I hear the same thing over and over again: “Our last few engagement studies have all identified the same thing—if we don’t start focusing more on development, people are going to leave.”
Never has this been truer. The social contract between employers and employees has changed; no longer do employees expect a paycheck and lifetime employment. They expect an engaging workplace, where they can own their development through self-directed learning, and the ability to control career growth and opportunities.
“Research clearly shows that when employees feel empowered and have a sense of ownership for their jobs, their engagement is significantly higher,” according to the Global Human Capital Trends 2016 report. And engagement is a key metric for predicting organizational success.
What’s more, according to the same study, employees expect dynamic, self-directed, continuous learning opportunities from their employers. And yet, many learning and development organizations are still struggling with traditional learning approaches and systems that think of learning and development as something you do “to” employees.
More-progressive organizations are leaning into this trend. Great managers think of their roles as developing people first, and that corporate objectives are achieved through this development, not by resisting it. I’m always astonished when I hear managers say, “I simply don’t have time to develop my team.” What do they think their job is?
So how do you lean into this trend?
- Stop tracking completions.
- Stop dragging people to what you think they should do.
- Start focusing on what they need and want.
- Become a provider of tools and best practices.
- Promote learning as a continuous process, rather than an event.
As a result, you will create pull versus push. You will empower the very dynamic that people want—to own their development. And when they want to do that, and they actively take steps to do so, your goal, developing and retaining talent, will be met. And that’s why it’s good for you.
Want to learn how to lean into this trend?
Check out the webcast Why Employees Taking Charge of Their Development Is Good for You, July 14, 2016, at 1 p.m. ET.
