Chief Learning Officer - August 2007 - (Page 51)

business intelligence ating a clear strategic need to focus on the development of products — the essence of innovation. In increasingly competitive markets, manufacturers and service companies also are increasingly concerned with their ability to adapt to changing conditions, anticipate customer needs and address those needs through research and development activities. 4. Quality: Many manufacturers of durable goods (such as automobiles) maintain a strategic focus on reducing defect rates in products delivered to market. A quality focus has much in common with an efficiency strategy. The key difference under a quality mandate is the prominence given to the error rate in the production process rather than the timing of the delivery of goods produced from that process. 5. Image: Some organizations compete in their markets based on the reputation of the goods and services they provide. Examples include professional services firms and high-brand value companies, which often provide services that are difficult to differentiate from competitors or rely on relationship-building activities to secure trust in the products and services provided. Each of the high-performance companies can be assigned to one of these five dominant strategic business priorities, based on its business model and publicly available information about the organization. By contrasting the opinions of these companies’ employees with those from comparison companies focused on similar priorities, research can address the question of whether a learning culture is more relevant under some strategic mandates than others. In these results, all employees’ opinions are examined to capture the broadest set of perceptions regarding company culture. As Figure 3 indicates, the elements of learning, performance management and talent promotion/retention appear among the differentiators of high-performance companies focused on customer service, efficiency and quality. In a service environment, performance reviews directed toward evaluating how well service is delivered are an important practice that three out of four employees report their organization accomplishes. In addition, strong service environments also provide development and growth opportunities. Employees whose development needs are met are likely to stay with the company longer, as well as build customer relationships that drive long-term business success. In environments focused on efficiency, Figure 3 indicates learning and the management of poor performance are key differentiators of a successful learning culture. Well-trained staff members are more enabled to take the steps necessary to meet deadlines for the production and delivery of goods to market. In addition, effectively dealing with poor performers removes potentially serious obstacles to the goals of companies competing on the basis of efficiency. Especially in a complex production context, a single employee consistently performing below average can adversely affect business results. Finally, Figure 3 also suggests that in environments focused on quality, specific elements of a learning culture facilitate success. In particular, learning programs that help employees learn from their mistakes are especially critical — quality environments are focused on eliminating error from work processes and to be effective, learning needs to teach a lasting lesson. Also critical is the practice of promoting the most competent people. Clearly, error-free environments require experienced employees who thoroughly know the business processes. From company senior leaders to any staff members with management responsibility to all employees across the enterprise, these findings consistently show the critical importance of building a learning culture to drive success. The key elements of a learning culture, based on this research, include: • Effective learning tailored to the needs of the business. • Performance management systems focused on appropriate content and serving as effective sources of recognition. • Career-advancement practices that consistently promote the most competent employees, retain top talent and provide ongoing development opportunities and challenges. As the results from companies varying by strategic business priority attest, no two organizations are alike. Consequently, the specific practices that will drive success must be consistent with the business model and support its successful execution. Regardless of the mission and vision of the company, a hallmark of truly successful organizations is promoting and maintaining a culture that enables employees to continually learn and update their skills in efforts to achieve true high performance as a business. I www.clomedia.com I Chief Learning Officer 51 August 2007 Employees whose development needs are met are likely to stay with the company longer, as well as build customer relationships that drive long-term business success. Patrick Kulesa is global research director of Towers Perrin-ISR. He can be reached at editor@clomedia.com. http://www.clomedia.com

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