O
Catalyst | On Topic
Of course, creating an environment
in which talent is nurtured and
developed will also attract candidates
when external recruitment is
required; no matter how many good
people exist in-house, organisations
grow, employees leave, and the
required competencies may simply
not be there.
Millennials, who already make
up more than a third of the labour
market, have been shown to
favour development and learning
opportunities over salary.
Introducing new
learning methods
This brings us to another question:
how should organisations train their
staff to ensure that information is
absorbed and put into practice rather
than consigned to the complimentary
notepad received on a one-day course
and forgotten?
Just as the world of work has
evolved, so has the way in which
organisations think about workforce
learning. Traditional classroom-
based learning is on the wane, with
newer, more fluid, efficient and
accessible methods flourishing,
“Even if you’re staying in
the same role, with the rate
of change, you have to stay
current. Organisations
need to think about their
people when introducing
things such as automation”
including peer-to-peer mentoring,
ongoing 360-degree feedback, remote
learning, and reverse mentoring.
“There’s a stereotype that
older workers have some sort of
resistance to learning and using
technology,” says Potočnik. “That’s
not necessarily true.
“Companies just need to support
them, and reverse mentoring is
one strategy that has proven to be
quite effective. The younger
employees who are more ‘tech
savvy’ can help and support their
older colleagues.”
Today, there is a ‘pic ‘n mix’ of
potential training methods for
organisations of all sizes. And, while
advancing technology is the biggest
challenge employers face, it could
also be a solution to the puzzles it
is causing.
As Allen explains: “Technology
helps people to learn far more easily
and at pace. For me, classroom
learning is quite old-school these
days. It’s costly, in terms of both
money and time. There’s a wealth
of information, data and training
materials on so many different digital
platforms. It supports learning in a
more agile fashion.”
Staying agile
The truth is that there is no silver
bullet for transforming talent in a
rapidly changing world of work and no
one-size-fits-all solution.
Different organisations of varying
sizes in a whole range of sectors will
have their own particular talent needs.
The key to success is agility: staying on
the front foot, able to adjust quickly
and appropriately to social and
economic shifts.
In order to do this, organisations
will need to invest in their employees,
nurturing and continually upgrading
their capabilities, so that they are
prepared for the future, whatever
that might bring.
Issue 3 - 2019
33