I believe that the way organisations in Thailand need to develop their people is at a crossroads. I have been in this game for 30 years and I think more has changed in the last two years than in the 10 years before.
Technology has come to the fore, and the pandemic has forced workers to innovate and take responsibility for their learning and growth. Tech-driven approaches delivered a lot of individual improvement at speed but we have been seeing uneven development across organisations. Every individual worker needs to keep pressing ahead with their development. At the organisational level, we need a centralised approach to deliver the capabilities required.
More than ever before, the challenge is that every organisation’s needs are increasingly unique. Yes, there is a set of capabilities from which any organisation can benefit. However, developing them all is too slow and too expensive. Leaders need to have a clear view of what capabilities that will make the difference to their organisation in the future. Leaders also need to own them. How organisations identify and bundle these capabilities in the context of their own business will make the difference.
Some organisations have developed centres of learning or academies to develop the capabilities essential to their business. Even these are being adjusted in a hybrid world. Many organisations see this approach as an expensive commitment, and that is understandable. Others have gone for more online approaches, and this is great, but many organisations have spent a fortune on systems and subjects that their people ignore or underuse. It seems to be a minefield whichever way you go.
The challenge is often that the approach is not designed and led by the leaders in the business. It is a strategy handed over to HR or Learning and Development staff to procure the system, facilities and content. However well-intentioned, HR professionals may not have a hands-on, firsthand experience of the new challenges and “jobs to be done” of, for example, their salesforce. Generic content and perceived wisdom that is no longer working can kill usage.
Developing the critical capabilities organisations need should be driven by the business leaders most affected by development outcomes. They need to take ownership and use adaptive approaches to ensure the maximum return on development effort and resources, manifesting on the job. They must ensure their team members’ self-directed improvement is supported and aligned with a mission-critical core.
At SEAC, we have been a pioneer, and a strong proponent of social learning approaches. These are community-based approaches that cross-develop capabilities in an enjoyable and, frankly, more effective manner. If people enjoy, learn from what works, and get the opportunity to ask truly contextualised questions, learning and engagement increase. You develop the wisdom of the crowd.
Bringing your group together also reinforces connections that tend to fray in the virtual world. It increases inspiration and drive. It also allows expert practitioners, not outside experts, to drive development and become coaches to the workforce.
In my organisation, I joined the sales development process as an adjunct sales leader. Being able to see the changes and struggles my salespeople faced in the pandemic, I was better able to shift and adapt development approaches. Was it perfect? No. But it was far superior and quicker than traditional approaches we had spent a lot of time and effort developing. That is another insight I gained, knowing when to let go of what we had previously.
How to start? Focus on the key capabilities that help your company outperform the competition. Support these with an off-the-shelf library your people can access to meet individual needs. Ensure core development is entirely contextualised from the outset. Make learning project-based, so your people are doing something to benefit the business and deliver results while they learn.
Assign a senior leader to take ownership and rethink your development budget to focus on the most strategic areas. Always remember that you need to include more than skill-building. Practice, experience, feedback, sharing, reflection and advice are equal parts of the capability-building journey. Invest in scalable approaches and repeat the process in other critical areas of your business as the landscape changes.
You cannot stay in your comfort zone. Commit to continuous improvement of people, systems, culture, execution and processes.
Arinya Talerngsri is Chief Capability Officer and Managing Director at SEAC — Southeast Asia’s Lifelong Learning Center. She can be reached by email at arinya_t@seasiacenter.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/arinya-talerngsri-53b81aa. Talk to us about how SEAC can help your business during times of uncertainty at https://forms.gle/wf8upGdmwprxC6Ey9
