How Technology Is Enhancing Professional Development of People
Companies often face a learning and development divide. Learn how technology can truly empower people and help them grow.
Many organizations offer learning and development programs to their employees. However, they often face challenges that lead to a learning and development divide. In this article, Sarah Deane, CEO and founder, MEvolution, shares how technology can truly grow and empower people.
Historically, professional development has focused on the technical or business skills required for an employee’s role within an organization. However, over the years, we have seen it evolve to include softer skills and, more recently, life skills, as the line between professional and personal lives dissolved and experts realized learning and development had to address the whole person.
Though extremely beneficial to participate in these high-impact and personalized programs, the downside is that they are typically only offered to senior leaders and high-potential employees within an organization. More often than not, due to budget constraints and location barriers, these programs cannot scale to an entire organization and ultimately exclude a majority of employees looking to grow their own careers. And for those organizations that do offer all employees the opportunity for self-guided, content-based online and digital classes, what is typically lost is the addressing of specific and unique needs of individual employees.
As a result, what we often have inside companies is a learning and development divide. This is between those who receive customized, high-touch, personalized development programs and those who have access to a large volume of development material but without any truly customized learnings that help them become a better version of themselves.
AI To Support the Equity of Professional Development
Limited accessibility to these resources can contribute to the skills gap businesses are now facing. A recent McKinsey study found 87% of executives and managers say they either are experiencing gaps now or expect them within a few years. The challenge for many organizations is how to scale digital and coaching-led development programs so that they can upskill, develop and empower all levels of their organization and positively impact goals such as engagement, wellbeing, productivity, and talent retention. Though there is a rise in tele-coaching, employees still face the burden of having a limited number of sessions covered, inconsistency amongst coach capabilities and knowledge, and scheduling constraints.
The good news is that developments in modern technology and the evolution of AI are giving hope to the equity of professional development and creating possibilities to increase the reach of truly personalized, guided growth experiences that cater to the specific needs of an individual at scale.
See More: Designing Your Learning and Development Strategy
One CEO’s Story
Craig Hinkley, the former CEO of WhiteHat Security (recently sold to Synopsys), discovered first-hand how powerful access to online growth and development platforms can be. After facing an immense personal tragedy, Craig turned to the path of personal development. He started working with an executive coaching program to help him develop the skills he felt he needed to be successful. After six long months and over 100 hours of sessions and personal development work, he finally discovered a set of personal blockers or “defaults of character,” as he called them, that were hindering him from showing up as the best leader he could be. However, knowing he could not continue to dedicate that level of time commitment moving forward, Craig discovered a unique AI-based program. “I couldn’t believe it,” stated Craig, “in a 45-minute online assessment, the analysis report told me what had taken me six months to understand, providing deep insights about what was keeping me from moving forward. I experienced such a dramatic improvement in how I showed up in my personal and professional life. Most importantly, the people in my life saw and benefited from these changes as well.”
Craig had always been a big believer in the benefit and impact of coaching to leadership and realized how much technology and AI-driven platforms could make this type of resource available to all employees.“With automation and algorithms, leaders can bring this type of learning, of self-awareness and personalized growth, to all employees, without the cost, consistency and scalability issues faced with in-person coaching. We no longer have to compromise on who gets access to this type of professional and personal development.”
Precision Technology
It is no secret that each year, many organizations struggle to get the ROI desired from their people-focused objectives such as engagement, wellbeing, or productivity. And it is a concern that is only growing for larger organizations who fear working from home may bring increasing challenges in these areas. Whether it’s a work-home conflict that leads to disengagement or mental and physical distractions, employees need to be able to manage, direct and optimize their personal energy more than ever before. Thankfully, with the technology available today, organizations can provide individual employees with an awareness and focused plan to be productive, feel good, and handle the challenges that arise. And with technology breaking down geographic limitations, each person can work comfortably at their own pace and in their own location.
Accessible Technology for All
Ultimately, having a technology-based solution means that organizations can have the best of both worlds as they can expedite, extend and elevate human capabilities. In addition, this same technology can also expand the reach and impact of coaches. For example, it can rapidly provide a coach with the line of sight needed to move straight into the right action plan, carry out development road mapping, and deliver specific, proven exercises across a variety of topics. This can help the coaches focus their time on activities that require human capabilities, enabling them to serve more employees.
By providing a more affordable option without sacrificing personalization and depth, technology is finally granting access to every employee, giving individuals a chance to grow to their potential and achieve the future they want. And that is just good for business.
How are you leveraging technology to ensure there is no learning and development divide in your organization? Share with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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