HR Corner Innovative portal lets training get personal by Charles Mak Global organisations realise that it pays to take a long-term approach to training future leaders Companies always appreciate external recognition and, when IBM learned that they had been ranked number one in Training magazine's annual top 100 for the second year, it served as welcome confirmation that the company's pioneering efforts in management development were definitely on the right track. In particular, it was noted that they had introduced an innovative e-learning portal within a revamped W3 (www) intranet system. This expanded opportunities for personal learning, trained employees in leadership skills, and addressed specific business needs with clearly targeted courses. As a sign of their commitment to these goals, the company invested US$700 million in 2004 alone in initiatives related to employee learning. "The emphasis is on the development of our people," says David Chan, the programme manager in the human resources department of IBM China/Hong Kong Limited. "Every employee can gain access to the W3 and learn in multimedia modes in the office, at home or while on the go." According to IBM's internal studies and surveys, 80 per cent of learning takes place in the workplace. As a result, training and development is specifically designed to be an intrinsic element in each person's job. A special approach known as PARR (preparation, activity, reflection, review) has therefore been adopted to make learning an integral part of the working environment. "We set out to identify the required skills and encourage staff to acquire and apply them at work. This means they have to prepare for, act on, reflect on and review certain undertakings," explains Mr Chan. Leaders teach leaders is a more practical way of carrying out development Learning culture Establishing leadership competencies through personalised study is a key to the company's learning culture. Within this, "IBMers" enjoy a large degree of autonomy and are expected to take the initiative to learn whatever they need to do their jobs effectively. A state of the art "learning suite" has been devised to specify an individual's operational training needs, depending on their role and seniority. "For example, an executive leader may need to learn more about negotiation skills than someone in a technical area. The suite allows a choice of topics for certain competencies, and there are requirements designated for leaders in different functions and at different levels," says Mr Chan. Reflecting the PARR approach and the company's set of core leadership competencies, the process starts with a self-assessment before moving on to the acquisition of basic skills, simulation games and in-depth studies. Multimedia channels are then used to enable executive leaders to share their experiences and explain best practices. The projects vary in duration and extent. "This is an end-to-end learning process where executive sharing is as important as the actual work," emphasises Mr Chan. "IBM is an organisation where leaders teach leaders, which is a more practical way of carrying out development." Within this framework, there are four categories of leader: emerging, first-line, up-line and executive. For emerging leaders with potential, specific programmes must be completed within a three-year period. Other programmes are specifically designed for staff newly promoted to each of the remaining three categories. "We use this framework to devise and execute strategies for leadership," says Mr Chan. "The concept is that leaders will develop our staff who, in turn, we can count on to develop the business." Negotiation skills Certain attributes such as negotiation and problem-solving skills are essential for all IBMers. Mr Chan believes that all good leaders will consistently exhibit these and other competencies in their day-to-day work. He is also confident that the company can easily identify those who perform better than average. This is done with a comprehensive "360-degree" assessment which takes account of colleagues' comments about competencies, managerial style and attitude to work. As individuals progress, expectations naturally change and the focus of training shifts. "For example, direction setting and team building techniques are learned by emerging leaders," says Mr Chan. "Senior executives will concentrate more on setting strategies and collaborating with business partners." IBM certainly understands the importance of people development. Besides using the e-learning portal, potential leaders must complete an individual development plan each year. With this, they set out their personal learning goals, initiate communications with senior management, and take responsibility for their own advancement. "We designed the whole programme after close study of the needs of different levels of management," Mr Chan says. "With a consistent framework of required competencies and assessment methods, all IBMers are responsible for monitoring their own learning and development, which definitely increases their sense of commitment." Salient points Training and development specifically linked to job functions and seniority An e-learning portal allows employees to choose courses and study when convenient Staff are expected to learn and apply skills at work in a systematic fashion Leadership competencies are clearly defined and taught by meeting individual needs Potential leaders are placed in four different categories and their progress is closely monitored. Taken from Career Times 22 July 2005, p. A12 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]