Technology is evolving at a rapid pace and so is the need for employees to remain updated with the latest skills at their workplaces. It directly points to the importance of learning and development while at the job. While technology has helped the world become a global village by connecting people across borders, it has also contributed to people’s anxieties. With the business world remaining ever-competitive, it has become much more important for both employers and employees to make the right use of technology and remain at the forefront of the digital revolution. Failing to do so, will only lead to them losing that competitive advantage over their peers.
For any business, their most important asset is their employees, who need to be skilled and informed. Businesses that want to maintain their credibility must, at all costs, set aside a significant budget for the creation of a dedicated learning and development team. Aligning the vision and objectives of the company, learning and development leaders must ensure that they have something tangible to offer that upskills their employees. A significant part of this would be to take steps that promote engagement and collaboration. The other key components of a successful employee training and development strategy would include promoting a positive work culture, upskilling, attracting and retaining the best talent, and building brand value.
You might also be interested to read: Artificial Intelligence in Learning and Development – Employer’s Perspective
Over the years, many businesses have largely focused their learning and development programs to keep the productivity of their employees higher. However, the times have changed now as employees are assessed based on how much they can contribute to a business. The onus has thus shifted on employees to take care of their training and development needs. It is also one of the significant factors due to which employees make a switch. If there is nothing much to learn or develop in their current roles, employees seek better opportunities elsewhere. They simply cannot afford to remain under-skilled in the highly competitive business environment of today.
It becomes important for learning and development leaders to strategize well and come up with the right training and development programs that can keep the human capital value always high. Any knowledge can become outdated today if it is not adequately supplemented with evolving technology. A declining knowledge is detrimental not only for employees but also for businesses that seek better results through their human resources.
You might also be interested to read: The Biggest HR Focus Area In The New Year 2020 – Effective Employee Training and Development
Succession planning is another important area that can immensely benefit if businesses have the right employee development strategy in place. There is always a fear that the top talent of any company gets poached by rivals. In such a scenario, the top performers don’t think much, especially if they have a lucrative offer in front of them. The departure of such talent could make for a huge void and filling it could take a lot of time if businesses are caught off-guard. With the right HR training and development strategy, businesses can identify the next-gen leaders who can be trained and upskilled to handle exigencies. An effective learning and development strategy has a lot of advantages, but businesses must simply know how to leverage this.
Reference: The essential components of a successful L&D strategy, Feb 2019 | mckinsey.com
Related Topics:
