Introduction
It is hard to disagree that to build capability that successfully meets business needs and allows a company to work as a whole and achieve its objectives, it is essential to consider the state of its managers and employees. In other words, strong and competent workers who are sure that their organization’s leaders do their best to allow and help them to grow and develop their skills are likely to show the highest results and increase the firm’s potential. That is why learning and talent development is crucial, as it provides an opportunity to build a better workforce. This business report aims at discussing the design of a proper learning and talent development strategy and the methods and steps of successfully implementing it in the workplace. Besides, in this paper, the best way of learning CIPD qualification material and specific issues relating to learning styles and different learning environments will be explored.
Importance of Workplace Learning and Talent Development
Workplace learning and talent development is a laborious and complicated process that brings many crucial benefits to those organizations that responsibly approach it and recognize its value to their health and performance. It is believed that overall success and productivity are higher in those companies that do not refuse to spend money and time on enhancing their workers’ competencies, growth, and interests (‘The importance of engaging in workplace learning: motivating staff through informal learning,’ 2014). Not only do they discover new talents and possibilities but also obtain grateful and devoted employees who realize their leaders’ advantages and start working harder for the company’s profit and resistance to the competition.
The only disadvantage of this process, though a rather serious one, is easily compensated by several benefits and the proven positive outcome of learning and talent development. In other words, the need to spend enormous amounts of money on promoting and providing quality learning among workers is a substantial drawback for many small and even medium organizations. However, the positive experience of millions of companies that decided to approach this process proves its necessity and allows us to suggest that these expenses are a forward-thinking step that will provide long-term benefits.
Designing a Learning and Talent Development Strategy
For this process to bring significant results, it is vital to develop an appropriate and robust learning and talent development strategy that will meet all the needs and wishes of employees. Simultaneously, it should be a well-thought-out plan that will take into account any potential problems in advance. What is more, typically, a one-off training event or program is not the type of talent and learning development method that is likely to appear effective (Hayden, 2020). The majority of employees are concentrated on their job responsibilities most of the working day, so they may not even pay attention when attending a one-time training class (Bleich, 2020).
A profound learning and talent development design consists of several steps. First of all, to ensure the plan is likely to succeed, it is vital to begin with, a training needs analysis (Training your staff: how to identify staff training needs, no date). This process allows determining the talent, competencies, and learning required for the business to achieve its objectives. After defining the organization’s mission and employees’ talent necessary to reach it, the strategy’s leader should find the best way to deliver the information according to a skill being developed and workers’ unique needs (Bleich, 2020). Then, particular methods to offer opportunities for practicing and gaining experience should be thought over and connected to the type of provided learning (Hayden, 2020). Finally, thinking of the most appropriate and convenient ways to receive and consider substantial feedback from staff is also essential for a learning and talent development plan to work.
Leading a Learning and Talent Development Strategy
Creating and implementing a good talent development strategy is not enough since employees may lose motivation, misunderstand this process’s necessity, or have wrong expectations. Thus, effectively leading such a strategy is just as vital as designing it. For example, the leader should become a role model for their team and demonstrate their vulnerability, open-mindedness, and transparency to make sure the feedback that will be received later is sincere (Bleich, 2020). Second, reinforcing and encouraging the significance of learning and enhancing skills is also crucial. Further, the leader should always support their team members and ensure they are aware of the areas they need to improve. Finally, the reinforcement of corporate values and missions is essential, too.
Learning CIPD Qualification Material
Human resource management is a unique area that requires a specific way of learning and should be implemented in the talent development strategy. Apart from traditional methods like informational, computer-based, and experiential ones, it is sufficient to provide employees with an opportunity for creativity and even imagination. Therefore, the strategy leader may want to introduce job shadowing, role play, and simulations of real life. First of all, job shadowing is an excellent chance for a person who wants to learn material relating to their CIPD qualification. When working with a co-worker who has entirely different responsibilities, it is likely for an employee to gain new experience, determine some difficulties that person may face, and think of how to help as an HR. Second, role play and simulations of real-life allow staff to imagine themselves in hypothetical situations that were discussed in the course and to repeat the learned information in practice.
Issues Related to Various Learning Styles
Generally, there are four workplace learning styles that act as a basis for a number of strategies. These styles are usually divided according to the learners’ types and include visual, auditory, reading-focused, and kinaesthetic ones (The four different types of workplace learning styles, 2019). Though all of them are time-tested and proven to be efficient, each of them works only for a specific group of employees and may be absolutely inconvenient for others. For example, visual learners typically respond better to videos and graphics, so any oral information that is given to them should be accompanied by a presentation or video for better assimilation and memorization. On the contrary, reading-focused learners require learning to be structured on text-based information that they can read or write themselves to understand correctly (The four different types of workplace learning styles, 2019). Therefore, specific problems may occur during learning due to the lack of audio, visual, reading, or tactile materials.
Different Learning Environments
The Impact of Different Learning Environments
It is hard to disagree that apart from learning styles and methods, the overall learning environment also plays a significant role in the effectiveness of the talent development strategy. The ways employees feel during and after a training session defines whether they remain satisfied with the process, increase their productivity or extend their competencies. For instance, an environment where both formal and informal communication is used to develop various skills allows different employees to feel concentrated and relaxed at the same time. Further, for some introvert workers, traditional ways of learning like reading material or listening to a specialist are the best because they feel anxious when taking part in role-play or switching jobs. On the contrary, extrovert employees have difficulty silently listening to new information and prefer to devote more time to practicing, interacting, exchanging knowledge, and making acceptable mistakes in order to develop and gain new experiences.
What is more, there is a distinction between the focus of the learning environment. In other words, assessment-centered environments, for example, stress the significance of evaluation and feedback. Though this is good for some employees that consider any feedback as a possibility for reflection and growth, others may react painfully to any type of criticism. For them, assessment is not motivation but more of a threat. Furthermore, it is vital to make sure that in the learning environment, an emphasis is put equally on all elements.
Managing Varying Environments and Their Effects
Considering the points mentioned above, it becomes evident that managing different learning environments is necessary. In order to make sure that as many employees as possible are satisfied with the quality and learning outcomes, it is essential to provide them with an opportunity in various learning environments. Some team members will actively participate in job shadowing or secondment, while others will concentrate on listening, observing, and reading without feeling anxious. Therefore, this is another reason why adapting to the needs of different employees is crucial when considering every component of a learning and talent development strategy.
Conclusion
To draw a conclusion, one may say that underestimating the power and necessity of the learning and talent development process is a severe mistake that may lead to a company’s stagnation. On the contrary, if a firm’s management decides to spend money on enhancing employees’ competencies and knowledge, the overall performance and productivity will increase considerably. Though it is essential to create a proper strategy and consider all possible issues and staff’s varying needs, this process is a forward-thinking step that will bring the organization to a higher level.
Reference List
Bleich, C. (2020) 7 effective talent development strategies for 2020.
The four different types of workplace learning styles (2019).
Hayden, D. (2020) Learning methods. Web.
‘The importance of engaging in workplace learning: motivating staff through informal learning’ (2014) Development and Learning in Organisations, 28(3), pp. 25-27.
Training your staff: how to identify staff training needs (no date).
