1
The Changing Service Portfolio of the Learning Function to Design Learning Organisations in the Digital Age Evidence from the Banking Industry
Daniela Schuchmann Sabine Seufert 5 June 2014, EURAM
First of all – this work…
• is embedded in a larger project: strategical consulting and supporting an educational institution, which offers management development services for the banking industry
• outlines the first stage conceptual framework
2
I. PROBLEM STATEMENT & RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
3
Problem Statement
Banking organisations… • are challenged for acting in a dynamical environment are under pressure for being innovative
• specific organisational preconditions: • Privacy policies limits e.g. free information sharing
• Hierarchical structures limits e.g. project-oriented structures & ways of development
• Dealing with regulatory guidelines (EU; e.g. SEPA) requires ressources less capacities left for dealing with innovations
• Increased Competition • Personal customer relationships are central, but they lost their trust to retrieve trust is essential
continuous learning as precondition for the organisation’s capability for being innovative! (e.g. Haller, 2003) 4
The Research Objective is…
… to analyse and identify the changing service portfolio
of the learning function in order to support the role of designing
a learning organisation rather than organising training
in the banking industry.
implies a changing role of the learning function
5
We use the term learning function…
… in an overarching understanding containing all activities
to enable, facilitate, organise and design
learning inside the organisation.
internal or external
6
Research Question
What kind of services should a learning function enhance or integrate to take up the new role of a developer and to design a learning organisation respectively enterprise 2.0?
1. general developments: what are general trends and major developments for corporate learning in the future?
2. developments in the banking industry: what are new initial points for the design of learning organisations?
3. services of the learning function: what are necessary services to include in the portfolio of the learning function according to the changing role as supporters of a learning organisation?
Q1
Q2
Q3
7
II. METHODS
8
Methods – step 1 of 3…
1. Exploring future trends in corporate learning: • scil Trend Study: empirical research on trends and challenges in
educational management since 2005 (most recent study: 2012) • 6 aspects:
strategy, didactics, organisation, culture, technology, economy • sampling criteria: training managers: decision makers and experts in
L&D, representation of businesses from various industries
Q1
9
Methods – step 2 of 3…
2. Literature review about developments in the banking industry: a) developing a theoretical framework including related topics:
b) reviewing various publications for case examples:
projects/ initiatives supporting a learning banking organisation/ E2.0 (Switzerland, Germany) 6 cases cross-case-analysis, typology predefined criteria: sources & authors, implemented web 2.0 tools, contribution to organisational learning
Q2
Topic Area Focus
organisational learning
connection between personnel and organisational development (e.g. Argyris & Schön, 1999; Senge, 1996)
knowledge management
contribution to the… - facilitation of learning - distribution of knowledge & flow of informations (e.g. Probst et. al., 2012; Wilkesmann, 1999)
enterprise 2.0 new opportunities to deal with knowledge in collaboration (e.g. McAffee, 2011; Back, 2012)
10
Methods – step 3 of 3…
3. Development of a framework model for a changed service portfolio • derived from previous findings • including the role of a learning function with the purpose
to facilitate a learning organisation
Q3
11
III. RESULTS
12
Framework Model: the role of the learning function – a concept for a service portfolio
13
Action Area 1: Individuals’ Competence Development • Competence development as an «employer tool»,
not only a «tool of management» • It’s not only about improving employees’ performance responsibility for learning: employee – «create their own paths» superiors direct influence is limited, they can only provide appropriate conditions
• Offering development opportunities to employees is essential: formal & informal learning contexts
Key activities: • New carreer and development paths (non-qualification oriented) • New forms of learning and working – connecting both:
collaboration, dealing with knowledge, project groups, … 14
Action Area 2: Managers as Learning Facilitators New management logic: • Self-organisation, self-responsibility, realisation of potential
Roles of managers: • «Central culture bearers» & disseminator encourages or impeeds learning! awareness must be raised
• Extended field of responsibilty as professional employee developer understanding of leadership must involve this
• Talent management retain employees secure high-potentials encourage B-players
Key activities: • Living values – value-oriented leadership (transformational) • Recognise & encourage potentials • Foster knowledge transformation to the organisational level
15
Action Area 3: New Forms of Learning and Networking at the Workplace • Skill development with the goal of individual’s innovative behavior «formally organised learning – informal learning» «individual learning – organisational learning» learning in social working groups, networks, communities enables self-organisation and development of innovations employees reflect on potential for their own work
• E 2.0 enables new collaboration between employees, customers and partners: internal perspective: improving processes, exchanging knowledge,… external perspective: communication/ cooperation with customers, marketing/ reputation purposes, etc.
Key activities: • Support self-organised reflection - «learning to learn» • Support developing skills for dealing with social networked
collaborative environment personal knowledge mgmt. • Practice-oriented communities of people (Wenger, 1998) 16
Action Area 4: Organisational Development • Structural factors:
• Tasks, decisions, responsibility, budget, knowledge mgmt., communication related to framework conditions for learning (e.g. incentive systems, technological infrastructures)
• Cultural factors: • Attitudes, levels of authority, implicit types of behaviour of people in a social
system, significance of self-organisation
Key activities: • First step: learning culture analysis • Design structures & cultures • Change mgmt.: involve employees & customers • Make knowledge & information available/ accessible • Establish innovations: e.g. trendmonitoring, ideas mgmt., … • Use all available knowledge in the organization: e.g. use of web 2.0 tools • Networks for experience sharing: best practices, benchmarking... 17
Types of logic for the organisation of learning processes Self-initiated Professional CommunitiesModerated
Reflection Processes inWork Practice
Transfer-orientedEducational Programme
«Standardized»Training
formal contexts informal contextsLearning in ...
Case Typology
Credit Suisse: training sequences
UBS: Social Computing Platform, TV-Channel, Webcasting
Commerzbank: "WikIdee"
Credit Suisse:"expert insights"
Raiffeisen: "my Page 2.0" Raiffeisen: "directory 2.0"
Dresdner Bank: eLearning
Sparkasse: organization manual & glossary
18
19
Conclusion: The Changed Service Portfolio
Outlook – it’s an ongoing project…
…it’s followed by these next steps:
1. qualitative interviews with supervisory board members of banking organisations objective a) validate and modify the theoretical framework objective b) specify relevant services
2. supporting/ facilitating the educational institution in implementing innovative services
20
Implications
• Theory:
• Facilitation of corporate learning in banking organisations theoretically & empirical evidence
• Practice: • Theoretical guidelines • Case study as success story
21
Limitations
• Broad view: we involved a lot of conntected topics
strength: «bigger picture» weakness: further questions for details remain open
• Facilitation of learning is affected by many factors e.g. «informal learning» is an extensive field
• Acceptance from banking organisations will be investigated in further steps in this project
22
Thank you for your attention!
23
Contact
Institute of Business Education and Educational Management, University of St.Gallen
Daniela Schuchmann [email protected]
Prof. Dr. Sabine Seufert [email protected]
24
APPENDIX
25
Trends and Developments for Corporate Learning – derived from the scil Trend Study New exemplary initial points for corporate learning: • Organise Learning:
• Integrate L&D in the organisation’s strategy • New roles of managers facilitator/ coach in learning concerns • «new thinking» through focus on competencies: outcome-orientation;
foster informal workplace learning collaboration, knowledge sharing • Knowledge management:
• Support/ enable knowledge sharing collaboration platform • Methods to identify, prepare, distribute, preserve knowledge
• Enterprise 2.0: • Implementation of social software tools interactive and collaborative learning – integrated in working processes
New logic for the organisation of learning – didactical & management perspective (employee’s self-organisation in informal context) 26
Action Area 1: Individuals’ Competence Development • Competence development as an «employer tool»,
not only a «tool of management» • It’s not only about improving employees’ performance responsibility for learning: employee – «create their own paths» superiors direct influence is limited, they can only provide appropriate conditions
• Offering development opportunities to employees is essential: formal & informal learning contexts
Key activities: • New carreer and development paths • New forms of learning and working – connecting both: collaboration,
dealing with knowledge, project groups, … 27
Action Area 1: Knowledge About Working Processes
… to interlink informal and formal learning contexts:
28
Knowledge about working
processes
context-based,action-guiding,
explicit
context-based,subjective, implicit
context-free,subjective, science-based
models, concepts,tools
examples for good practices,real cases
Practical Experience Theoretical Knowledge
(referring to Fischer, 2002)
Action Area 2: Managers as Learning Facilitators New management logic: • Self-organisation, self-responsibility, realisation of potential
Roles of managers: • «Central culture bearers» & disseminator encourages or impeeds learning! awareness must be raised
• Extended field of responsibilty as professional employee developer understanding of leadership must involve this
• Talent management retain employees secure high-potentials encourage B-players
Key activities: • Living values – value-oriented leadership (transformational) • Recognize & encourage potentials • Foster knowledge transformation to the organizational level
29
Action Area 2: managers in their learning facilitating role
Action Areas Managers
Learning Contexts / Realms of Experience
Facilitate Formal & Informal Learning
Designing Framework for Learning at Workplace
Designing Interactionfor Learning at Workplace
Leadership Commitment Designing Competency-oriented Leadership
Designing Frameworkfor Learning- and Development-
oriented Leadership
Designing Interactionfor Learning- and Development-
oriented Leadership
Des
igni
ng F
ram
ewor
k Designing Interaction
(Seufert, 2013, 328) 30
Action Area 3: New Forms of Learning and Networking at the Workplace • Skill development with the goal of innovative behavior «formally organised learning – informal learning» «individual learning – organisational learning» learning in social working groups, networks, communities enables self-organisation and development of innovations employees reflect on potential for their own work
• E 2.0 enables new collaboration between employees, customers and partners: internal perspective: imrpoving processes, exchanging knowledge etc. external perspective: communication/ cooperation with customers, marketing/ reputation purposes, etc.
Key activities: • Support self-organised reflection - «learning to learn» • Support developing skills for dealing with social networked collaborative
environment personal knowledge mgmt. • Practice-oriented communities of people (Wenger, 1998) 31
Action Area 3: Types of organisational logic for the design of learning and development
32
Type Objectives Didactical Perspective
Management Perspective
Transfer-oriented Educational Programme: integrating informal learning into preparations/ follow-ups
Less specific learning events, but rather the organisation of a learning process, e.g. preparation, presence and follow-up phases for training offerings
Increase the individual transfer success using informal training offerings; bring about adapted working processes
Effectively adapt the organisation to specified goals and standards
Moderated Reflection in Work Practice: connecting formal and informal learning at the workplace
Trigger reflection at the workplace within the informal setting of a planned training/ learning offering
Support learning processes at the workplace, solve problems in teams and trigger (moderated) reflection processes
Question and, if necessary, restructure existing theory of action, change learning
Self-initiated Professional Communities: Self-organisation and reflection
Trigger innovations at the workplace; self-organised reflection about innovations within a profession (e.g. new working methods or processes)
Individually initiated reflection processes, increase individual learning ability, supported by organisational/ cultural framework conditions
Gaining insights into the learning processes that have taken place in the organisation for oneself, process learning, increasing the company's ability to learn
Action Area 3: Linking employee and customer communication
Corporate Communication
KnowledgeManagement
Team Collaboration
Personal Communikation
Social Networks
Longtail
Crowdsourcing
ViralMarketing
Social Sales
Co-Creation
Process Optimisation
CustomerCommunication
EmployeeCommunication
EffectivityEfficiency
(Göhring, 2008, 156–66) 33
Action Area 3: Goals for the introduction of social software in a company
34
Goal category Goal description Efficient, goal-oriented communication and the prevention of information overload
• More open communication channels
• More direct employee-to-employee communication
• Prevention of or improvement in coping with information overload
• Reduction in e-mail More efficient knowledge transfer
• Prevention of the development of knowledge silos
• Improvement in knowledge transfer within the company
• Better access to best practices Participation of the employees and creation of an open business culture
• Ongoing involvement of the employees
• Reduction in anonymity of the employees
• Development of a creative climate to which the employees can contribute and in which they are keen to do so
Construction of expert networks
• Improvement of expert identification and employee networking
• Employees who work in a similar context exchange information in expert communities
• The combined wisdom of the employees is utilised Increased awareness and transparency
• Improved visibility of the tasks and skills
• More transparency as regards decisions and processes
• “Serendipity”: instinct, chance discoveries Increased innovation potential and sustainability
• Innovations can be incorporated faster
• New systems enable additional flexibility and the sustainability of the company
• The sustainability is projected outwardly for the young generation as well
Action Area 4: Organisational Development • Structural factors:
• Tasks, decisions, responsibility, budget, knowledge mgmt., communication related to framework conditions for learning (e.g. incentive systems, technological infrastructures)
• Cultural factors: • Attitudes, levels of authority, implicit types of behaviour of people in a social
system, significance of self-organisation
Key activities: • First step: learning culture analysis • Design structures & cultures • Change mgmt.: involve employees & customers • Make knowledge & information available/ accessible • Establish innovations: e.g. trendmonitoring, ideas mgmt., … • Use all available knowledge in the organization: e.g. use of web 2.0 tools • Networks for experience sharing: best practices, benchmarking... 35
Action Area 4: Learning culture analysis tool as initial point for organisational development
Empower Employees
Foster Self-organised Learning
Involve Managers
Learning-orientedLeadership
Learning Value Management
Pinpoint Value Contribution
Design Learning Manifoldly
Formal & Informal Learning Forms
Enable Learning
Ensure Organisational Framework
(Seufert, Hasanbegovic and Euler, 2007, 19) 36
Action Area 4: Examples for benchmarking results emerged from a learning culture analysis
37
