It is undeniable that our lives and work routines are conquered by technology. While this allows us to be more effective and efficient, it has also made us more fragile and anxious. This is because changes, which occur at an increasingly accelerated pace, make business non-linear and complex and strongly impact work relationships, the needs of companies, leaders and managers.
It is in this context of revolution 5.0, where complete integration between humans and technology is yet to be achieved, that companies are constantly looking for new ways to prepare for the future of work. Given this, companies around the world have invested heavily in training their teams to be more productive and competitive. According to Forbes Magazine, companies in the United States invested US$1.2 trillion in training in 2022, which represents around 6.5% of the American GDP.
However, one question arises: how much has this investment been reflected in results for the Business?
The answer to this question is complex and multifaceted. However, we can say that, to create extraordinary teams, simply investing in training is not enough. Companies that manage to make learning a competitive differentiator follow a pattern that we will discuss below, in 4 steps:
- Training effective teams involves, firstly, defining clear objectives, that is, identifying the specific business results that need to be impacted and what new skills are necessary for the result to be achieved.
- The next step is to create a Learning Journey that encourages the construction of these new technical and behavioral skills.
With this objective, training must be designed in an engaging and practical way, using an effective, student-centered method that relates its content to the professional’s daily life through different learning resources, in online, in-person or blended format.
- Furthermore, it is necessary to offer opportunities for employees to apply new skills in the work environment, as a competency is formed not only by knowledge, but also skills, attitudes, values, and clarity of the deliverables to be carried out. And no matter how good the content is, theoretical knowledge alone does not guarantee that the professional is prepared to apply what they have learned, since new processes generate doubts, insecurity, delays and errors.
Additionally, it is worth remembering that in the Information Age, human beings’ memory and learning capacity has been put to the test, due to the large supply of information received all the time. Thus, it is necessary to stimulate the coach’s intuitive and analytical thinking, balancing the two so that learning occurs through ideas received from all parties, without judgment. At the same time, there’s a need to evaluate and apply concepts to determine how effective they are.
- And, finally, to guarantee the effectiveness of a development program, it is very important to regularly evaluate the impact of training on the company’s results using business indicators, such as increased productivity, reduced errors, compliance with processes, improvement customer satisfaction, among others.
Thus, considering the challenges that organizations face today – the gap between available and desirable skills, the creation of learning opportunities and a development process focused on building a workforce prepared for the future – companies have Investing more and more in preparing their professionals, as building an extraordinary team can mean the difference between an organization equipped for sudden changes and one that is unsteady.
So, if you want to be part of the select group of companies that have time prepared for any challenge or change, train your team efficiently. Define your business objectives, align them with the organization’s strategic planning, map your existing skills gaps in your company and build effective learning journeys based on proven methods, while also encouraging the practical application of these skills to measure and track results.
There is no magic formula, but this is certainly the way to increase your business’s organizational skills!
By Priscila F Prado, CEO at vislumbrerh
