How are companies like Toyota Financial Services adapting learning for a changing landscape?

TFS Academy focuses on developing new generations of skills emphasizing agility and speed alongside specialization. They also aim to make the entire workforce digitally savvy, promoting a 'bilingual' understanding of technology.

What motivates employees to engage in on-the-job skill development?

Motivation often comes from seeing peers benefit from training and development, leading to a step change in their careers. Frustration with current roles can also be a powerful driver for self-directed learning and change.

How can organizations encourage continuous learning among employees?

Organizations can activate learning by fostering a culture where employees share their mastery and recognize the value of teaching others. Leaders role-modeling learning and emphasizing its link to business strategy is also critical.

What are the surprising trends in the modern learning landscape?

One surprise is the strong desire for in-person, collective learning opportunities returning now that COVID constraints have lifted, despite a long period of adaptation to purely digital formats.

What common misconceptions do leaders have about learning and development?

Leaders often misunderstand that learning is a continuous process, not just a one-off training. They also sometimes mistakenly believe it's solely HR's job, rather than a shared responsibility for all leaders to develop their teams.

What is the role of micro-certifications versus traditional degrees in corporate development?

Micro-certifications are valuable for quickly acquiring specific, in-demand skills and providing motivation through visible credentials. Traditional degrees offer broader transferable skills like critical thinking and leadership, providing a sustainable foundation.

How is on-the-job training evolving in innovative fields?

On-the-job training is increasingly seen as a critical, coached experience within the organization's specific context. For innovation, it involves hands-on experimentation and learning from both successes and failures.

Key Moments

GOI Launch Panel Corporate Approaches to Career Development

MIT OpenCourseWare

Education4 min read52 min video

Jul 20, 2022|50 views|1

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Key Moments

TL;DR

Experts discuss corporate career development, emphasizing continuous learning, personalized approaches, and empowering employees.

Key Insights

Corporate career development is shifting towards continuous, personalized learning rather than traditional, one-size-fits-all approaches.

Empowering employees to take control of their careers through upskilling and reskilling builds confidence and engagement.

Integrating learning into the organizational culture, supported by leaders, is crucial for sustained growth and adaptability.

Micro-certifications are gaining prominence for their agility in addressing rapidly evolving skill needs, complementing traditional degrees.

On-the-job training and fostering a culture of teaching and peer learning are effective methods for practical skill development.

Measuring the impact of learning extends beyond traditional ROI to include employee empowerment, retention, and overall well-being.

TRANSFORMING CAREER DEVELOPMENT IN CORPORATE SETTINGS

The panel, featuring experts from HSBC, Toyota Financial Services, and Cargill, explores contemporary corporate approaches to career development. A central theme is the shift from traditional, rigid training models to more agile, employee-centric strategies that foster continuous learning. The discussion highlights the importance of adapting to a rapidly changing landscape, where skills must be constantly updated to meet evolving business needs and technological advancements. This evolution is driven by the recognition that organizations cannot solely rely on external hiring to fill skill gaps, necessitating significant investment in their existing workforce through upskilling, reskilling, and new skilling initiatives.

DEFINING THE NORTH STAR: VISION AND PURPOSE IN DEVELOPMENT

Each speaker outlined their organization's 'north star' for development. At Cargill, the vision is to strengthen a culture of organizational learning to meet current and future challenges, ensuring employees remain competitive. Toyota Financial Services focuses on developing next-generation skills, emphasizing speed, specialization, and digital savviness, aiming to make every employee digitally fluent. HSBC's approach centers on empowering employees, providing them with the confidence and tools to take control of their career trajectories and pivot as needed, particularly in response to uncertain futures and the impact of events like the pandemic.

SUCCESSFUL INITIATIVES: ACTIVATING LEARNING AND INNOVATION

Vipin Gupta shared the success of the TFS Academy, a peer-to-peer learning initiative with over 5,000 participants, built on a 'learn-do-teach-do' model, fostering a culture where employees share their mastery. Steve Suarez highlighted HSBC's commitment to decentralizing innovation, encouraging participation through curated training programs like design thinking, fintech, and quantum computing, some of which have gained significant traction externally. Julie Dervin discussed Cargill's 'virtual online training team,' a volunteer network of nearly 700 employees who co-create and inform the design of personalized learning experiences, ensuring alignment with learner preferences and business needs.

EMPOWERMENT, EMOTIONAL CONNECTION, AND MOTIVATION

A significant aspect of successful career development is the emotional connection and empowerment it provides. Participants' willingness to engage in learning is influenced by seeing peers benefit, fostering confidence and a sense of control over their careers. Frustration with current roles can act as a powerful motivator for seeking new skills and opportunities. Leaders play a critical role as role models, making learning a visible priority and demonstrating its connection to purpose and strategy, which in turn cultivates self-motivation among employees.

NAVIGATING THE EVOLVING LEARNING LANDSCAPE

The learning landscape has rapidly transformed, with a surprising resurgence of desire for in-person, collective learning experiences post-pandemic, highlighting the need for a balanced blend of digital and physical modalities. Leaders often misunderstand learning, viewing it as a universal fix for performance issues rather than a strategic business component. Moreover, measuring the ROI on learning can be challenging, as its benefits extend to employee well-being and retention, which are not always easily quantifiable but are nonetheless critical for organizational success.

MICRO-CERTIFICATIONS AND TRADITIONAL DEGREES: A BALANCED APPROACH

The panel discussed the growing importance of micro-certifications, especially in rapidly evolving fields like cloud computing and AI, for their ability to deliver targeted, on-demand skills and serve as motivating badges of accomplishment. While traditional degrees offer foundational transferable skills like critical thinking and problem-solving, micro-certifications are essential for addressing immediate, specialized skill gaps quickly. The value of certifications also lies in demonstrating an individual's self-learning capability, a highly prized trait in today's dynamic work environment. Ultimately, a blend of both approaches is often most effective.

INNOVATION, ON-THE-JOB TRAINING, AND FUTURE EXCITEMENT

On-the-job training, particularly in innovation, is viewed as an experimental process where learning occurs through doing, adapting, and even failing. This practical, context-specific learning is most effective when managers are trained to coach on these experiences. Looking ahead, the panelists are excited about the convergence of e-learning with augmented and virtual reality, anticipating these technologies will profoundly disrupt education. There's also a growing realization that learning must be an integral part of business strategy, positioning corporations as educational centers for the future.

Mentioned in This Episode

●Software & Apps

●Companies

●Organizations

●Studies Cited

●Concepts

●People Referenced

Corporate Development Best Practices

Practical takeaways from this episode

Do This

Strengthen organizational culture of continuous learning for future readiness.

Focus on developing agility and speed alongside specialization.

Empower employees to take control of their careers and build confidence.

Leverage peer-to-peer learning and teaching to activate knowledge sharing.

Curate effective and concise training to respect employees' busy schedules.

Personalize learning experiences to accommodate diverse employee preferences.

Encourage leaders to be role models for continuous learning and skill-building.

Recognize that learning is a continuous, integral part of business strategy.

Embrace micro-certifications for on-demand skill acquisition and motivation.

Facilitate on-the-job learning through coaching in specific organizational contexts.

Use experimentation and embrace failure as a learning opportunity for innovation.

Avoid This

Rely solely on talent acquisition to fill skill gaps; invest in current workforce.

Assume a one-size-fits-all approach to learning and development.

Treat learning as a separate HR function; it's everyone's responsibility.

View learning solely as a cost rather than a future benefit.

Jump immediately to training when performance issues arise; diagnose the root cause.

Forget the importance of traditional educational models for critical thinking skills.

Common Questions

The primary goal is to strengthen the culture of organizational learning, enabling employees to not only meet current business challenges but also to adapt to future, unknown ones by continuously building relevant skills.

Topics

Corporate Learning Reskilling Employee Empowerment Micro-certifications

Mentioned in this video

personSteve Suarez

Global Head of Innovation for Finance Risk and Compliance at HSBC, participating as a panelist.

companyToyota Financial Services

The U.S. headquarters for Toyota, where Vipin Gupta serves as Chief Innovation and Digital Officer.

companyMercer

A company that provides solutions for transformation and career development, mentioned by the moderator Melissa Swift.

personVipin Gupta

Group Vice President and Chief Innovation and Digital Officer of Toyota Financial Services, participating as a panelist.

personJulie Durven

Global Head of Learning and Development at Cargill, participating as a panelist.

organizationd-school

An organization that collaborated with HSBC to create a design thinking program.

conceptfintechs

A topic covered in a new course launched by HSBC in combination with Oxford, related to the disruption of the financial services industry.

conceptdecentralized finance

A topic covered in a new course launched by HSBC in combination with Oxford, crucial for the future of the financial services industry.

organizationVirtual online training team

An internal volunteer network at Cargill comprising over 700 employees who help shape learning experiences based on employee preferences.

locationEurope

A region where research indicates that 97% of people experience frustration on the job.

personKathleen Kennedy

From the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence, who is to moderate the next panel.

conceptHSBC Design Thinking Hashtag

A specific hashtag used on LinkedIn to share testimonials and experiences with HSBC's design thinking training.

conceptAI and machine learning

Areas where HSBC is focusing significant technology and training efforts, offering micro-certifications.

organizationTFS Academy

A learning academy created and launched by Toyota Financial Services, focused on developing talent and digital savviness.

companyCargill

A company with 160,000 employees in 70 countries, focused on nourishing the world sustainably, where Julie Durven leads learning and development.

organizationMIT

An institution associated with William Oliver, and where the ACE course for Steve Suarez originated.

studyMIT ACE course

A course taken by Steve Suarez for personal upskilling, which he mentions inspired colleagues.

softwareLinkedIn

A professional networking platform where employees share testimonials and achievements related to training, and where HSBC's design thinking hashtag is used.

conceptcloud-based computing

A key area for technology adoption and training at HSBC, including specialized training like cloud computing.

personWilliam Oliver

Associated with MIT, HSBC is looking to work with him to advance quantum computing training.

organizationMIT Center for Collective Intelligence

An institution where Kathleen Kennedy is from, and the host of the next panel.