As we come out of the current crisis, the current ways of organizing work will get re-defined. And so will the requirement of skills and mindsets. The pandemic has “micro-waved” the transition to an im-permanent workforce, gig economy and remote working of a larger percentage of the workforce. To seize newer opportunities for both individuals as well as organizations, both will need to reconsider and take a fresh look at learning. Building new skills and being able to apply these quickly and effectively both at an individual level and at an organisational level will be essential to ensure survival.
Learning and HR leaders are already thinking about the challenges and how to reorganize the way they design, deliver and measure the impact of L&D interventions.
Here are some reflection points for Individuals and HR and Learning leaders in this context.
- Shallow learning vs deep learning: Some topics require a high-level understanding whilst others may require deep immersion for learning and application. Creating a learning strategy would require some thinking around this aspect. e.g. where and how does a webinar or a short video fit in –what are the learning goals? Some topics may require a build-up, e.g. going from basic to advance to expert level with time or role transition. How will your learning strategy cater to this aspect? If one considers the KNOW-DO-BE framework, and if a new skill requires both Knowledge and Doing, how will the content and delivery mechanism be structured? Some of the generic, open enrolment courses may not be appropriate.
- Developing knowledge vs developing skills: Technology and un-customised or even semi-customised content has its place in developing an understanding and basic (foundational) knowledge of certain topics. Research has shown that social media learning and access to web-based information can sometimes be more of a distraction and take away from “deep work”. Individuals and Corporates need to understand that:
a. Knowledge needs to be necessarily converted to insights and then to actions in most cases. Knowing how to build a process to be able to do that is critical, else the effort on knowledge creation through learning may be wasted.
b. Building skills is different from just knowledge acquisition and may require different design principles for learning interventions. Learning facilitation processes, whether tech-based or person-based, need a different approach when skill-building is required. - Access to learning through technology platforms: Technology helps broader access to learning. There is a host of learning-related platforms available now, apart from the older LMS systems of all shapes and sizes. But by themselves, learning technology platforms do not accelerate learning. Unless there are other means to support and help learners to see the “what’s in it for me” in using the relevant platforms, it will not enable learning.
- What vs How of learning: Given the pandemic, the focus has been on a push to re-start learning and not let learning stall. However, the focus has been on the “how” – technology access and solutions, communication platforms, etc. The intent may be good, but the focus needs to be on the “What” of learning in addition to the how. What do you as an individual need to learn? Learning activities must be linked to business and personal outcomes. What the most critical skills one needs to learn? Platforms and the availability of vast amounts of content can be deceptive. It’s like lots of ads on web pages that take us to different paths through constant clicking behaviour. We lose sight of the original objective as to what we were looking for unless we are really focused. Organizations will potentially need to think about three layers of learning content and access methods: thoughtfully curated by the organization for business fit, semi curated with the learner having some control of what they learn and thirdly open for all, where the learner makes all the choices of what and how they learn.
- The employee-centric learning approach is important but within a well-built framework. There has to be a match of learning to organizational objectives as well. Non-curated open content on platforms is great for focused and deeply aware employees but may not work for everyone. Especially in cultures where self-direction is not very strong. Moreover, too much open, non-curated content, driven by non-contextual algorithms is as detrimental to choice making for the learner as too little quality content Generalized offerings vs specialized ones: Making generic platforms and content available helps get to a base level of knowledge and awareness for employees and managers. It does not necessarily provide enough depth for creating differentiated impact in a role. It also does not help in career building or moving ahead with building deep and relevant skills for the future Communities that matter. There are huge possibilities for learning from different types of communities for all employees. Peers, external networks, professional or academic bodies etc. This aspect of curating communities has started getting more attention over the last few years. Communities, especially in cases where the person has chosen to be part of voluntarily, have many advantages. Apart from a higher level of commitment from members, trust and informality, and other underlying softer aspects—e.g. lack of political and social barriers, play a huge role in accelerating learning. Does the learning strategy have a key element of building and
leveraging communities? Are we missing out on the intangible benefits of communities in our learning focus by over-investing in other aspects?
- Generalized offerings vs specialized ones: Making generic platforms and content available helps get to a base level of knowledge and
awareness for employees and managers. It does not necessarily provide enough depth for creating differentiated impact in a role. It
also does not help in career building or moving ahead with building deep and relevant skills for the future - Communities that matter. There are huge possibilities for learning from different types of communities for all employees. Peers,
external networks, professional or academic bodies etc. This aspect of curating communities has started getting more attention over
the last few years. Communities, especially in cases where the person has chosen to be part of voluntarily, have many advantages.
Apart from a higher level of commitment from members, trust and informality, and other underlying softer aspects—e.g. lack of
political and social barriers, play a huge role in accelerating learning. Does the learning strategy have a key element of building and
leveraging communities? Are we missing out on the intangible benefits of communities in our learning focus by over-investing in
other aspects?
