In a world where businesses need to adapt to sustain, work-based learning ensures that changes, from implementing new tools and methodologies to training new skill sets, are stable, scalable and sustainable. Such training helps employees deliver better products and services and compete more effectively, explains Alex Adamopoulos, CEO, Emergn.
The pandemic redefined and reinvigorated the importance of agility for many organizations. While initiatives to improve agility were well underway prior to COVID-19 — agile has been cemented as a gold standard since 2012 — they were largely focused on faster go-to-market and continuous customer value. These benefits still remain vital and true in a post-pandemic world, but they are accompanied by another need: surviving disruption.
Whereas business agility used to be considered a competitive edge, it has become table stakes in a world where uncertainty is the one thing we can count on. The pandemic emphasized and resurfaced problems that have been plaguing companies for years, forcing them to rapidly adjust to a new virtual reality and pivot with market demands. This swift shift was not a one-time necessity to surmount pandemic-related barriers, however. Companies now recognize that adaptive ways of working and dynamic decision-making are essential to maintain momentum and sustain services in the face of disruption.
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The Need for Sustainable Agility and Adaptability in a Post-Pandemic World
Many of the changes that companies had to rapidly make early last year were positive — faster decision making, renewed organizational purpose, a focus on people, and a true manifestation of corporate responsibility have all come to the fore. However, many of the adaptations made under immense pressure were more quick fixes than long-term solutions. Rather than death by 1,000 papercuts, many companies survived with 1,000 band-aids. Now, as they settle into the new normal, these organizations may require more intensive surgery, followed by physical therapy.
To thrive in the post-pandemic world, organizations must lay a foundation for agility and flexibility, especially around the way they improve their in-house capabilities. This foundation should include a revised set of working principles underpinned with the behaviors and capabilities needed to deliver them. Companies need to ensure they have the correct skills and capabilities to quickly deploy and exploit technology to scale market share, revenue and profitability even amidst disruptions to working norms.
Simply implementing the right tools and methodologies is not enough to ensure long-term success, however, just like a diagnosis and intensive surgery cannot guarantee renewed vitality. It’s the physical therapy with the hands-on expertise that will guide growth, build strength, and ensure sustainable, improved outcomes. Modern companies also need this hands-on expertise. They must educate individuals and teams to adopt modern ways of working. They must re-build organizational culture and capabilities through learning new skills and practices that are designed to better mitigate risks and work under uncertain conditions. The only question is, who will guide them?
Work-Based Learning Is the Answer to Agility
As many leaders know, most learning happens on the job, and classroom training isn’t enough. Work-based learning, contrary to the diagnose-and-ditch model followed by many consulting firms, embraces this idea. Work-based learning presents principles and concepts to teams and then asks learners to apply them immediately through a series of activities. The structured nature of the activities provides a supportive and secure environment where teams can experiment, practice and then evaluate how things went before moving on to the next step. It also ensures that learning is tailored to teams based on their unique circumstances, so it is as effective as possible. Employees work on real projects alongside their colleagues. So not only is learning shared with the whole team, but it does not disrupt real work and meaningful productivity.
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A Training Revolution
To deliver value in the post-pandemic world, work-based learning must be delivered remotely, which is more possible than it may seem. Even in “normal†times, teams are often not co-located. Adjusting to real-life situations, work-based learning must offer support to distributed delivery, off/nearshore and multinational teams. Programs can blend remote classroom, virtual coaching, online and guided work-based learning to help teams put ideas into practice and get fast feedback, encompassing:
- Skills — focusing on developing needed skills vs. role-based training
- Practical assessment — delivering immediate and lasting benefits
- Culture and mindset — challenging traditional thinking and empowering people
- Attitude — building greater levels of collaboration and community
Even with work-based learning, skills and capability take time and practice to develop. The right consultants will ensure that courses are structured in a way to build skills over time while making an immediate difference in the learners’ work environment.
The pandemic wasn’t just a challenge for companies to overcome. It signaled changing times, an inevitable evolution, and a wake-up call that companies must adapt like their businesses depend on it (because they do). Work-based learning ensures that changes, from implementing new tools and methodologies to training new skill sets, are stable, scalable and sustainable. Companies that want to adopt modern ways of working must first empower their people. Only then can they deliver better products and services, compete more effectively in the digital economy and bring new ideas to market.