November 2018
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November 2018
The Buzz

We Need to Rethink Employee Development

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Simply put, employees—particularly Millennials—want opportunities to learn and grow. If their workplace doesn’t provide these opportunities, they will find one that will. The data supports this notion: According to Gallup, the number 1 reason people change jobs today is for “career growth opportunities.” Employee development, however, isn’t just a perk or a retention strategy; it’s a forward-thinking business tactic. The nature of work is evolving, and today’s workplaces are too complex to offer nothing more than how-to learning experiences. This is a problem in the traditional way employee development is designed. Most programs emphasize fixed knowledge and skill acquisition; this because most employee training is rooted in the assumption that skills and knowledge are the primary differentiator of success in a given role, and are not subject to change dramatically. This way of thinking is outdated and doesn’t take into account the disruptive forces and increased pace technology has unleashed. Rather than teaching employees what to do, employers need to be more concerned with teaching their employees how to think. Employee development nowadays doesn’t mean learning a new computer program, it means empowering them with the mindsets they need to be successful no matter what task comes their way.

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"Rather than teaching employees what to do, employers need to be more concerned with teaching their employees how to think."
I think it is amazing to see that there are more people out there thinking in a certain way.
Thank you for sharing this buzz.
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Mara and Bailey:
Great contribution, thank you. I agree with your comment about teaching a thinking mindset. Of course, employees, both millennial, Gen X and now Gen Z need to know the content of their jobs. After traditional on-boarding shouldn't we equip them with the "Things-to-Do" and "Questions-to-Ask" so that they can discover job content in a self-learning, growth mindset manner? This should apply especially in the area of Fault Diagnosis and Correction that is typically not taught.
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One of our first strategies in 2019 is rollout Growth Mindset learning opportunities for employees. I agree with everything your article says but how can we be sure employees see the value of learning opportunities like these?
Hi Curtis,
Happy to say, yes, our senior leadership absolutely models a growth mindset. They also fully support employee development initiatives especially as it supports retentions and engagement.
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I'm with you Colleen - I believe I am working on programs that help associates become better problem solvers. Unfortunately, my organization is not seeing value/ROI.
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Congrats Colleen on the 2019 rollout. Assuming you have leadership support, was it difficult to get their support? Secondly, does your leadership currently model growth mindset behavior?
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