Lifelong Learning: More Responsibility, please!

Further training programmes often face the same fate as New Year’s resolutions: The initial euphoria is followed by disillusionment, and in the end they become an ordeal. Regarding digital know-how, executives and politicians currently seem to be going through the euphoric phase, as many of them are advocating digital further training as the key to success in the digital world. However, no matter how loud they call in order to drum up interest, only very few people will be motivated to take action. Why? Because executives like ourselves should first of all do our homework by asking ourselves how we have handled the topic of further training and upskilling for our employees this far. Are we standing by and watching our employees do little more than endure the next seminar as best they can? Or are we assuming responsibility to ensure that every employee will be motivated to undergo bespoke further training or development programmes? Do we yet have to become their sparring partner, showing interest, encouragement and support by providing prospects for the future?

Onerous duty rather than opportunity

All too often, decision-makers regard further training for their employees as an onerous duty rather than an opportunity. In most cases, this has consequences: Employees wishing to develop and advance will soon look out for further training opportunities outside the company. They will invest time and money in their favourite topic – at the expense of engagement and loyalty towards their employer.

In the light of the discussion about digitalisation as the alleged number one job killer, concern is growing about how it is affecting people’s jobs and professional future.

Employees want to know whether their organisation still offers them prospects and whether their employer is prepared to invest in their future. Each organisation has to decide how much value it attributes to learning and further training. Do learning and training programmes continue to be a ‘bucket’ in the budget which the company sets aside but secretly hopes will never be spent? Oder does the company regard learning and further training as a value-enhancing contribution to the entire organisation? TUI Nordics, for instance, sets aside 40 hours of learning per year for each employee in the Scandinavian countries – to use as they see fit. And management calls upon them to actually use these 40 hours to learn more about the topics they choose.

Alarming numbers

Recent numbers regarding the situation of digital training in German companies are alarming: According to the latest survey carried out by the German Association of HR Managers (BPM) in cooperation with IW Consult Köln, a large proportion of learning formats in German companies does not match the skills required of the employees in view of HR managers. The reality of the organisations is that further training continues to focus strongly on solely teaching professional know-how. At only 6.8 per cent, training of soft factors such as flexibility and willingness to change, considered as important by HR managers, is merely marking time. And HR managers are not the only ones to be aware of this gap between supply and demand.

Admittedly, in this regard, we will have to chip away at a time-consuming and challenging task. Our entire education and training system in Germany is geared to providing extensive know-how and expertise. Let us take vocational training as an example.

We often say that young people have ‘finished their training’. However, in the digital age, this definitely is no longer the case. Instead, young people should be encouraged to continually undergo further training, be curious and eager to learn, for instance, how to handle uncertainty.

The specialists in our companies also need to be offered a training portfolio providing them with additional skills in order to get along in the digital world. Companies are well advised to support their employees early on, encouraging them not only to expand their knowledge and expertise regarding digital technology, but also to promote their social and soft skills.  

Leaving the standards of the past behind

In this context, managers and executives play a key role. They have to assume responsibility for creating the right framework. In concrete terms, this means that managers should focus less on their own technical tasks and instead focus more on developing people. Making sure employees will reach their full potential will become a management task, line managers will become sponsors of their team members.

However, in this regard, you have to avoid making the mistake of applying the standards of the past. In a modern work organisation, the focus should no longer be on the question: “What’s in it for the company today?”. It should shift to the question: “How will the organisation benefit tomorrow?” and “Are the interests of the employee and the company aligned?” Employees themselves should also realise that developing their potential is not an empty promise given by their company, but will ensure their own personal development.

In any case, open communication between employees and managers is important in order to jointly address any critical questions. Does the organisation already cooperate with specific providers? What would be the most suitable time windows? How would this impact the workload for the team? The two parties also have to openly discuss cost allocation and funding opportunities. Another important aspect is to integrate further training into people’s everyday work.

And then, time has come to get started and take action to implement the good resolutions regarding digital training for employees – and assume responsibility.

This text is the English version of an article which was first published by Manager Magazin on their website.