DRIVE TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE THROUGH LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT | 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary 3
Introduction 4
Make Learning and Development a Key Driver for Change 7
Cultivate a Change Mindset 9
Develop Your (Future) Leaders 12
Build Predictive Power 14
Personalize Content and Diversify Delivery 17
Monitor and Measure Learning Programs 21
Conclusions and Recommendations 24
About the Research 26
Endnotes 28
About the Research Partners 31
DRIVE TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE THROUGH LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT | 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Today’s organizations are encountering a level of change that demands a complete transformation, from the products and services they offer, to their technology, processes, and even their business model and strategy. Understandably, many organizations find it difficult to sustain themselves in these circumstances. Yet others are growing, if not thriving, by purposefully driving transformational change.
The success of this transformation ultimately depends on the people within an organization and their capacity to learn and innovate. Nurturing this talent with opportunities for development not only provides them with new skills, but it also it fuels creativity and collaboration, allowing organizations to more effectively direct change. This elevates the importance of employee learning and development (L&D) programs, making them vital for enhancing the agility of the entire organization. But is the L&D function receiving the attention and resources it needs to accomplish its goals? How can L&D programs be enhanced to help organizations to not only respond to change, but to create and lead transformation?
To learn more, HCI partnered with Cornerstone to examine the traits and practices that organizations can adopt to successfully navigate change. We found that high-performing organizations are more likely to see their HR and L&D programs as important to leading change, and they combine this perspective with the following actions:
Make L&D programs a key driver for change by aligning and integrating development opportunities with the needs of both the organization and its people
Cultivate a change mindset by merging an emphasis on both technical skills and so-called soft or professional skills with a shared understanding of the organization’s plans and expectations for change
Develop current and future leaders to support employees through change and enhance their ability to craft a change strategy
Build the predictive power of the organization to understand the direction of change and prepare plans
Provide personalized content across multiple modes of delivery to increase the accessibility and applicability of learning and development
Monitor L&D outcomes and measure them against the success of change initiatives
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The Imperative for L&D Functions
Most of us recognize that the pace of change is accelerating. In fact, 83% of HR practitioners and leaders indicate that their organization is in a state of constant change.1 The frequency of change, however, doesn’t necessarily reflect its scale or scope. Although many organizations may feel prepared for the changes brought by incremental growth, far fewer are ready for transitions in their processes, operations, or strategies as they merge, expand, or innovate.2 Fewer still are prepared to take on radical, unanticipated changes that require organizational transformation, and yet, changes at this level are becoming so common they touch nearly everyone. In one recent study, as many as 86% of organizations reported recent experience with transformation, with just more than half (54%) indicating that they are currently undergoing a transformation initiative.3 Large and multi-national organizations were even more likely to agree, with 96% in some phase of transformation.4
So, what does it take to stay ahead of radical change? It is essential to craft a strategic vision for change that offers a flexible framework for responding to fluctuations in business and market factors, but it also takes talent—talent with the right skills and abilities—to enact and manage organizational transformation. In today’s tight labor market, developing, engaging, supporting, and retaining this talent is paramount.
The learning and development (L&D) function can be especially important in this effort. More than simply reacting to changing needs, it can help drive transformation by aligning leadership and the workforce to a new business model and strategy, developing new skills and capabilities, creating flexibility for innovation within existing roles, and supporting internal talent mobility.5 To do this, the L&D function itself must transform, expanding its efforts to both personalize and integrate development efforts across the organization.
INTRODUCTION
“As people transform, organizations transform along
with them—that’s where it starts.”
—Tom Tonkin, Ph.D., Senior Principal, Thought-
Leadership and Advisory Services, Cornerstone OnDemand
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How to Drive Transformational Change Through Learning and Development
Understanding the practices of high-performing organizations (HPOs) can offer insights into how L&D efforts could be leveraged to facilitate change. HPOs are those organizations that outperform their peers on HCI’s index of business and talent outcomes.6 In most other respects however, HPOs have much in common with other organizations. They belong to the same sectors and industries. They are small, medium, and large in size. They have HR departments of one, a few, or many. And, they are no more or less likely to agree that their organization is experiencing constant change.
They also know change can be difficult. When asked about their top challenges in creating, managing, or responding to change, there was no significant difference in response between HPOs and other organizations (Figure 1). Many organizations face their share of difficulty in winning the support of their leadership or other internal stakeholders for change initiatives. Similarly, it’s not uncommon to experience resistance to change from managers and employees alike.
If they experience the same changes, and the same challenges, then what makes HPOs different? They are nearly eight times more likely to rate themselves as above average or as one of the best in coping with large-scale strategic change.7 These organizations share at least six characteristics that help them create this advantage. Building these traits can substantially improve the success of change efforts.
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What are the top challenges your organization faces when creating, managing, or responding to change? (Select no more than 3.)
FIGURE 1
Resistance to change from managers and employees
Lack of support and buy-in from business leaders and other
stakeholders
Other issues are given priority over the solution/initiative
Inability to sustain adoption over time
Poor cross-functional collaboration and contributions
A lack of technical solutions
A lack of resources or budget to support change initiatives
Talent shortages/skills gaps in our workforce
Lack of change management skills in the HR function
Poor communication/internal marketing of change initiatives
Insufficient investment in L&D for employees
Poor integration of learning development with other HR
change initiatives
The solution/initiative itself is poorly designed
40%
32%
31%
27%
14%
27%
25%
25%
14%
11%
10%
10%
7%
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MAKE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT A KEY DRIVER FOR CHANGE
An emphasis on HR and talent management strategies that nurture and develop employees is fundamental not just to sustaining change but to transforming an organization through its people.
HPOs already recognize this and are more likely to agree that they drive change through people rather than people through change (57% HPO vs. 44% Other).8 As a result, they are much more likely than other organizations to see HR and talent management programs as either “very” or “extremely” important in their change efforts (Figure 2).9
“Learning and development isn’t just a response to the
change. It also helps to drive change by giving people
information and the ability to innovate and move with
need and demand.”—Jill Kilroy,
AVP Talent Management,Horace Mann Companies
Over the past two years, how important are the following HR/talent management programs to your organization’s change efforts? (Very and Extremely Important)
FIGURE 2
Talent acquisition98%
65%
88%49%
Learning and development (L&D), training
81%52%
74%49%
Leadership development and succession planning
Workforce planning and analytics
Total rewards
95%60%
Engagement, culture, and inclusion
81%65%
75%49%
Compliance and legal agreements
High-Performing Organizations
All Other Organizations
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In fact, when it comes to direct support for change efforts, it is the L&D function that plays a central role (Figure 3). Nearly three-quarters (74%) of HPOs indicate their HR and L&D functions provide significant support for their major change initiatives.10 Perhaps most importantly, their work isn’t siloed—L&D programs are instead integrated throughout HR initiatives to maximize their impact.11 This in turn raises confidence in L&D’s ability to provide learning opportunities that support change efforts (61% of HPOs vs. 22% of other organizations are “very” or “extremely confident”).12
Percentage of somewhat and strongly agreeFIGURE 3
At my organization, the HR/L&D function is responsible for providing
significant support for most major change initiatives
74%60%
72%39%
Our L&D programs are fully integrated with other HR
initiatives to successfully support organizational change
High-Performing Organizations
All Other Organizations
Integrating learning across HR initiatives may require a transformation of the L&D function itself and a re-orientation in development priorities. The L&D programs that are often most effective in creating and supporting change move beyond functional training for select roles or systems and foster the growth of change mindsets.
“We completely transformed how we train and develop
our employees. Our training is now more experiential with employees taking what they
learned in the classroom and living it, making connections and forming relationships to the work they do every day.”
—Jill Kilroy,AVP Talent Management,Horace Mann Companies
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CULTIVATE A CHANGE MINDSET
Access to development opportunities that are integrated with and reinforce other initiatives is key, but content that stimulates skills sets and capabilities critical for envisioning transformation is just as important. Content that fuses technical skill training, with change management techniques and professional skills development can encourage the growth of change mindset. A person with a change mindset views change not as a barrier, but as a vehicle for personal transformation as well as that of their organization.
Most organizations (64%) agree that developing technical expertise and task proficiency is necessary for driving transformational change, but nearly all organizations (90%) prioritize the development of so-called “soft” skills in this effort. These professional skills include the ability to communicate and collaborate, but they also extend to behaviors and mindsets that embrace, adopt, and create change.
Targeting these skills may require building or refreshing L&D programs to include an emphasis on both technical and professional skills together with a shared understanding of the organization’s evolving plans and expectations for change. This approach is reflected in the experiences shared by our survey participants. When asked what their organization is doing differently in response to change efforts, many described programs that offered situational and interpersonal support, and have integrated these with learning around both technical skills and change management techniques (Figure 4).
“When we work to increase cognitive abilities and skills
like being investigative or persistent, having desire,
initiative, or resourcefulness, then people are able to
gravitate to new things and transform their organizations.”
—Tom Tonkin, Ph.D., Senior Principal, Thought-
Leadership and Advisory Services, Cornerstone OnDemand
“Change is inevitable and often stressful. We provide
methods to cope with change including excellent resources
and tools to help our employees develop the skills
to navigate change more successfully.”
—Jill Kilroy,AVP Talent Management,Horace Mann Companies
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Thinking about the training, learning, and development of your workforce, what is your organization doing differently in response to recent change efforts? (A sample of survey responses.)
FIGURE 4
“We have launched a Lean team to help employees
streamline work and fix road blocks. We also have a learning
platform for elective courses as well as required courses for career development.”
“More interpersonal skills training is being offered,
and technology training is also available.”
“We’re retooling the way we do things—supporting our talent to get on top of the change and drive it themselves.”
“We’ve instituted performance coaching to help employees understand the change and what is needed to manage and move with change. We’ve also added learning around healthy lifestyle approaches to help employees manage the stress of change, and we host career discussions about opportunities that develop as part of the change.”
“We offer a program for all employees that includes ten key courses such as Change
Management, Managing Time and Email, Problem-Solving/Innovative Thinking, etc. to help them cope
with change and to be effective in their work environment.”
“We run change management workshops based on personal response to change, and we also provide counseling and coaching support.”
“We’re building programs that are
market-relevant and more advanced that allow
employees to be future-ready”
“Our strong career development program is re-emerging and we are adding mentorship programs and
leadership cohorts.”
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5%7%
Integrative change in which one company acquires or
merges with another
By developing the skills and capabilities connected to a change mindset, L&D can help organizations pivot from simply reacting to change to creating it. HPOs lead this charge. They are significantly more likely to agree that they are intentionally working to transform their organization to disrupt or create new markets (79% HPO vs. 63% Other).13 They are much more likely than other organizations to embrace radical structural and transformational change (Figure 5).14
Over the past two years and looking at all your different change initiatives, how would you characterize the changes your organization has experienced?
FIGURE 5
Transformational, radical change in which a new business model,
organizational principles, and strategy is adopted
37%21%
12%15%
Developmental or incremental changes that accompany the
growth of an organization
0%12%
Remedial change to address financial distress or shortcomings
in performance
0%5%
Relatively stable or consistent— no significant change
35%15%
Structural change to align processes and people with new technology
or other infrastructure
9%14%
Transitional change in which old products or services are phased out
and replaced with something new
2%11%
Localized or fragmentary change within specific departments or units
High-Performing Organizations
All Other Organizations
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DEVELOP YOUR (FUTURE) LEADERS
Effective leadership is vital to sustaining an organization through change. Most organizations recognize this and focus a considerable share of their development efforts on managers. This helps simultaneously build a pipeline of future leaders while empowering talent to serve the organization’s changing needs (Figure 6).
In response to the changes your organization is experiencing, what is the talent strategy for the following levels? (Percent reporting build/develop existing talent)
FIGURE 6
“We need to develop our leaders to be able to lead through our change efforts, to recognize successes, and to foster some level of predictability and understanding, while having the
conviction to stick through a difficult process…and role-model the change.”—Pattie Grimm, Author, Trainer, Coach, and Speaker; former Global Head of Leadership Effectiveness
and Performance Management for Johnson & Johnson Surgical Division
Senior leaders/Executives/C-Suite
Individual contributors
Directors/Vice President
Entry-level employees
Mid-level managers
Front-line managers/Supervisors
36%
40%
62%
69%
54%
25%
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What is your current level of confidence in the following? (Very and Extremely Confident)
FIGURE 7
Our senior leaders’ ability to define strategy
66%36%
54%21%
Our senior leaders’ ability to connect the importance of human capital
management to managing change
52%30%
Our senior leaders’ ability to anticipate or respond to change
High-Performing Organizations
All Other Organizations
This shared pattern in development across different organizations suggests that it’s not just the quantity of learning at these levels that matters. It is the quality and approach to leadership development that builds the capacity for change and provides the organization with the leaders it needs to guide its transformation. A number of survey respondents, for instance, emphasized the need to shift their development emphasis beyond traditional managerial training and skills, to developing leadership abilities that facilitate team interaction, creative problem solving, and strategic thinking.
HPOs develop their leaders to enhance their ability not only to define strategy, but to better anticipate and respond to change (Figure 7).15 Their leaders have a deeper understanding of the importance of effective human capital management in change efforts.16
By developing strategic capabilities in their current and future leaders, HPOs indicate that they are much more likely to have change strategies in place that help them prepare for the unexpected (77% HPO vs. 39% Other).17
“[In response to our need for change,] we developed an
Emerging Leader Academy that spends a whole year
on leading change. We also just hired a Change Manager and are working on strategy
for developing change management/leadership skills.”
—Survey respondent
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BUILD PREDICTIVE POWER
When change is unplanned, unexpected, or unwanted, it can be much more difficult to cope with for individuals and the organization. The L&D function can help develop an organization’s predictive power to better anticipate change, increase planning and analytics skills, and develop new behaviors that support change management and execution.
Personnel changes are among the most common, yet most destabilizing for an organization. And yet many organizations indicate that personnel changes are the most likely to be unplanned or unanticipated (45% across all organizations). HPOs report that these changes are less likely to come as a surprise. In fact, with the exception of mission and strategy, HPOs are significantly less likely to report unplanned changes over the past two years (Figure 8).18
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Which aspects of your organization have experienced significant change in the past two years? (Unplanned or unanticipated change)
FIGURE 8
Personnel (changes in turnover or hiring)
35%49%
12%14%
Locations, regions, or properties where work is performed
7%9%
5%20%
5%12%
5%6%
5%23%
Compensation and benefits practices
Mission and strategy
Products and/or services
Definitions of roles and their required skills or competencies
Internal workplace policies and legal agreements
Operating or business processes
Technological infrastructure (software, equipment, machines)
14%21%
Reporting structures or administrative relationships between units/departments
7%16%
9%27%
7%14%
Workplace culture and employee engagement
High-Performing Organizations
All Other Organizations
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This is not because HPOs are less likely to experience change; it is because they are actively upskilling their workforce to predict the kinds of changes with potentially large or broad impacts to the business. Developing people analytics and workforce planning capabilities can be especially helpful in recognizing trends in personnel changes, resulting in significantly higher levels of confidence to predict the strategic roles and skill sets that will be needed for the future (Figure 9).19
What is your current level of confidence in the following? (Very and Extremely Confident)
FIGURE 9
Our ability to identify the skill sets or competencies needed
in the next 2 to 5 years 17%
44%15%
Our ability to identify the critical, strategic roles needed
5 years from now
High-Performing Organizations
All Other Organizations
44%
When an organization develops their predictive capabilities, they not only better understand changing trends in their workforce, but they can use this information to improve the alignment of their L&D programs with future needs of the organization and its people.
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PERSONALIZE CONTENT AND DIVERSIFY DELIVERY
Learning and development opportunities aren’t only important to the organization—they are also important to that organization’s talent. HPOs are more likely to recognize this and are significantly more likely to agree that development opportunities are an important part of their employee value proposition (81% HPO vs. 60% Other).20
Personalized learning can require considerable effort and resources, yet it is often the preferred solution because it can quickly resolve skills gaps while it makes content more relevant and engaging for individual employees. HPOs are more likely to find value in personalized learning for select roles, or even individual employees (72% HPO vs. 50% Other),21 and they are able to achieve this by drawing on a wide range of sources for content.
Like many other organizations, HPOs are creating or customizing more of their offerings in-house, but they are not necessarily building this content from the ground up. More than other organizations, HPOs rely on partnerships with educational institutions, community-based organizations, and external vendors. They weave together information from these sources to target the skills needed for business-critical positions within their organization (Figure 10).22
“We need to go back to the how, not the what,
of learning. We need to prepare our people to be
self-directed, autonomous learners.”
—Tom Tonkin, Ph.D., Senior Principal, Thought-
Leadership and Advisory Services, Cornerstone OnDemand
“We engage in constant communication and offer
readily available materials/ libraries.”
—Survey respondent
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In addition, they are putting more effort behind communicating the development opportunities they already have and articulating the alignment between learning content and their organization’s change efforts. For instance, when asked what the organization is doing to help employees develop themselves in times of change, our survey respondents made it clear that information about development opportunities should be part and parcel of communication around change.
Finding the best way to deliver these personalized learnings can present another layer of complexity. An organization’s talent can have limited time available for learning and development, especially in an organization in the throes of radical transformation. That’s why diversifying the delivery of learning content is critical to the success of L&D programs and the change efforts they direct.
“We do much more communication to employees about changes and offerings,
and we are implementing processes requiring more manager conversations.”
—Survey respondent
Internal learning offerings (created in-house)
Partnerships with educational institutions
External learning offerings purchased from a vendor
(off-the-shelf)
Custom learning offerings developed through a third-party
Reskilling parts of your workforce for business-critical positions
Partnerships with community-based organizations (office of workforce
development)
In the next two years, please indicate your plans for the following. Will each of the following decrease, increase, or stay the same?
FIGURE 10
High-Performing Organizations
All Other Organizations
Decrease Increase
60%9%90%6%
8% 51%3% 78%
7% 58%0% 74%
33%21%13% 61%
30%17%6% 58%
37%8%3% 56%
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How does your organization deliver learning to its workforce? (Select all that apply.)
FIGURE 11
On-the-job training/learning as you work
Conferences and events
Mentoring
Traditional classroom learning/training on-site
Online content (webinars, podcasts)
Peer instruction
Online learning “modules” (often between 30 and 60 minutes)
Independent, self-selected learning opportunities
Traditional classroom learning/training off-site
Formal course work off-site through an educational institution
Online “micro-learnings” (brief instructional modules)
Online synchronous/ real-time courses
Hybrid courses (part online and part classroom)
Management games/experiential modeling/role playing
Planned reading/guided discussion groups
Flipped courses (combine brief lectures with workshops)
MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)
Simulator training
Coaching
Online asynchronous/ self-paced courses
86%
46%
69%
44%
67%
42%
65%
37%
62%
36%
52%
27%
12%
57%
28%
19%
50%
20%
7%
11%
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Most organizations rely on a combination of delivery tactics, but organizations that embrace change have the most diverse patterns of learning delivery. They are not only more likely to leverage experiential/on-the-job training and on-line courses, but they supplement this with newer learning modalities including management games and simulator trainings (Figure 12).23
How does your organization deliver learning to its workforce? (Select all that apply.)
FIGURE 12
On-the-job training/ learn as you work 83%
Simulator training14%
5%
35%13%
Management games/experiential modeling/role-playing
21%9%
Flipped courses (combine brief lectures wtih workshops for
synthesizing information and solving problems
21%9%
MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)
47%23%
Online synchronous/ real-time courses
33%14%
Planned reading/guided discussion groups
High-Performing Organizations
All Other Organizations
95%
“Employees are encouraged to take responsibility for their career and we work with them to meet their needs. Whether it’s thousands of online resources or dozens of industry
certification and designation programs from leading associations, we ensure every employee has the opportunity to develop themselves, 24 hours a day, seven days
a week from any computer anywhere in the world, at no cost to them.”—Jill Kilroy, AVP Talent Management, Horace Mann Companies
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MONITOR AND MEASURE LEARNING PROGRAMS
To ensure that learning content is aligned with changing needs, and to understand the reach and effectiveness of development opportunities and their delivery, L&D programs and initiatives need to be monitored alongside the success of the organization’s transformation efforts.
This often starts with quantifying participation rates and evaluating learning outcomes. Many of these metrics are commonly accessible through most L&D software packages or online platforms. Currently, most organizations rely on some form of learning technology to track completion of activities and offer reminders for task completion (Figure 13).
What features does your organization’s technology solution offer to deliver and manage learning and development? (Select all that apply.)
FIGURE 13
Tracks internal completion of learning elements
Tracks external credits for professional development
or continuous education
Supports social learning
Provides reminders for learning task completion
Mobile-enabled
Artificial intelligence is used to construct learning paths/agendas
Employees can personalize their learning experience
Learning paths can be customized for individual roles
60%
45%
34%
31%
24%
15%
20%
4%
Not every organization shares the same need for a technology solution. Just more than a quarter of organizations (26%) report that they do not rely on specialized technology to meet their L&D needs. But for those who do, maximizing the functionality of this technology can be important for tracking their L&D initiatives.
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Items with statistical significance in response to the question: What features does your organization’s technology solution offer to deliver and manage learning and development? (Select all that apply.)
FIGURE 14
High-Performing Organizations
All Other Organizations
Learning paths can be customized for individual roles 27%
37%15%
Mobile-enabled
40%21%
Tracks external credits for professional development or
continuous education
28%11%
Supports social learning
56%
Because technology solutions make it easier to monitor, measure, and deliver L&D programs, the organizations that are more likely to rely on them are much more confident in their ability to demonstrate the outcomes of both learning and change initiatives (Figure 15).26
A robust technology solution does not only monitor participation in L&D programs but also assist with the learning personalization and delivery efforts that are vital to an organization’s transformation. HPOs are more likely to deploy L&D systems that help them both to deliver personalized content (Figure 14).24 They also tend to favor additional features that support diverse delivery, including mobile-enabled and social learning options.25
What is your current level of confidence in the following? (Very and Extremely Confident)
FIGURE 15
Our ability to analyze data to demonstrate the outcomes of our
L&D initiatives
45%15%
Our ability to analyze data to demonstrate the outcomes of our
change management initiatives
High-Performing Organizations
All Other Organizations
13%47%
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Using an L&D technology solution yields other benefits as well. The availability of information that demonstrates learning achievement throughout the organization may encourage greater internal mobility, and in fact, HPOs are more likely to source internal talent for open positions.27 Furthermore, because these tools provide them with the metrics they need to prove the value of their programs, HPOs can make the business case for increasing their L&D budget and resources (Figure 16).28
In the next two years, please indicate your plans for the following. Will each of the following decrease, increase, or stay the same?
FIGURE 16
“What L&D can do to really proactively partner with the leadership team is to show them how you can lead a change through some very predictable steps. You’re
going to have unpredictability along the way, but you can both create a sense of urgency, momentum, and buy-in for the change effort….and then be honest with
leadership about how long it’s going to take, how hard it’s going to be.”—Pattie Grimm, Author, Trainer, Coach, and Speaker; former Global Head of Leadership
Effectiveness and Performance Management for Johnson & Johnson Surgical Division
High-Performing Organizations
All Other Organizations
Decrease Increase
Sourcing internal talent for open positions
L&D budget
L&D staff
Sourcing under-utilized talent pools (retirees, underemployed, long-term
unemployed, etc.)
Investments in learning technologies
Budgets for teams or individuals to use for their professional
development
52%6%78%3%
17% 35%5% 76%
10% 47%8% 74%
23% 28%8% 67%
19% 30%13% 47%
17% 27%11% 43%
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The organizations that are most successful in coping with large-scale change don’t simply respond to it. They create an environment where change can be successful by driving organizational transformation through employee learning and development. They understand that it’s their people that make change happen and they work to extend opportunities for development to nurture and sustain their workforce.
Creating a more agile organization that can better predict, adopt, and create change begins with efforts to strengthen these skills and behaviors.
Integrate L&D efforts throughout HR and talent management initiatives to reinforce and maximize their impact
Extend and embed learning across the organizations to maintain consistent communication around change efforts and connect learning opportunities to emerging needs
Offer content that targets both technical and professional skills and offers interpersonal supports to sustain the adoption of new behaviors.
Provide broad exposure to change management techniques in the context of other learning and development
Emphasize leadership development for current and future leaders that enhances their ability to define strategy and respond to change.
Incorporate learnings that offer a closer look at the role of HR initiatives in successfully managing change efforts.
Offer development opportunities that promote analytics and planning skills.
Use predictive data to target areas of greatest change with L&D programs that can speed the adoption of new behaviors.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Cultivate a Change Mindset
Make Learning and Development a Key Driver
for Change
Develop Your (Future) Leaders
Build Predictive Power
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To conserve L&D resources while extending personalized learnings, incorporate content from a wide variety of both internal and external sources.
Provide learning resources and experiences through multiple delivery mechanisms to more effectively leverage the limited time available to employees, especially during change initiatives.
Track participation in L&D programs and monitor learning outcomes alongside the success of change initiatives.
Leverage analytics features of L&D technology solutions to evaluate program effectiveness and build a business case for additional support of L&D initiatives.
Monitor and Measure Learning Programs
Personalize Content and Diversify Delivery
DRIVE TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE THROUGH LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT | 26
ABOUT THE RESEARCH
Information was gathered from a combination of secondary research, survey, and interviews. Insights on transformational change, learning, and development, were offered by the following subject-matter experts:
Pattie Grimm, Author, Trainer, Coach, and Speaker; former Global Head of Leadership Effectiveness and Performance Management for Johnson & Johnson Surgical Division
Jill Kilroy, AVP Talent Management, Horace Mann Companies
Tom Tonkin, Ph.D., Senior Principal, Thought-Leadership and Advisory Services, Cornerstone OnDemand
In addition, from July 31st to September 2nd, 2019, a survey link was distributed via e-mail to opt-in members of HCI’s Survey Panel and electronic mailings. The results of this questionnaire, subject-matter expert interviews, and secondary sources form the basis of this research.
Duplicate entries and careless or partial survey responses were filtered out of the dataset, for a total of 215 respondents. Of these, 78% are headquartered in North America. Only categories describing at least 5% of the survey sample are displayed here.
Function
Human Resources 38%
Learning and Development 18%
Talent Management/Organizational Development 13%
Other 5%
Level of Responsibility
I manage my own work and contribute to teams and projects. 34%
I manage my own work and lead a team of people. 19%
I lead and am responsible for other people managers below me. 7%
I am responsible for a business unit or function. 31%
I am responsible an entire organization. 8%
DRIVE TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE THROUGH LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT | 27
Number of Employees
Fewer than 100 16%
> 100 and ≤ 500 18%
> 500 and ≤ 1,000 11%
> 1,000 and ≤ 5,000 22%
> 5,000 and ≤ 10,000 7%
> 10,000 and ≤ 50,000 15%
> 50,000 7%
Industry
Healthcare and Social Assistance 17%
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 16%
Other Services (except Public Administration) 11%
Finance and Insurance 11%
Public Administration 10%
Manufacturing 10%
Educational Services 6%
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APPENDIX Endnotes 1. The current finding confirms the result reported in Filipkowski, J. &
Heinsch, M. (2017). Talent Pulse 4.4: Developing Sustainable Strategic HR. Retrieved June 18, 2019, from http://www.hci.org/hr-research/talent-pulse-44-developing-sustainable-strategic-hr
2. Goodman, N. (2009). The Business Transformation Revolution. Training. Retrieved June 18, 2019, from https://trainingmag.com/trgmag-article/business-transformation-revolution/
3. Harvard Business School, Corporate Learning. (2018). The 2018 State of Leadership Development Meeting the Transformation Imperative. Retrieved June 18, 2019, from https://2uzkee3eob510v4rszskfx11-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/20853_CL_StateOfLeadership_Report_2018_Nov2018.pdf
4. Hasty, S. et al. (2016). Succeeding in Disruptive Times. Retrieved June 18, 2019, from https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2016/05/global-transformation-study-2016.pdf
5. Woolnough, R. (2018). What’s the Role of HR in Successful Business Transformation? Personnel Today. Retrieved June 18, 2019, from https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/whats-the-role-of-hr-in-successful-business-transformation/
6. HCI developed an index of 15 outcomes for evaluating the relative strength and weakness of respondents’ organizations. These include seven talent outcomes (investments in training, internal mobility, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, quality of hire, retention, and leadership bench strength) and eight critical business dimensions (large-scale change, customer satisfaction, regulatory compliance, talent attraction, innovation, profitability, growth/market share, and productivity). These inventories are composed of items with five-point rating scales. Scores from these items are aggregated to create a composite score that reflects the overall strength of each organization in terms of its performance. For this survey, 26% of respondents represent high-performing organizations (HPOs). These HPOs are diversely represented across industry and number of employees.
7. In response to “Compared to your industry competitors, how has your organization fared in the following business dimensions over the past two years?”—Large-scale strategic change (Above average or One of the Best): 72% HPO vs. 25% other. Composite response—binary HPO and change variables: (Risk 7.75, Fisher exact p < .01); HPO index score as compared to 5-scale likert response: (rs = 426, p < .01)
DRIVE TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE THROUGH LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT | 29
8. HPO index scores compared to response to “We drive change through people rather people through change (Somewhat and Strongly Agree).” rs = .398, p < .01
9. Talent acquisition rs = .438, p < .01; Engagement, culture, and inclusion rs = .408, p < .01; Learning and development (L&D), training rs = .432, p < .01; Compliance and legal agreements rs = .187, p < .01; Leadership development and succession planning rs = .363, p < .01; Workforce planning and analytics rs = .345, p < .01; Total rewards rs = .422, p < .01
10. rs = .398, p < .01
11. rs = .498, p < .01
12. rs = .471, p < .01
13. rs = .352, p < .01
14. Transformational changes over the past two years (z = 2.89, p < .01); Structural changes over the past two years. (z = 2.12, p = .04)
15. Our senior leaders’ ability to define strategy. rs = .427, p < .01; Our senior leaders’ ability to anticipate or respond to change. rs = .411, p < .01
16. Our senior leaders’ ability to connect the importance of human capital management to managing change. rs = .457, p < .01
17. rs = .387, p < .01
18. Personnel (changes in turnover or hiring) z = 2.52, p = .01; Workplace culture and employee engagement z = 3.36, p < .01; Reporting structures or administrative relationships between units/departments z = 2.14, p = .03; Definitions of roles and their required skills or competencies z = 3.18, p < .01; Internal workplace policies and legal agreements z = 3.84, p < .01; Operating or business z = 2.21, p = .03; Compensation and benefits practices z = 2.62, p < .01; Products and/or services z = 2.40, p = .02; Technological infrastructure (software, equipment, machines) z = 3.01, p < .01
19. Our ability to identify the skill sets or competencies needed in the next 2 to 5 years rs = .403, p < .01; Our ability to identify the critical strategic roles needed 5 years from now rs = .423, p < .01
20. rs = .396, p < .01
DRIVE TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE THROUGH LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT | 30
21. rs = .421, p < .01
22. Internal learning offerings (created in-house) X2 = 13.365, p < .01; v = .291, p < .01; Partnerships with educational institutions X2 = 7.804, p = .02; v = .241, p = .02; External learning offerings purchased from a vendor (off-the-shelf) X2 = 8.989, p = .01; v = .252, p = .01; Custom learning offerings developed through a third-party X2 = 9.704, p < .01; v = .267, p < .01
23. On-the-job training/learn as you work z = 2.01, p = .04; Online synchronous/real-time courses z = 2.99, p < .01; Management games/experiential modeling/role-playing z = 3.19, p < .01; Planned reading/guided discussion groups z = 2.74, p < .01; Flipped courses (combine brief lectures with workshops for synthesizing information and solving problems) z = 2.1, p = .04; MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) z = 2.1, p = .04; Simulator training z = 2.0, p = .05
24. z = 3.37, p < .01
25. Mobile-enabled z = 3.18, p < .01; Supports social learning z = 2.6, p < .01
26. Our ability to analyze data to demonstrate the outcomes of our L&D initiatives. rs = .449, p < .01; Our ability to analyze data to demonstrate the outcomes of our change management initiatives. rs = .441, p < .01
27. Sourcing internal talent for open positions X2 = 8.859, p = .01; v = .241, p = .01
28. Investments in learning technologies X2 = 8.475, p = .01; v = .237, p = .01; L&D budget X2 = 19.218, p < .01; v = .357, p < . 01; Budgets for teams or individuals to use for their professional development X2 = 20.636, p < .01; v = .366, p < .01
DRIVE TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE THROUGH LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT | 31
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Publication date: October 17, 2019
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