Emerging Trends in OD

05/11/2021 0 By indiafreenotes

Organizational growth and productivity depend to a high degree on a company’s capability to keep up with and implement learning best practices. Learning best practices drive talent development and improve performance. One day or another, this will mean leaving traditional models of learning behind and adopting more impactful solutions many of which involve technological innovations.

Collective Sense-making

The world is changing so rapidly that we need everyone to participate in making sense of it. That’s why in the future, the ability to quickly adapt and apply new information will become more important than any number of hard skills.

Sense-making can be seen as an enduring capability. Deloitte defines enduring capabilities as “observable human attributes that are demonstrated independent of context. These human capabilities can be thought of as universally applicable and timeless.” Other examples of enduring capabilities include team-building, coaching, and learning. Compared with skills, they’re more transferable to different roles and situations.

Collective sense-making helps you create meaning from shared experiences. In the context of organizational change, it takes all perspectives into account to figure out what is changing and what actions are needed next.

No one person can possibly have the collective intelligence of a large organization. But by listening to different perspectives, you should be able to harness the skills, knowledge, and opinions of everyone in the organization, and that way reach your combined potential.

Going Mobile:

Mobile has transformed the way companies work, interact, and collaborate. With global penetration rates skyrocketing, organizations that are not considering mobile in all areas of HCM will have a difficult time competing for talent. Despite this reality, companies are still slow to embrace mobile learning solutions. Only 10 percent of companies are using mobile Web-based learning solutions. Some 8 percent are using mobile learning apps, 5 percent mobile performance Web-based sites, and 4 percent are using mobile performance apps Most companies recognize that mobile learning solutions can improve adoption, expand global reach, and engage users better, but do not understand how to execute a mobile strategy. Additionally, some organizations find it challenging to determine what options are available and which providers to consider. Regardless of the barriers they are facing, organizations looking to improve their learning functions will need to make mobile part of the equation and determine what requirements they have in order to select a technology partner.

Understanding Social:

Companies are quickly embracing social media tools, as well as investing in social collaboration tools to better engage employees and foster a learning culture. Although social has become mainstream, companies still lack the knowledge and insight around how to use these tools for learning and development. Of the 59 percent of companies using social for their learning strategies, only 24 percent say they are effective. One reason is that companies are limited in the social tools they are using. Companies are using document sharing, discussion forms, and blogs, but they aren’t generally using video or micro-blogs which our research shows are more effective to improve their learning functions. Companies must educate themselves on the value of social learning and invest in providers that offer solutions that drive business outcomes.

From one-off change processes to continuous development:

Particularly in the United States, organizational change is seen as a process with a beginning, a midpoint, and an end when the goals have been achieved. But this approach is being replaced by transformation that is, continuous organizational development.

Instead of having the perfect ready-made plan for change, companies want genuine changes where the general direction is known, but the workplace community finds its way to the final destination together.

Transformation is not about having a set goal; rather, the result is created and shaped through learning.

Considering Adaptive Learning:

Adaptive learning is a methodology that breaks traditional models and allows employees to learn at their own pace. It has gained popularity with educational institutions, referred to as “adaptive teaching,” where a teacher will gather information on individual students to learn what they need to do to improve their learning. In the workforce, adaptive learning is conducted similarly. Employees can be monitored individually and in real time to determine what learning approach will best suit their needs. It has advantages for younger generations entering the workforce that have expectations around flexibility and interaction. Adaptive learning can be effective at improving efficiency, as well as employee engagement and retention since it allows employees to build confidence and overall expertise. Companies may want to consider breaking traditional learning methods by introducing aspects of adaptive learning.

Digitalization is transforming even the late-blooming organizations:

Digitalization can hardly be seen as a trend anymore. But the harsh reality is that we’re in the stages where organizations unable to transform and develop are actually going out of business.

In the best of cases, digital ways of working give people real opportunities to participate, and decisions are made collectively. It enables transparent, real-time processes. Digitalization is progressing more rapidly in countries with an existing analogue foundation, such as the Nordics.

Change is digitally driven in countries where traditional hierarchies endure. This was the case when developing countries transferred directly to mobile networks and took the leap onto the Internet, for example. The same will happen with corporate cultures. Communities will be built on real-time technologies and new types of communication practices.

Measuring Effectiveness:

To determine if the learning strategy in place is driving business outcomes, companies must find a way to consistently measure its effectiveness. Companies should determine metrics in advance and include both business metrics and learning/HR metrics. Currently, most companies are considering team encouragement, employee engagement, and employee satisfaction over more concrete business metrics such as retention, turnover, and revenue per full-time employee.