By Ann Berberich, VP of Practices & Talent
While there has never been a more important time to invest in people, the question of responsibility often seems to linger as to what role must be played by both the employer and the employees. Can learning outcomes really have tangible value, provide mutual reward, and stand the test of time if both parties are not invested at meaningful and compatible contribution levels?
Today’s environment has been faced with much disruption in the way technology and automation innovations are being delivered, both aspects playing a major role in shaping the future of human capital requirements within the workforce. At the same time, the business atmosphere continues to evolve at a rapid pace. There is a growing demand for new and sustainable competencies, application modernization is changing the depth required to support various functions, employee expectations are shifting day by day, labor demographics in a work-from-anywhere mentality are more accommodating, and diversity and inclusion strategies are becoming more relevant than ever before.
The competitive landscape for both winning talent and winning business is at an all-time high.
As a Talent Leader within a technology based professional services organization (PSO), I know how important it is to equip our Human Capital with as many tools, technology, knowledge, skills, and resources needed to respond to these universal shifts within our internal ecosystem, and also within the market at large. It seems that everyone is seeking a high level of empowerment to navigate towards an equal, inclusive, and sustainable path forward in today’s incredibly fluid world. Although in the very same instance, time and work life balance has reached its most precious position. As a result, priority roadblocks often rise up against continuous improvement programs that feed right into that sustainable path forward.
We are facing a revolution of sorts where employee adaptability and upskilling is a must have in order to gain efficiency, perform quality delivery, and achieve the highest thought leading satisfaction rates. Transformation through learning programs bring a variety of other business values as well – we see more integrated workforces, reduced turnover, cultural enhancements, branding, and overall financial strength that again, lead right back into operational investments to feed the corporate engine. All of these factors can be tagged as incredibly impactful and mutually beneficial outcomes that touch employees, employers, and customers alike.
Fundamentally, this upskilling journey can be a double-edged sword in that it benefits all key parties (corporation, employee and customer), yet competing priorities put success in jeopardy if placed only in the extra-curricular category. Strong core leadership must rise up to bring learning into the flow of everyday delivery, leaders must be developed at all levels, and the workforce at large must share in the ownership of projects and the accountability of results.
Collaboratively embracing the transformation as one unit is the special sauce to maintaining lifelong success. The level of initiative, accountability, and organizational preparedness will entirely hinge on mutual and individual orchestration of each party’s ownership to drive each part of the learning experience. Long haul measurements will reflect investments made by each party. Neither can carry the investment or weight alone; both the corporation and the individuals must carve out the time, adapt to workflow variants, and show continued resilience for future adaptations.