How Critical is Learning for Future of Work in the New Normal?

L&D should not be islolated as a good to have function. L&D has it’s own reason for being there.
Three metrics can be followed:
One , that is same as the Business Metrics.
Second, you can use ratio of internal hires to external hires in any organization. Are you able to promote the employees to any required role based on their skills and competencies?
Third, are you able to give ROI, and the denominator remains investment, numerator can be top line, bottom line, cash-flow or valuation in stock market.

The need needs to come from business and we need to facilitate that. Major concern is how do we tactically put this into practice? How many L&D people actually discuss about cashflow or how programs can be designed around it? Strategically it looks great, but how to tactically put it into practice, needs to be looked at minutely.

Investment in learning is an important aspect. ROI needs to be proved; if we are not adding any ROI then it’s a problem.

Learning is a slow process, results can be seen in phases.

Example, Weekly Net Promoter score helps in understanding how the employees are performing and what are customer expectations and problem areas in the retail industry.

Every meeting, whether that discuss people or not gives us a whip of where the business is leading. We need to stop pitching L&D as budget, but competencies and business impacts. As business partners, we need to understand business.
ROI and Training is like love, if it’s there, it shows.

Gamification at a deeper level is about playfulness, fine with making mistakes and learning. All L&D needs to have a touch of gamification, it will definetly help people in learning better. It will increase a person’s risk appetite and make the experience more effective.
There is a child inside every one of us.

If we need to measure ROI of L&D, than the answer is AI. AI is data. When we talk about improving employee efficiency, understanding their needs and competencies than we need to look into data. A good LMS is essential, which gives the data of all employees. Using this we will be able to understand learning needs, design curative programs and get results. Next step would be to understand the employees learning from the program; and if he is able to demonstrate it in his workspace. Blended solutions can be used to measure knowledge & skill-set and the actual on-floor performance. AI plays a crucial role in this.

Once we get access to the relevant datasets, employee behaviors can be validated. That will be one phenomenal use of AI. AI will also play an important role in training identification for a business, rather than leaders voicing it, if data speaks for itself it will be a classic problem solver. We need to convert subjective problems into objective ones and find solutions.

AI gives us tools to predict and classify outcomes. This predictive nature can be used in capturing the need and designing a program uniquely for every individual. It will majorly help in capturing, designing, delivering and measuring the outcomes.

We need to understand that AI predictability is the result of data that has gone into the machine. So more the data that goes into it over the period, better the predictability. Right now in my opinion, humanness of the decision is extremely important and over & above AI.

It’s a new skill that the employee will have to invest in. Going ahead, organizations will have less but multi-skilled manpower. Going by this situation, one will have to be better equipped with multiple skills, else his growth will stagnate. Organizations are always willing to invest in people’s potential.

Post-covid, for most organizations, the clear cut job dimensions will be blurred. Radius will need to become bigger. We need to get into the flux and thrive into it. There will be retrenchment, less number of jobs. Some sectors like travel will be critically affected, others like pharma might thrive. Businesses and people need to get more flexible.

Rather than predicting what skills would be needed years down the line, I will prefer making my people think on what is it that they would want to push themselves into. If the ask of the new skill comes from employee, it is faster taken. For skills at behavioral level, I would like to make our people more agile learners.

‘Ekla Chalo re’ should be your motto. Every individual needs to take responsibility for individual learning without depending on the organization. You need to up-skill yourself and focus on your development.

I can speak for my business. We cannot afford investing into any new methodology, we will continue with tried and tested models for at least next 1.5 – 2 years, depending on the cash in-flow. We need to look at what can be done more efficiently, without needing budget.
Many organizations are working at zero budget staffing.

‘We are not in the same boat, we are in same storm’.
Everyone is trying to save their own boat from sinking. Minds are already stressed.
It’s a business driven acumen right now. We need to be more reactive and less proactive.
Have the infrastructure in place, so we are ready when we do need to deliver. When will that happen, let the business decide that.

It is during this lockdown period, when stores are having zero revenue; L&D has come in forefront in keeping all the employees engaged. This was possible only because our organization had invested in correct platforms at the right time. Not everyone will be willing to invest in external learning methodologies. In this case, we can always harness the internal resources. Take support of SMEs and build internal learning communities.

Even with zero budgets, if we are creative enough, cutting edge L&D can be delivered today. There are so many free applications, sites available. Another approach is challenging the fact that what I would have otherwise normally done, am I able to do that ? vs. What the business wants me to do?.
It’s a paradox. Measuring metric of impact is essential.

When pushed to a corner, my best comes out.

Agreed, so let’s deliver a top cutting edge LnD this year, and we may or may not need any budgets in the coming year.

We are mainly burning out budgets on external faculties. If business wants to send employees to Howard or IIM Calcutta than ofcourse I need a budget, but to drive effectivess and impact on ground, a very large budget is not essential. Typically L&D teams are capable and functionally qualified; it’s an opportunity for them to look at enriching and enlarging their role.