Automation and The Future of Learning
“For 60% of jobs, 30% of the activities are automatable”
Says Dominic Barton – global managing partner of consulting firm McKinsey and Company in a recent ABC article.
The article revealed that six thousand employees are set to start leaving Australian bank NAB this week, as software takes over human processes and complex tasks.
Over the coming years we are going to see this more and more regularly as organisations displace certain jobs.
So what does this age of digital maelstrom mean for the future of learning?
According to the ABC article, old fashioned people skills are going to become more important than ever. Automation and technology cannot replicate empathy or emotion so there is going to be fast growth with occupations that require people skills.
“One of the biggest challenges is retraining an ageing working population … for jobs that don’t yet exist” state ABC. McKinsey boss Barton agrees – confirming that we are really going to have to concentrate on how we can upskill 55+ year olds.
Organisations need to find ways to enable these people to keep working, perhaps in other roles or by adapting the current role. An ageing workforce needs to be actively engaged in the problem through education and skills training.
The Good News!
The good news is that I also see how companies can use this shift to help them re-think learning initiatives.
To borrow from Peter Cheese, CEO of the UK’s CIPD we must ‘Train for Behaviours’ in every way.
We must move beyond the old paradigm of learning, be specific about the behaviours we need to see in the business that will support strategic initiatives and the technology and changing demographics in the workforce.
Design learning for the audience we have AND the behavioural outcomes that we want back in the organisation. We cannot do this by simply thinking what we need participants to know – but by creating real clarity for each individual as to what they can be doing differently back in the workplace, specific to the role they are in or being prepared for. Working at an individual level is not only possible -it’s essential. Everyone is unique in their experience, motivation, ability to learn and ability to implement. You need to design a process that reflects this.
When up skilling mature workers – remind them how to learn and support them with a learning transfer process so they can truly change behaviours and develop the skills they need for the future. Help them change by holding them accountable to themselves for the changes they believe in and can nominate.
The future of learning and HR will be at the heart of change initiatives, role development and people development. It is way beyond a hub for co-ordinating out-dated systems of performance reviews and serving an administration function.
Learning is not only involved in the strategy, smart CEOs know it IS the strategy for the future.
I spoke at iDesignX last week on future proofing your learning with Transfer. I shared how effective action planning is the first step to any successful learning transfer solution and unveiled our new FREE action planning tool available for all to use to support learning initiatives at your organisation. Try it for yourself at turninglearningintoaction.com and experience:
- A step by step, easy to navigate platform that sets you up for success from any learning
- A PDF of your action plan, emailed to you immediately
- The option to send a copy of your action plan to a friend, colleague or manager
- And a BONUS 10 top tips on the back of your action plan to help you create momentum