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Is learning the right focus for L&D people?
PUBLISHED: 27/12/2018
The goal of the learning and development person is to help people learn. That makes sense doesn’t it? After all that is their job title.
But what does the organisation really need?
Organisations need more than people who just know lots. They need people who are capable of doing the jobs that the organisation needs to be done.
If you have the choice, which would you prefer; an employee who knows lots about the job, or an employee who is capable of doing the job?
Most people would opt for the capable employee. The worth of most employees to an organisation is based far more on their capability to do their job than on their knowledge of things relating to the job. Of course, part of capability is having the right knowledge, but it is only part.
My suggestion is that the role of anybody responsible for learning and development within an organisation needs to be much broader. It needs to encompass all that is needed to ensure that employees are capable at their point of work.
It is interesting to note that in a number of progressive businesses (for example Nestle, Tesco, Lloyds Bank) the role of Learning and Development Manager has been replaced with the role of Capability Manager. This is far more than just a change in job title. This change in emphasis on the role from learning to capability has quite a profound effect on how people in these roles do their job.
How would this change of role change your thinking?
What would happen within your organisation if someone is focused on ensuring that all employees are capable of doing the job they are employed to do?
I would bet that much more effort would be put into performance support. That is, making sure that employees have to hand the information and tools they need to get their jobs done. This would be apparent in better intranet resources that are easy to access and intensely practical. It would show up in the provision of simple job aids and crib sheets. People would be able to connect more quickly to experts to get immediate questions answered.
Beyond these ‘information’ based performance support aids, there would also be a focus on what is stopping people from getting the job done, what is stopping them being capable at the point of work. So many times people are unable to do their jobs well due to inadequate tools or dysfunctional systems. These operational issues are also part of the capability agenda.
So don’t just think learning as the answer to improving performance. Think capability.
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