At the start of each year, there is a sudden flurry for registrations on online learning platforms. This is due to new year resolutions and observing others score well in the year gone by. Unfortunately for most, the interest soon fizzles out, with dropout rates as high as forty to eighty percent, according to studies. The ones who do not drop out though stand to benefit. Some habits have been identified which can lead to improved learnability developing. One is to focus on emerging skills. Instead of doing a random Google search, one can instead check out latest talent recruitment trends. Then one ought to network with LinkedIn connections who have the jobs desired to see what they did differently. In the present era, management training has left its formal domain, to become synchronous with lifestyle demands. One can use these learning tools anytime anywhere. One limitation of this is a lack of competition due to limited contact. So, a “synchronous cohort” of similar people ought to be identified and worked with. The skills learnt, must immediately be put to the test through real-world execution. A benchmark must be set to measure oneself against.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/01/4-habits-of-people-who-are-always-learning-new-skills

Uploaded Date:17 February 2018

Empathy is different from sympathy. The latter is about feeling concern and pity for others in positions we have not been in ourselves. The former on the other hand, is about experiencing the emotion of another person. The build up of empathy goes back to childhood with key behaviours getting attached from parents. A nurturing trait common to all people emerges out of this empathy. Empathy can be used to improve productivity in any organization. It can help in talent management as people best connect with empathetic leaders. These leaders establish a working environment where people can easily share their fears, hopes and aspirations. Empathy is also contagious, so spreads throughout any organization. Some leaders on the opposite end believe that in competitive environments, empathy need not be encouraged. However, resisting it is akin to denying a very basic tenet in human behavior.

Source:https://knowledge.insead.edu/blog/insead-blog/why-empathy-makes-for-stronger-organisations-4815

Uploaded Date:14 February 2018

Companies and not countries need to take charge of equipping workers to take on the impending age of automation. Reskilling and retraining ought to be important fixtures in future corporate training rounds. A report concluded by the McKinsey Global Institute suggests that about a seventh of the world’s working population, roughly three-hundred and seventy-five million people could get displaced due to automation pressures. There have been shifts in the past, such as when the Industrial Revolution precipitated the move away from agriculture to manufacturing, and in the last century with outsourced jobs to China. This change though could be the most drastic yet. This is particularly alarming when public spending on training labor-force has declined in the OECD bloc. Talent recruitment systems also need to be redesigned to take in people with newer skill sets, as will be the case especially in Europe and North America, as newer job profiles emerge. Americans are more inclined towards believing in fresh recruitments rather than retraining, while a mixed approach is preferred by people in Europe.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/future-of-organizations-and-work/retraining-and-reskilling-workers-in-the-age-of-automation?cid=soc-web

Uploaded Date:13 February 2018

It is a well-known fact that diversity at the workplace stimulates innovation. This is why companies must design their talent recruitment methods in a way to match up to a diverse audience. A recent study was undertaken by McKinsey to gauge the full extent of the benefits of having a diverse workforce, in terms of financials, implementation and capturing insights to translate into best practices. This study was conducted across twelve countries. The gap in productivity in clearly rising, with diverse organizations, needless to say, doing better. The highest correlation in gender terms, is at the executive level. There are more women in line roles rather than staff ones in better performing organization’s executive teams. Ethnic diversity at executive level still remains despairingly low in the US and the UK. One needs a microscope to locate an African-American woman CEO. Australia on the other end, performs most admirably in women’s inclusion at executive levels. Even a country with such a complicated history on race relations as South Africa, is grappling with these terms, now having far greater diversity than ever before. Formal corporate training programmes are needed to be delivered at organizations in order to systematically increase the diversity stakes. The strategy need be tailored in such a way that benefits get maximized at the local level.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/delivering-through-diversity?cid=other-soc-twi-mip-mck-oth-1801&kui=36NDwp-FmGm78mUtd2a-7g

Uploaded Date:13 February 2018

The great Italian sculptor Michelangelo used to consider that art already exists within stone, a sculptor merely had to fashion it to release its inherent beauty. Mentorship at work mirrors the Michelangelo phenomenon by reinforcing existing qualities in a person so as to best reflect at work. This plays out at both formal corporate training sessions as well as the individualized mentorship. A true mentor releases two kings of affirmations within an employee. The first is perceptual affirmation which implies that the mentor allows a vent to speak out to, so is a good listener. The other is called behavioral affirmation which enables mentees to connect with their real selves and get enriched. A true test of a professional’s talent management abilities comes when he/she needs to mentor someone from the opposite gender. This typically plays out with a male mentor and a female mentee because even now there are more men at senior positions at organizations. Women do face greater obstacles in getting true mentors, but studies suggest that it is nonetheless possible. A lot of potential mentors fail as they inadvertently end up trying to clone their mentees.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/01/the-best-mentors-think-like-michelangelo?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_campaign=dailyalert&referral=00563&spMailingID=18886543&spUserID=OTY0OTMwNTk5NwS2&spJobID=1181597073&spReportId=MTE4MTU5NzA3MwS2

Uploaded Date:06 February 2018

In the digital age of forever-connectedness, there is an urgent need to take a social-detox and spend time alone. Various studies have proven that periodic solitude ensures improved productivity and enhanced emotional well-being. It helps one recuperate after heavy work and recharge in order to being the next task in hand. One does not feel inhibited by other pressures, but gets the freedom to try new things. One begins to trust oneself. A talent management and research firm Talent Smart has deduced that ninety percent of the highest performers tend to possess sound emotional intelligence, and this can be boosted up by engaging in solitude. Self-esteem also jumps up in the right manner. An oft-ignored aspect of fulfilment is taking joy in appreciating others. This also helps cognitive ability leading further to enhanced productivity.

Source:https://www.entrepreneur.com/amphtml/271464?__twitter_impression=true

Uploaded Date:06 February 2018

The Nobel Prize winner for Economics in 2017 is for the field of behavioral economics. No wonder, this is now at the cutting edge of research. A similar analysis can be gauged from the experience at Yelp. When Yelp was a startup, it had only a few employees, and the COO used to stock the small kitchen with substantial goodies such as drinks and candies. Soon, it was realized that the candy consumption grew to very high levels. The COO then realized a thing about behavioral economics called revealed preference where the availability of something induces people to consume the product irrespective of need. Thus, some stocks of candies were rolled out. This learning led to such ideas being incorporated for other aspects as well. Yelp initiated its employees to take a higher savings plan through such a choice-laden scheme. This style of people and talent management stands in stark contrast to that followed by most IT companies which pride themselves for the autonomy afforded to their employees. Yelp though chooses to follow Nobel Prize winner Richard Thaler’s path, where choices must be present at the right spot intervened by the leadership, to ensure maximum benefits may trickle down to all.

Source:https://hbr.org/2017/10/why-coos-should-think-like-behavioral-economists?utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Uploaded Date:06 February 2018