Technological disruption and an increasingly chaotic economic outlook are causing huge challenges and increased competitiveness. As a result, surviving in this new environment is becoming more and more difficult. In order to thrive in such an environment, businesses need to create a powerhouse of talent.
The focus hence shifts to investing in learning and development of talent and building a high-impact learning culture. Creating ideas and discussing about the perfect corporate culture is easy. However, its implementation and promotion is far more challenging.
In an interview with People Matters, Wiwik Wahyuni, Chief Human Resources Officer at Home Credit Indonesia discussed the importance of investing in building a high-impact learning culture; sharing some of the key elements that would be required to build and maintain such culture.
According to Wahyuni, agility is one of these key elements that are behind any organisation’s business growth and success. This is especially so for SMEs who need to utilise their agility and flexibility to stay ahead of the curb compared to large corporations. As a lot of decisions and directions are made at team and product level, an agile culture in an organisation empowers employees in three ways (quoting Daniel Pink): autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
With regards to who should be responsible for building the required culture in the company, Wahyuni states that the entire team should bear it. Each member of the team should share the commitment equally. This is due to the team having to collectively ensure that the skills and competencies required are well in-line with the goals they have; while leadership would provide a strategic direction, mentorship, tools, and learning budgets.
Business owners and team leader must also work together to develop a high-impact learning culture. There must be a clear strategic direction by which the teams can use as a guideline. This is to ensure that they will be working towards the goals of the business rather than against it. Leaders should also be prepared to mentor and coach team members so as to ensure their concerns and feedback are heard.
Once the objective is made clear, leaders can then justify and allocate the learning costs, especially those revolving around high-impact learning methods. Ensuring the right tools for achieving the objective and desired performance is also critical to building a successful high-impact learning culture.
When asked how Home Credit Indonesia drives a high-impact learning culture, Wahyuni emphasised agile transformation through organic growth. Forcing immediate change can prove detrimental to a company. Despite the benefits of transforming and disrupting a business, it is important that it occurs gradually. Humans are adaptable, but time is needed for change to occur as we are creatures of habit.
Wahyuni also explained that Home Credit implemented a Leadership Learning Series for First Managers & Middle Managers to ensure that the critical leadership skills are built as the business scales. Furthermore, the company also invested in tools and technologies that enables a high-impact learning culture to develop.
