HR learning: 24 Oct, 2016

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.