Driving Strategic Learning
Targeted Learning Has Its Place
If you believe that technical skills are essential to on-going business success then learning has to be a significant part of your strategy. This is especially true for big IT companies like Capgemini.
You'll need to make time for your employees to learn, you'll need to give direction as to what needs to be learned and who by (and to explain why) and you'll need to decide when by and make sure this learning takes place.
None of this is going to happen by itself or happen overnight.
You'll need a plan and to execute it just like a project.
Treating learning as a project means gathering and monitoring progress metrics and course-correcting as necessary to stay on target.
Learning projects are like painting the Forth Rail Bridge, by the time you've finished you'll need to start all over again. 😊
Who Needs To Learn What
You could leave people to their own devices in terms of what they choose to learn and to what depth. There are times when this approach has its merits but if learning is to be strategic then you'll need to identify and give direction as to who needs to learn what and preferably when by.
For example, embracing "agile techniques" may be essential for the whole organisation whilst "containerisation" might be specific to only certain teams, roles and departments.
Pyramid Learning Levels
Different people in different roles will require different levels of learning for each given subject. They will mostly need entry-level knowledge of many things and expert-level knowledge of a few things. (Capgemini sees this as building "T-shaped" people.)
Learning levels typically follow a top-down pyramid shape. A few SMEs, more advanced practitioners, even more with intermediate subject knowledge and the rest with entry-level knowledge. The subjects and the numbers in the pyramid levels will vary between different teams and departments based on the nature of the work that they perform.
Legislating For The Majority
There should be a strong emphasis and wider provision for the entry-level knowledge required by the majority with a tapering off as subject matter becomes more advanced. This should align directly with the needs of departments and teams. Training from basic to advanced should work in the same way as should plans to gain certifications.
Learning materials need to be easily accessible to all and well publicised in terms of how and where to find them as well as why and who they need to be used by.
I find our weekly Learning Cinema is an excellent way of introducing the masses to entry-level knowledge for strategic subjects.
Scheduled Learning
Just as you would schedule and track completion of project work you should also schedule and track completion of learning activities.
Recommending learning to people without a deadline or the ability to track who has completed that learning is like sailing without a rudder: you'll end up somewhere but probably not where you intended.
Scheduled learning and progress tracking is essential for learning project success.
Putting SMEs On Pedestals And On Show
SMEs are special. They are highly skilled individuals requiring continuous investment to keep them up-to-date with the latest and greatest in their subject. This investment may come in the form of certification, training, conference attendance (sometimes in exotic locations 😊) or even as equipment or time on proof-of-concept projects.
We all know that every once in a while a SME will save the day (earning their pedestal) but in the mean time they need to be "on show" contributing to pre-sales, proposals, projects, governance and building people through technical communities and coaching.
Proof Of Learning
Proof of learning is a great differentiator in the market place.
It's not just bragging about the size of your training budget or the number of hours logged on training to date but rather about the more tangible aspects of proof such as the number of certifications attained, SMEs engaged as conference speakers and ultimately project successes and customer references.
Today we exist in a very much more "show me, don't tell me" world so be ready with your credentials!
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Tim Simpson
29th November, 2019
#LifeAtCapgemini