A strong talent supply in combination with an acknowledgement that success requires ongoing development and training is a basic foundation for a well functioning team and a smoothly operating organization. Continuously developing business critical skills for employees and leaders gives an edge over the competition.
A consistent supply of talent revitalizes an organization, but is not sufficient. Talent can almost be compared to a commodity, in the sense that it is of little value unless it is refined. The refinement of knowledge and business critical skills does not happen automatically. In contrast to team sports, where we are aware of the importance of training and even more training, there is often less understanding in the business world of how important it is to create a learning culture.
In a changing environment, an organization that does not continuously focus on creating a means for learning, and does not renew itself and create sustainable competitive advantage, tends to find old solutions to new problems.
Learning organizations usually focus on creating learning opportunities more effectively than their competitors with regard to global development, changes in customer behavior and customer logic, and developing their own business critical skills. They also focus on sharing information and building expertise into the structures and processes, e.g. by means of Knowledge Management.
The degree of learning in the organizational culture has a great impact on the development of the business. In one extreme we find leaders and teams in constant development, who have a better understanding of their clients' logic, a proactive approach to external changes and more innovative development. On the other extreme we can recognize a tendency towards stagnant leadership, inefficient teams with limited orientation towards customer understanding, a reactive approach towards different developments in the world and solutions that rely on old successes. Other benefits of increasing the focus on learning in an organization are that it helps retain talents, and strengthens the company's employer brand.
READ MORE ABOUT HOW WE ARE STRENGTHENING LEARNING WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS TO SUPPORT OUR CUSTOMERS GOALS AND STRATEGY:
Competence strategy
Leadership programs
Team development