1.
How PLP ensures learning stickiness
Although
structures are said to hamper innovation, it is still very important to design
a structured learning intervention with an
We often tend to overlook
the substance and impact of training interventions. Today, in this dynamic
environment, when many tools and technologies have fundamentally changed the
way we think, it’s time we overhaul our Learning & Development
interventions too. Only then can we create a learning organisation and provide
holistic growth to the employees. To do this, we need to deliver the conventional
wisdom unconventionally, which means that the HR professionals will need to
tweak the PLP approach.
PLP: Though
it is often said that structures hamper innovation, it is still very important
to design a structured learning intervention, involving Prework, Learning
Delivery and Post- Learning support.
Prework: This is
one of the most overlooked categories. Prework involves capturing the
expectations of the employee and also creating an awareness about the learning
intervention. Often, it happens that some very well-designed learning
interventions are not able to capture the attention of the employees. HR professionals
need to think beyond regular mailers and excite employees by creating curiosity
about the learning intervention.
Learning intervention: With the workforce becoming more expressive and attention
spans reducing along with 24 hours connectivity, it becomes imperative for HR
professionals to move beyond classroom instruction techniques, which have
outlived their utility. Instructor-led training often does not get a good
response because each individual will have a different need, which clearly
points towards the need for techniques that can decentralise learning. Methods
involving cross-functional stint, job-shadowing, movies, coaching, sports and
even travelling, which can be tailored according to the need of the individual
may prove useful.
Post-learning: Often, a learning intervention ends with its delivery. This
is one of the biggest mistakes organisations commit. It is important to provide an opportunity to employees to
demonstrate what they have learnt and HR must encourage the line managers to
take up this part. Line managers need to be equipped with proper skills to
encourage the employee to demonstrate their learning in their jobs. Only when
line managers take up this responsibility will a learning intervention deliver
the desired results.
2.
How can we
make L&D a strategic lever for business
At the L&D
League Annual Conference 2016, experts talk about the importance of strategic
alignment of learning modules for organizations to succeed.
The most
important challenge for a leader in any organization is to get people with the
right skills at the right job. But have we figured out any solution to minimize
the risk of wrong hire? Well, in all probability, what matters is pushing for a
strong culture in your organization which will ensure employees are all aligned
with the company’s mission. We have a multigenerational workforce today. And
according to Deloitte’s 5th Annual Survey, by 2020 about 64% of India’s population
is going to be a mix of Gen Y and Gen Z. So how will an organization create
value proposition to this workforce who are:
·
Low in emotional
attachment
·
Love freedom,
flexibility and hate micromanagement
·
High appetite for
technology
·
Short attention span
·
Experiential premiums
·
Hyperactive on social
platforms
The need of the hour is transformation. Building a next generation organization with people, process, and technology embedded in the culture of the organization. Design an approach which is people-centric. Integrate technology with latest applications and digital platforms, provide platforms for innovations which complimenting the multigenerational talent. The approach should also be core people focused and winning culture to be able to with-stand the VUCA world and also an organization should be able to have a succession plan ready with the right talent.
3.
CRY: Learning
with a different shade of colour
In conversation with Puja Marwaha,
CEO, Child Rights and You (CRY) on how her journey has been establishing the HR
framework within CRY and what can be the possible scope of cross learning
between the two sectors.
For a
number of years, organizations used talent and learning frameworks such as the
Skillsoftt What prompted your decision to join the developmental sector after
working extensively within a corporate framework of HR management? What were
some of the key challenges you encountered during this transition?
For me,
college was the starting point where I was exposed to realities different to my
own. Working on college projects with marginalized stakeholders, I
realized the extent of poverty that people lived in. This left a lasting
image with me. After finishing my MBA in 1989, I worked in the corporate sector
till 1994. But somewhere down the line I simply got a little tired of doing
what I was doing. The thought of having huge sets of people around me who are
not doing well struck me. It became a matter of where I wished to invest my
energies. I decided if I am to work tirelessly day and night, why not do it to
make some difference. This led me to relocate to Mumbai. But up until that
point, the idea for working on a social developmental cause was still very
nascent and I had no idea what exactly did I want to do; it was a vague idea at
best. All I knew was that I had certain people management skills and that I
wished to use them to contribute towards the social development. My limited
knowledge of the development sector and NGOs was not of great help either.
However, around the same time, CRY was starting its HR function, and I believed
it was a perfect fit for me.
How has the journey of working
in the development sector and setting up a robust HR framework within CRY been?
The
biggest source of satisfaction for any individual is when their efforts and
hard work pays off and is appreciated by peers. The HR framework that we
fostered at CRY has built in some practices which one would rarely find in the
corporate way of functioning. Aspects like performance management are
discussion driven rather being a totally number intensive process. My biggest
learning from the journey has been to understand that it is possible to take a
set of values and create a set of policies that reflect what the values truly
stand for.
Since corporations and
developmental organizations have different goals and objectives, one might
assume that both the sectors, has its own different sets of people management
skills? What are your views regarding the same? Is there a possible gain that a
cross-learning within the two sectors can create?
The level of formalization and management of
resources within the developmental sector has increased over the last few
years. Initially, it was difficult for me to even find theoretical models to
base company policies and structures on. I ended up using prevalent management
models from the corporate sector. Finding people who had experience in the
development sector to lead such processes was extremely tough. But I think we
can say that the approach to HR has evolved. Across the board, there has been a
realization that one cannot just depend on people to deliver results simply
because they believe in a cause and feel passionate about it. This is
irrespective of sectors. It requires investing in job enrichment, personal
growth, competency building skills, expanding knowledge; all of this is at the
fore now.
How effective are CSR policies in ensuring
meaningful and sustainable empowerment in India? Do you think the young workforce
looks up to ethical CSR initiatives while making career choices?
From the global perspective, the realization and
awareness to join a socially aware organization is more prevalent in the
developed world, and I am doubtful of the fact that a majority of young people
in India consider such aspects before making career choices.
In your opinion, is the millennial generation today
more socially responsible than their preceding generation? How would you
suggest this social conscience be developed and nurtured?
I think the current generation of millennial feel
differently about economic and social disparity than their predecessors, and
they are very slowly, but surely waking up to the realities that we exist in.
In my opinion, institutions play a bigger role in this discourse than they
realize. As I can attest in my personal journey, a conscious effort was undertaken
by my school, and then college, to create a social conscience which enabled me
to take several important decisions.
