Competitive advantage with a human dimension: From lifelong learning to
lifelong employability
As AI-enabled
automation advances, organizations should embrace “lifelong employability,”
which stretches traditional notions of learning and development and can inspire
workers to adapt, more routinely, to the evolving economy.
As robots and algorithms continue
to become more central to the workplace, workers and employers face the
enormous task of figuring out how to cope. No longer is automation a thing of
the future: the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) estimates that half of today’s
work activities coordinated by humans could be automated with present-day
technology.
Competitive advantage with a human dimension:
From lifelong learning to lifelong employability
If recent experience is
any indicator, few organizations or individuals are prepared for such a
transition. Already, there’s a significant gap, brought on by digitization and
advanced data analytics, between the skills people have and the skills
companies need. And existing skill mismatches are nowhere near as significant
as the ones automation and artificial intelligence will bring. Demographic
changes will also contribute to the challenge. Life expectancy is rising in
many countries, along with the retirement age. According to one estimate, half
the people born after 1997 in developed countries could live to 100, meaning
they will likely spend many more years working—and learning new skills.
The formal learning that companies now offer is unlikely to be enough to
prepare people for this dynamic and confusing future. Instead, people and
companies need to embrace a new imperative. It’s not enough to think or talk
about “retraining” and “reskilling.” These terms sound episodic, as if they’re
something that happens after a layoff or when a process or piece of equipment
is installed. “Lifelong learning,” too, is problematic. While it is certainly a
beneficial mind-set,1 it tends to appeal primarily to the
highly educated and is likely to be much less exciting for those who didn’t
like school in the first place.
Instead, employers,
employees, educational institutions, and public-sector leaders need to start
talking about “lifelong employability”: helping people continually and
successfully adapt as the economy evolves. Rather than focusing on retraining
and reskilling as ends to themselves, we must reframe these topics as a means
to the specific end of remaining employable for as long as one desires to be a
part of the workforce. Mid-career assistance, in particular, is a major focal
point of such a system, and this is an area, MGI pointed out, of particular
weakness. Embracing the idea of lifelong employability will help workers remain
relevant and ensure that employers have the flow of skilled workers they need and could even improve
retention by exciting employees about their career prospects and potential.
In this article, we
offer CEOs and senior executives a set of principles and practices that we hope
will spur the management conversations and hands-on oversight necessary to make
lifelong employability a workplace reality. Given the potential for stronger
learning and development to enhance organizational effectiveness, these
practices should benefit both workers and their companies.
Learn about learning
Many companies approach
learning and development (L&D) much as they did 30 years ago. That is, they
rely on classrooms for training and take a one-size-fits-all approach. It
shouldn’t be this way. Organizations should take advantage of the solid
research, grounded in neuroscience, psychology, sociology, and pedagogy, about
what works in learning in general and adult learning in particular. For
example:
·
Studies show that
relationships help learning by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system.
Study groups can therefore help people process new ideas and learn more than
when they work alone.
·
Training courses are
most effective when they are tailored for specific roles and at identifiable
career inflection points, as opposed to being offered episodically, according
to the calendar, or when HR secures resources for new learning initiatives.
·
Microlearning—presenting
information in short, 15- to 30-minute bursts—is more effective than longer
sessions. Companies can experiment with digital technologies such as virtual or
augmented reality to take advantage of this. They can also explore other
digital options, such as self-directed online learning and artificial
intelligence, to make the provision of training more flexible.
·
Big data can help
customize and measure learning experiences. Few L&D departments have
invested in data analytics the way other departments have. Marketers, for
example, know what time of day people open their messages most frequently, how
long they engage, and what methods capture them most. L&D courses and
programs should be no different.
What doesn’t work?
Avoid terms such as “remedial,” which imply the learner is broken in some way.
Research indicates that fear or risk of failure can shut down neural pathways
crucial to learning. Similarly, organizations should be thoughtful about the
use of assessments: tests can be stressful and may contribute to people
dropping out. The best learning environments support employees—and don’t stress
them out.
Finally, senior
executives will play a major role in a company’s attitude toward learning. They
can start making the case for lifelong employability by sharing what they know
about the changing work and economic landscape. A first principle of learning
is that people learn what they want to learn. Leaders, therefore, need to
communicate the imperative to inspire employees toward a mind-set of continuous
skill improvement. As is so often the case, inspiration starts at the top:
leaders need to be role models and show that they value learning themselves.
Think competence, not college
A four-year degree is
not necessary for all professional jobs, nor is it a sure indicator of ability
or mastery of a body of knowledge. Therefore, it’s worthwhile to consider and
recognize alternative credentials in recruiting, retention, and job placement.
There has been some
movement in this direction, in relation to skills such as software development.
Coding boot camps have become an accepted source of talent for some of the
world’s most prestigious tech companies because after two to four months of
intensive work, participants have proved themselves to be job ready. In 2017,
80 percent of coding boot camp graduates found a job that used their skills,
with an average salary of $70,698—well ahead of that of recent US college
graduates ($49,785)—and there are similar efforts in Europe and Asia. At present,
individuals typically pay for their own boot camps, but the model is successful
enough that there could be room for public–private partnerships or for
companies to adapt the concept to their own needs.
Nonprofit organizations
also play a role. Skillful, for example, an initiative of the Markle
Foundation, has convened 20 US states, as well as tech companies, educators,
and foundations, to share best practices in skill development.
Invest in frontline and entry-level workers
There are costs to
constant turnover, and employees who grow with a company can provide valuable
long-term leadership due to their understanding of that company’s product,
culture, customers, and institutional knowledge. We can see this philosophy in
action in Walmart’s recent expansion of tuition assistance for all workers
pursuing degrees in either business or supply-chain management at specific
online schools. The program could both widen the talent pipeline and help the
retail giant increase retention of frontline workers. Starbucks has done
something similar, although with fewer restrictions on courses of study. For
such programs to be effective, companies should promote them to their employees
(an area where many fall short), evaluate progress, and reward or at least
recognize those who finish.
It’s crucial to observe
and analyze the results of efforts such as these. One company that did just
that, Cigna, found that its tuition-assistance program more than paid for
itself—$1.29 in benefits for every dollar in expenditures, primarily through
improved retention and promotion rates. The bottom line: executives should see
tuition programs not just as a perk (or a PR ploy) but as a strategic
investment that needs to be evaluated and fine-tuned as information comes in
and conditions change.
Work with the public sector
Though this might seem
like an obvious idea, surprisingly few companies take advantage of the many
government programs available. In the United States, for instance, there are
many government programs related to employing veterans, and a substantial tax
write-off per employee for credential-based development. Still, utilization
rates are low. When policy makers offer, it’s critical for business leaders to
take advantage and act.
When governments and
businesses get partnerships right, the results are powerful. Germany, for
instance, has already transformed its federal unemployment agency into a
resourceful, job-matching entity. And Singapore, through its SkillsFuture
initiative, has gone all-in on lifelong learning (although here again there are
concerns that employers have been slow to react).
Companies can also
learn from local government initiatives and public–private partnerships. One such effort is the National Coalition of
Certification Centers, in which US educators and businesses work together to
develop industry-specific programs and standards. It started with one company
and one community college in 2007 and is now working with dozens of
organizations in fields as diverse as renewable energy, horticulture,
construction trades, and torque technology. Students get a certificate to prove
their competence and can stack their credentials as their expertise deepens.
Lifelong employability
offers a way to meet the challenges of an evolving workforce and the rise of
automation with a sense of aspiration and hope, rather than fatalism and
patchwork solutions. It’s also crucial for long-term corporate survival and for
national competitiveness. By changing how they think about L&D, senior
executives can get ahead of the challenge and start making a better workplace
for everyone.
By Beth Davies, Connor Diemand-Yauman, and
Nick van Dam
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/competitive-advantage-with-a-human-dimension-from-lifelong-learning-to-lifelong-employability?cid=other-eml-alt-mkq-mck&hlkid=d00025eb66ac47c39aaa80fdaeabf974&hctky=1627601&hdpid=e413efeb-25c0-4b25-b186-157f958eb1e3
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