Article
Article No.: 12-2
Article Title: Why Organizations Should Concentrate on Learning Agility
Author: Linda Gravett, Ph.D., SPHR, CEQC
No matter how conceptually intriguing a topic may be, 21st
century organizations
have limited time and resources, which must be targeted on areas
that will bring
a return on investment. This is one of the reasons why I
believe learning agility is
a critical factor for organizations today.
The world is becoming smaller, more interconnected and intelligent,
resulting in
the need for companies to have employees who can manage change in
order
to survive and thrive. Employees with learning agility can
ensure business agility
through their development of improved processes and systems.
New knowledge
is everywhere around us, and it can, if managed well, generate
excitement and
employee engagement as well as bottom line success.
A 2010 IBM study analyzed businesses that have increased their
agility and
enjoyed improved business results as a consequence. The
companies
represented in the IBM research are in the financial, insurance and
healthcare
industries in the U.S., U.K. and India. These companies saw a
positive
correlation between their employees’ learning agility and:
- Growth in new business
- Cost reductions across the organization
- Innovative solutions that improved brand image
- Reductions in product life cycles
- Expansion of call center productivity without staff increases
According to my ongoing research for the second edition of
Bridging the
Generation Gap (2007, Gravett and
Throckmorton, Career Press, Newark, NJ),
employees between the ages of 18 and 24 stay with their companies an
average
of 18 months. Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, began
retiring in
significant numbers in 2010 and there are far fewer Generation Xers
to fill their
vacated positions. Statistics like these lead to the
conclusion that organizations
have no choice but to step up their efforts to recruit, select and
retain the people
who will help them survive and thrive over the next few decades.
Finding people
who can learn quickly and stay mentally agile in order to help their
companies
stay responsive to the marketplace is paramount.
In my research for another book, Leadership in
Balance, (to be released in
2012) I discovered that organizations which have survived for at
least 100 years
have some common characteristics. The patterns uncovered
demonstrate that
employees have:
- The ability to learn new concepts and approaches – quickly
- The ability to build a learning community within the company and industry
- The ability to manage knowledge so that if one individual
doesn’t need
incoming information at a given time, he or she knows to whom to pass
along that information
In a study published in June 2011, High-Impact Learning Culture: The 40 Best Practices for Creating an Empowered Enterprise, Bersin & Associates shared some interesting statistics. They found that organizations with strong learning cultures are:
- 46% more likely to be strong innovators in their markets
- 34% more likely to get to market before their competitors
- 33% more likely to report higher customer satisfaction than other organizations
- 39% more likely to report success in implementing customer suggestions
- 58% more likely to be successful at developing the skills needed for meeting future customer demand
My experience with client companies is that employees who exhibit
the ability to relate to internal and external customers, actively
listen and assess others’ needs, and articulate their own feelings
and expectations contribute significantly to their organization’s
success in the marketplace.
A COO of a small start-up told me recently of his CEO’s willingness
and ability to serve as a coach and mentor for employees at all
levels within their organization has been pivotal in the company’s
efforts to retain talent and respond to change in their global
business environment. The CEO had to learn coaching
competencies because he didn’t bring them to the job; however, he
did possess a charismatic personality that drew people to him.
Adding the coaching dimension helped the company recruit and retain
highly skilled people.
I’ve found that CEO’s in all my client organizations are seeking
employees who find better ways – consistently – to do their work.
This means that employees are regularly designing plans to serve
customers better, make improvements in existing products, and
generally come up with ideas that will save time and energy.
3M’s Post-It® notes and
Apple’s personal computers are examples of this type of innovation
in the workplace.
I’ve also observed a direct correlation between learning agility and
these characteristics: critical analysis, problem solving,
self-awareness, and ability to deliver results effectively in
first-time or challenging circumstances. Learning agility has
a direct and strong impact on their bottom line because of a linkage
to problem solving, decision making and customer retention.
In her April 1, 2010 article, “Agility Can Pay Dividends” for
HRMagazine, Pamela Babcock lists some impressive
results from the February 2010 Organizational and Leadership Agility
Survey conducted by i4cp. The survey of 454 respondents found
that:
- Companies that consistently outperform competitors in profitability, market share, revenue growth and customer satisfaction reported a high level of learning agility in their workforce
- Nearly 58% of the surveyed high performing organizations recognize and respond to change quickly and adeptly, as compared to 30% of other companies
- 49% of the learning agile organizations anticipate and initiate changes needed for sustained high performance (compared to 20% of other companies)
I, too, believe that learning agility is a key differentiator that separates high performing, long-lived organizations from those that will languish in mediocrity.
If you have any questions or need more information about this article, please complete our Contact Form, or call Dr. Gravett at 513-753-8870.