Training in complex changing environments
Author: Rūta Lūse, chairman of the board of organizational development centre “Spring Valley”
The process of globalization has an inevitable impact on several economical, political, organizational and social aspects which makes the world more complex and brings us a lot of challenges. Therefore, there have been numerous research projects carried out in Europe and USA focusing on how rapid changes will influence all aspects of life of people and organizations in the near and distant future.
For example, the famous management researcher and practitioner Charles Handy (1) already in the late 1990’s has argued that the pattern of work is also changing due to the globalization from traditional full-time jobs in organization towards short-term contracts and part-time jobs. Back then nobody took him seriously. But now – almost 30 years later – this “prediction” has become our new reality. Our “new normal”.
Now we have become an eyewitness that the pattern of adult training processes is changing as well. And its main feature is – you have to run very fast to stay still!
Firstly, the adult training process is becoming more and more digital. On the one hand, it’s positive because there are no boundaries in the digital world – different educational opportunities (especially international studies and training) are becoming more available, we can take part in training at any convenient time and from anywhere in the world. For example, according to the research conducted by the Eurostat in 2021, already 27% of EU inhabitants aged 16-74 reported that they did an online course or used online learning material in the last three months. Although the increase compared to 2020 is only 4%, it is very significant in the current situation because accelerated digitalization processes are one of the global pandemic’s side effects.
On the other hand, remote learning process is quite challenging, and not just for trainers whose workload first doubles or even triples, as they have to learn and develop new technologies and teaching skills. It’s challenging for trainees as well because it requires more concentration.
Secondly, although trainees' motivation to take part in training varies, their requirements regarding the learning process are very high. Most of them are so-called “doers” – people who focus on immediate results. Their aim is to get the knowledge and skills which can be used “right now” – the next day or week, therefore, those people prefer practice instead of theory.
Same, “doers”, just like so called “planners” or people who chose training programs for self-development by focusing on their future perspectives (knowledge and skills that could be useful in a case of retraining process), are expecting an individual approach always and everywhere – during the shopping, treatment, etc. Training process is not an exception. Do all the trainers have skills and capability to satisfy these expectations? That’s a good question!
The fact is that we can’t prevent and ignore globalization and the changes it causes. But we can adapt. If we speak about the adult training process, there are many different ways to deal with the escalating change and “turbulence”.
Rethinking traditional approach to training and development
Mark Nevins, a leadership advisor and coach also argues, that “to develop so called soft skills - interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence and the ability to engage and influence others aren’t going to improve much via an on-line module. But now this entirely 2020’s unexpected change of course is forcing us to rethink how we can develop and train our people and create and strengthen organizational capabilities and culture, when we simply cannot get together in person.” (2)
Transitioning training programs to on-line platforms is an enormous task. On the one hand, it requires acquiring new IT training tools, developing appropriate training resources and suitable training methods. (3) On the other hand, it allows trainers to rethink traditional training approaches and use the online tools and learning environments as an additional learning source. Therefore, the continuous changes in each country requires a society, which is able to learn, change and adapt rapidly. Not in vain, training nowadays is considered as one of the most essential factors within the organization which helps to build long term effectiveness in the current complex environment.
The need for new skills and knowledge
As it is mentioned before, the increasing speed of change in all spheres of life and work all over the world is creating tough pressure for the need of new appropriate knowledge and new skills. This is the reason why the whole educational system of Latvia and of course in many other countries as well is undergoing immense changes during the last ten years.
Of course, great attention has been paid also to adult training and development. But, despite the Latvian Adult Education Association has created a co-operation network of adult education providers from towns and districts of Latvia uniting 62 institutions, this development process of the lifelong learning still is quite fractured. The reason is the fact that there is no national human resource development strategy as it is in France, Singapore and other countries. Moreover – training and development of individuals after graduating any academic or vocational educational establishment is seen mostly as the responsibility of the individual or the company itself. This is one of the main reasons why the participation rate of adults in lifelong learning in Latvia is increasing very slowly.
The overall statistics is not encouraging. But, in some way, the “good” news is that almost the whole of Europe and even the whole world is facing the same problem. For example, the overall rise of the lifelong learning participation rate in the European Union during the last decade was only 1,4% – from 7,8% in 2010 to 9,2% in 2020. Only six member states exceeded the 15% benchmark by 2020: Sweden (28,6%), Finland (27,3%), Denmark (20%), the Netherlands (18.8%), Estonia (17.1%) and Luxembourg (16.3%). But seven member states had participation rates below 5%: Romania (1.0%), Bulgaria (1.6%), Slovakia (2.8%), Croatia (3.2%), Poland (3.7%), Greece (4.1%) and Cyprus (4.7%). (4)
There are reasonable suspicions that this data will be confirmed by the latest UNESCO findings which will be published later this year, as the previous “Global Report on Adult Learning and Education” (GRALE) showed that, despite the fact that many countries reveal that their participation rates in lifelong learning are growing, only 25% of 96 countries reported participation rates within 5 – 10%, but 29% reported even lower rates.
These researches highlight one more indisputable fact – the lowest lifelong participation rates are among the disadvantaged groups of society, including low-skilled, low-income people, people with disabilities, etc. The logical question is – what should we do to change (improve) this situation as soon as possible? How can we raise the interest about lifelong learning in different groups of society?
As the labor market is one of the areas where the impact of the global pandemic is felt very strongly, nowadays the contribution of adults’ professional competences in many European countries, including Latvia, is more relevant than ever. Moreover, a strong adult learning culture is imperative to ensure that all individuals are ready to upgrade their existing skills or acquire new skills to adapt to new challenges and opportunities, and thrive in an increasingly complex world.
Success factors for training and development in organization
Drawing on the assumptions that the change processes are different not only in every country, but even in each organization, it can be assumed that the success of individuals’ learning depends not only on their own motivation and efforts of trainers, but also on the social and economical context of the country the company operates in, the company culture and HR policy regarding the training issues. Therefore, it is important to consider the relationship between the training and the company business strategy, and how this relationship can facilitate or restrict the learning opportunity for people.
As Gerald Cole claims, the culture of organization plays an important role in the training and development process. He explains that if the organization supports training, trainers are motivated to contribute to their organization encouraging employees to learn. (5) However, if the organization shows a little interest in training, the trainer's contribution could be very limited.
Training cannot result in benefits when there are discrepancies in the goals of the structure which is responsible for human resources and policies in an organizational context. Successful implementation of training policy in practice is possible only through the close cooperation between the top management (decision-making), personnel department (policies development which determine – what to do and how), line managers and trainers (policy statements should be worked out in detail and implemented in training practices).
Nowadays a good trainer is the one who’s trying to use all the advantages that are provided by the time and environment. It means that trainers who want to be effective in their work should understand the pressure of globalization and take in account all the factors mentioned above.
Example of successful learning experience
The following example shows a successful experience in fostering a learning culture in an organization by the close collaboration between the organization’s senior management team, managers and the training company. As competition in the Latvian market was increasing rapidly, company X's senior management team proposed to develop a special training program for its middle and first-level managers to develop an understanding of the company's business processes in the local and international business environment, thus improving its competitiveness.
The initial offer was developed by the staff of the training company on the basis of a careful training needs analysis results and was communicated throughout the company. When the project was presented to the top management team, it was accepted immediately – without any discussions. Its success key was in the fact that a wide range of managers at all levels were involved in the project preparation and development process, so, the “decision makers” or senior management team understood its purpose for their training needs.
People are capable of working and developing together, if they are given the responsibility and respect to do so. This is the place to remember the famous Hawthorne studies conducted by Elton Mayo in Hawthorne plant of the western Electric Company in Chicago, America between 1927 and 1932 which gave interesting findings that “new innovations in the workplace such as extra training, produces enthusiasm amongst workers and ultimately leads to positive results in work performance”. (6)
The example above might prove that it is not difficult to motivate people to learn. The only thing which is needed to make the training successful is the right approach for the communication of the new ideas throughout the company and amongst individuals. Of course, in reality, it is not that simple because you cannot motivate people, if they do not want to be motivated and developed regarding their underlying individual psychological needs.
“Must have” action. Conclusion
In conclusion, I have to say that the market is changing very rapidly nowadays, therefore, there is a particular demand for workers who are constantly thinking about self-development and are willing (and able) to adapt to the new challenges quickly. Even very experienced employees still need to update their knowledge to keep up with the industry and regain their competitiveness.
It’s also not a secret that specifics of the different professions are changing all the time and it happens mostly because of the development of modern technologies. According to a study conducted by organizers of the World Economic Forum 2020, approximately 50% of professions will change significantly or “age” in the coming years. It means that people who want to “survive” in the labor market, have to invest time and money regularly to acquire new knowledge and skills which would help to improve their competitiveness.
Taking into consideration the actual situation in the lifelong learning area all over the world, it will not be easy to reach this aim. But it’s quite clear that fundamental changes will be possible only if the mindset of adults regarding the lifelong learning role in their self-development will change. It means that development of a motivating learning environment is “must have” for every organization and even every country which is oriented to the sustainable development.
Resources
(1) Handy, C B,The changing work of organizations, Oxford University Press, USA, 1996
(4) Adult learning statistics. Eurostat, 2022
(5) Cole, G.A., Management Theory and Practice, DP Publications: London, 1996
(6) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect