Hello Sap_hrm,
Learning is one of the dynamics of individual behavior critical to determining an organization's current as well as the future performance. While highly respected colleagues wishfully state that learning curve should 'always go up', the reality is different. The fact is, learning is expressed as a 'curve' which goes up and eventually does come down. Therefore, the HR professional's challenge is to understand how the learning curve is shaped for the individual, for teams, and for the organization, and based on,that understanding, design interventions that help the organization align its functional strategy implementation (eg recruitment strategy, sales strategy, retention strategy, and so on) with it.
Where does the concept 'learning curve' come from? It has its origin in the lives of engineers at work, who observed, for example, how much time was taken by a worker to assemble a product. A new worker at job would initially take longer time, but then as the worker learns, the time taken for performing the same task would come down - but it will never be 0, and on the other hand, if other context factors such as negative politics and conflict between workers and management, worker's fatigue and boredom etc. are present, then the time taken to perform the same task may actually rise.
As we can understand, lesser the time take, greater is the learning, so there is an inverse relationship between the two, and therefore, we expect a curve (showing time taken to perform a task) rising and then falling. We would like to see a lot of falling here :)
So, what an HR professional can do is as follows:
1. Observe learning curve, and add training and development interventions in order to accelerate learning. So, the natural speed of learning can be enhanced.
2. Observe the rate at which the reduction in time taken to perform a job and introduce refresher training initiatives so that the rate of learning does not decelerate.
3. Look for points that disrupt the downward movement of the curve and remove negative grapevine, politics which are not pro-excellence, and simmering conflict that manifests in deviant behavior. OD interventions, culture-building interventions, strengthening systems and moving towards creation of a differentiated workforce are some examples of what Hr professionals can do.
Some interventions wok best at the entire system level, while some are for the teams, and yet others are for individuals. So, the HR professional has to carefully choose which interventions to choose, how to schedule them, and ensure they are well-aligned. Interventions at only one level hardly help.
Now, that you wish to relate learning curve with the individual career building, here is hat comes to our minds:
1. make career management and succession planning linked with recruitment. Hire individuals with learning preferences and pace that match with what your orgnization's strategic needs.
2. Filter individuals who can have future with your organization, sort them by their learning pace (organization needs both, fast and slow learners).
3. integrate HRD and OD systems with HR systems.
4. Carry out career assessment (in terms of potential) for individuals and carry out performance and potential assessment using assessment centers.
5. There are various frameworks that explain career progression. Choose and design framework for your own organization, which states how careers are expected to progress.
6. Make sure that performance management system is well-integrated with communication system, reward system, and retention system, so that during the stages of career building, the focus is on learning, that when the person is accomplished, there is accelerated learning, that the learners are not punished for mistakes made in early stages, that there is organizational support, and that when the person is in the stage of 'giving back', there is a match between what they can contribute with what organization needs.
7. Finally, make sure that there is a balance between performing and learning and that the people can clearly 'see' what they are expected to perform and what learning will be instrumental in their goal-achievement.
There's more, but we can share more if you found this early background suitable.
Best wishes,
Team HRM For Non-HR Managers
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