EAE News
Goal-oriented training in companies
13 de December de 2019
EAE Business School has organized a new Business Networking session in collaboration with APD, focusing in the latest trends in company training and development.
The Bankia Auditorium (Paseo de la Castellana 189) was the venue for the 3rd edition of the series, which in this case was entitled “Trends in company training and development”. Organized by EAE and APD, the session analysed the need for employees in organizations to keep constantly updated in order to meet the requirements generated by new technologies. Aspects such as co-creation, agile methodologies and knowledge sharing were covered in a session in which the institutional welcome and introduction was given by Loreto Sanmartín, the Director of the central region at APD, and Antonio Parra, General Director of People and Technological Resources at Bankia. Loreto explained that only disruption and changes generate opportunities, so we have to rethink our business models, customer relations and strategic HR plans. In short, we have to take a far-reaching disruptive leap that brings about new possibilities in terms of talent, in more collaborative and less hierarchical settings.
David López, Assistant General Director of People and Culture at Bankia then began his presentation, entitled “Collaborative learning and its impact on the company’s success”. The financial institution is undergoing an unprecedented situation of changes in terms of the competition and customers’ consumption habits. In David’s opinion, the context is extremely challenging because it forces us to question our way of thinking and to develop more flexible and efficient initiatives.
Bankia is making changes to generate committed teams and inclusive and diverse leadership, based on transparency and opportunities in training and development. At Bankia, training is carried out in two strands: individual and collaborative. “Learning but sharing. Knowledge is not rooted in just one person or specialist”, emphasized David. Learning is based on four factors online/in-person and formal/informal: 80% individual and 20% collaborative. “The ideal situation is a balance between the two”, he explained. Collaborative learning goes hand-in-hand with agility. Therefore, Bankia is embracing initiatives related to gamification, accompaniment, tutoring by digital partners and on-the-job training. “We are striving to generate a training ecosystem based on learning agility, with open training channels and a progressive increase in collaborative learning”, he added.
Internal knowledge management
Aurelio Jiménez, the COO at Zapiens, gave a presentation entitled “Internal knowledge management – One for all and all for one”. Aurelio explained that organizations learn through individuals. “Data has to be converted into information which, in turn, is transformed into knowledge”. When knowledge flows, the organization’s culture progresses. “The most important factor in organizations is generating value, opening knowledge up and sharing it with others. This change is hard because we have never been to do that”. In the opinion of the CCO of Zapiens, we have to be knowledge generators, rather than hoarders.
The role of technology should be based on recommendation because it does not solve everything. “The human side has to be aligned with the technological part. It is a question of how you generate value in people”. Therefore, transforming organizations towards knowledge management models requires energy and stopping doing what you are doing to explain to somebody whatever they want to know.
Discussion panel: “Learning experience, a matter of culture and commitment”
Emilio Velasco, the Director of the HR Department and lecturer at EAE, chaired a discussion panel that analysed the topic “Learning experience, a matter of culture and commitment”. Marta González, the Director of People Management at LaLiga, Alicia Sánchez, the Director of HR at Altran, and Francisco Navarro, a Career & Skills Consultant and Talent Partner at IBM, discussed trends, company culture and learning models.
Alicia Sánchez underlined the need to have a common thread running through organizations in order to make changes in the learning ecosystem. Moreover, there has to be a complete turnaround in organizations, which are currently fairly paternalistic, shifting towards models that generate differentiated learning experiences depending on the professional. Marta González referred to “the three justs: just in/off, just in time and just for me”, to define a new way of learning based on short, fast stimuli that do not take up much time. Francisco focused on the new skills that professionals have to acquire to keep up-to-date in response to change. At IBM, they promote the Agile Methodology, positive leadership and a culture of recognition.
Emilio Velasco added that knowledge is become obsolete and it is necessary to create a culture within organizations to ensure that the most advanced people acts as a point of reference for others. “Learning never ends. The academic stage may come to an end, but then you embark of the professional learning phase”, clarified the EAE lecturer. In Marta González’s opinion, the culture of organizations is generated by the people within it. At IBM, new team members are given training and interaction to give insight into the company and enhance their professional careers.
Nowadays, cultures are flexible and liquid, which fosters a learning model based on the shared experience of the senior professionals. “It is the individuals that triggers small changes in themselves, and this changes the culture”, explained the Director of HR at Altran. Meanwhile, at LaLiga, they promote collaborative environments to generate commitment among its professionals. Lastly, the Career & Skills Consultant and Talent Partner at IBM emphasized positive leadership and recognition.
Alicia Sánchez concluded by saying that, luckily, knowledge is no longer in silos and is now universal, adding that the key challenge nowadays is resistance to change. “When you force professionals out of their comfort zone, imbalances begin to occur”. At Altran, they give their professionals time to adapt gradually.