because of the evolution of virtual learning, there is more and better learning available now than ever before. Learning pathways, videos, eLearnings, simulations, and other technologies are just a few of the learning solutions available to interested learners.
To achieve success, employees must take ownership of their own development and do whatever it takes to acquire and apply the skills they need. This means doing pre-work, participating in self-study, allocating time to read, and other activities that support your learning. While it is important for employers to provide training and career opportunities it is also important for employees to embrace and take responsibility for taking advantage of the opportunities for learning. Doing this will make you indispensable.
