What is the 'Manager Studio' program at PVH?

'Manager Studio' is the rebranded initiative for developing people managers. It addresses inconsistent definitions of managerial roles and responsibilities by establishing core capabilities and offering a safe space for managers to test and learn best practices.

How does PVH measure the success of its learning programs?

Success is measured through engagement metrics and, more importantly, by connecting learning to business impact. This includes tracking specific actions taken after training (like entering data in Workday) and observing increased collaboration and tailored requests from business leaders.

What is the biggest challenge in onboarding new team members at a global company like PVH?

The greatest challenge is balancing a global standard for onboarding with regional cultural differences and employee experiences. Ensuring consistency while allowing for local nuances and fostering a sense of global connection across diverse locations is complex.

What learning methods are most successful at PVH for different roles?

Self-guided learning is crucial for IT/technical roles, often using platforms like LinkedIn and Coursera. However, there's a growing demand for in-person learning and workshops, suggesting a blended approach is most effective.

How does PVH handle the constant changes in its workforce and business environment?

PVH emphasizes 'change agility' and 'resilience' as key leadership competencies. Instead of predicting change, the focus is on developing adaptable employees who can learn and respond fluidly to new challenges, technological shifts, and evolving workforce needs.

Personalized learning at scale: How the L&D team behind Calvin Klein customizes learning programs

Q: How does PVH personalize learning for its diverse workforce?

PVH focuses on establishing better connectivity between HR systems and learning platforms to sync talent profiles with development plans and career paths. This allows for more tailored learning opportunities relevant to individual roles and progression.

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Education4 min read21 min video

Aug 8, 2024|1,174 views|21

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Key Moments

TL;DR

PVH's L&D scales personalized learning for 30k employees, focusing on deskless workers and manager development.

Key Insights

PVH employs 30,000 associates globally, with a significant majority (20,000) being deskless retail and warehouse workers.

Reaching deskless workers requires overcoming challenges like limited device access, varied schedules, and the need to avoid taking them off the floor.

Microlearning and empowering managers as talent developers are key strategies for engaging deskless employees.

The 'Manager Studio' program was developed to create a consistent understanding of people manager roles and responsibilities across the organization.

Integrating learning technologies with HR systems is crucial for offering personalized learning paths and connecting talent to opportunities.

Success measurement involves tracking engagement, linking it to business impact, and observing when business leaders request tailored workshops.

REACHING A DIVERSE GLOBAL WORKFORCE

PVH Corporation, home to brands like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, employs approximately 30,000 associates worldwide. A significant challenge lies in catering to the diverse needs of this workforce, which includes about 10,000 office-based employees and 20,000 in retail and warehouse roles. These deskless workers often lack consistent access to computers or mobile devices, making traditional learning delivery methods ineffective. The company's global Center of Excellence, in partnership with regional learning teams, focuses on innovative ways to deliver learning to this vast and varied population, acknowledging their different schedules and market needs.

EMBRACING CHANGE AGILITY AND RESILIENCE

A primary focus for PVH's L&D team is fostering change agility and resilience among its employees. In an environment of constant, unpredictable change—from technological shifts to evolving workforce needs—the ability to adapt fluidly is paramount. This means moving beyond simply preparing for known changes to developing a mindset of continuous adaptation. The L&D strategy supports this by focusing on how employees can learn through change, emphasizing flexibility in timing and understanding the organization's pulse on these evolving topics rather than solely imparting new knowledge.

ADDRESSING THE DESKLESS WORKER CHALLENGE

Specific strategies are employed to effectively train the large deskless workforce. Recognizing that time away from the sales or warehouse floor is a significant constraint, especially for hourly workers, PVH leverages microlearning. This 'snackable' content can be consumed during brief breaks. Crucially, managers are empowered as the primary developers of talent, integrating learning into daily interactions and team meetings. Formalizing expert buddy programs also helps learning permeate the workplace and identifies potential career paths for associates, even in part-time retail roles.

THE EVOLUTION OF MANAGER STUDIO

The 'Manager Studio' program emerged from a need for a consistent definition of what a people manager does within PVH's large, multi-brand organization. Employee feedback indicated ambiguity and inconsistency in role understanding. The development process involved extensive collaboration between HR, business leaders, and people managers to define core capabilities. Branding the initiative as 'Manager Studio' evoked a sense of experimentation and a safe space for growth, drawing on PVH's strong brand identity and history with marketing and advertising to effectively launch and position the program.

LEVERAGING LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES FOR PERSONALIZATION

PVH is focused on using learning technologies to enhance personalization and connect disparate HR systems. The goal is to establish seamless connectivity between HRIS, learning management systems, and job architecture platforms. This integration allows for syncing talent profiles with development plans and career paths, thereby connecting the right talent to the right opportunities at the right time. This approach supports 'learning in the flow of work' by understanding individual roles and future work needs, moving beyond traditional talent marketplaces.

MEASURING SUCCESS AND DRIVING IMPACT

Measuring the success of L&D initiatives at PVH involves a dual approach: tracking engagement and connecting it to tangible business impact. This includes direct measures, like confirming employees complete a post-training action (e.g., setting priorities in Workday), and indirect measures from employee engagement surveys. A key indicator of success is when business leaders request customized versions of global learning programs for their specific teams, demonstrating that the L&D content is relevant, impactful, and meeting distinct operational needs.

NAVIGATING GLOBAL ONBOARDING COMPLEXITIES

Onboarding new team members globally presents a significant challenge due to cultural and organizational differences across various campuses. PVH aims to establish a global standard for managers while allowing for regional customization to ensure a consistent yet tailored employee experience. The difficulty lies in making global connections and helping employees understand how their work integrates with colleagues in different regions, overcoming the inherent time and distance challenges to foster a unified global culture despite local variations.

BALANCING LEARNING MODALITIES

PVH observes a varied landscape in learning preferences. While self-guided learning, particularly through platforms like LinkedIn Learning and Coursera, is highly valued for IT and technical roles, completion rates can be low despite high interaction. Concurrently, there's a noted resurgence in demand for in-person learning, such as workshops, indicating a need for blended approaches. Integrating new tools, like Office 365, requires focusing on creating seamless integration points into daily workflows and establishing a single entry point for all learning resources to maintain adoption.

Mentioned in This Episode

●Software & Apps

●Tools

●Organizations

●Concepts

●People Referenced

PVH Associate Breakdown

Data extracted from this episode

Worker Type	Number of Associates
Office-based/Computer workers	10,000
Retail & Warehouse (Deskless)	20,000
Global Total	30,000

Common Questions

The primary challenge is minimizing time away from the sales or warehouse floor, especially for hourly workers. Device limitations and the need to ensure they are focused on their tasks rather than just training on a device are also key concerns.

Topics

Deskless Workers Manager Training Change Agility Learning Technologies Employee Onboarding Global Workforce PVH Calvin Klein In-person Learning

Mentioned in this video

personSue Denning

Senior Director of Global Talent Development for PVH Corporation, discussing strategies for personalizing learning at scale, particularly for deskless workers and managers.

conceptIn-person learning

A learning format seeing a resurgence in demand, including workshops and leadership development programs, indicating a shift back towards collaborative, face-to-face training.

organizationPVH Corporation

The parent company behind Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, focusing on global talent development and learning programs for its ~30,000 associates.

toolEmployee engagement surveys

A metric used to measure the success of L&D initiatives by tracking overall employee satisfaction and sentiment.

softwareOffice 365

A suite of tools recently rolled out, including Teams, highlighting the importance of integrating learning platforms with communication tools for better adoption.

conceptManager Studio

The branded program for developing people managers at PVH, evolved from 'people manager capabilities' to a more engaging identity that evokes a test-and-learn environment.

organizationCalvin Klein

An iconic brand under PVH Corporation, known for its advertising and marketing history, which influences the branding of its internal learning programs like Manager Studio.

conceptMicrolearning

A strategy recommended for deskless workers, allowing them to 'snack on learning' in short bursts between tasks.

conceptLearning in the flow of work

An approach to learning that integrates development opportunities directly into daily tasks and workflows, requiring connectivity between HR and learning systems.

conceptExpert buddy programs

Formalized programs on the retail floor where associates can learn from peers with expertise in areas like merchandising or store operations.

conceptSelf-guided learning

A learning method particularly important for IT and technical roles, often utilizing platforms like LinkedIn and Coursera, leading to high interaction but sometimes lower completion rates.

personTommy Hilfiger

organizationWorkday