The shift from learning to talent management (TM) is resulting in organizational. What Lies Ahead: The Next Evolution of Learning Leaders

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1 [COVER STORY] What Lies Ahead: The Next Evolution of Learning Leaders B Y DAVID LAMB The shift from learning to talent management (TM) is resulting in organizational changes. With the evolvement of TM systems, we must ask Are learning functions organized correctly to deliver the highest business value? And in particular, Where should the learning function and the chief learning officer (CLO) reside in the evolving TM organization? Let s reflect on what s happening in our chosen field of endeavor, what the future holds and whether we are positioned to provide optimal services going forward. Our future success may well require a redesign of traditional organizational models. Training Industry Quarterly, Summer 2009 / A Training Industry, Inc. ezine / 15

2 CLOS HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN ESTABLISHING THEIR ROLES WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS Many organizations have groups of professionals that separately provide services for individuals and organizations, e.g., learning and organizational development. These groups often operate in silos and do not leverage the other s efforts. In fact, they seldom work together on initiatives. Each conducts their own design, development and solutions. This is even more accurate when learning and human resources are separate functions. Learning professionals focus primarily on developing people with the right skills at the right cost and benefit. However, there is a growing perception that talent management also focuses on developing the right skills at the right cost and benefit, but extends it focus to providing the right people, in the right place and at the right time. Simply said, learning covers some critical areas, while talent management covers all critical areas of the people supply chain process. In an integrated TM system, collaboration is critical to success. But few companies are organized to leverage a more holistic model. And for those who are wrestling with the issue of who should lead TM, there is most often disagreement on ownership. Many feel that by virtue of experience with performance consulting and learning management systems, the CLO is the strongest contender for the TM leadership role. CLOs have made significant progress in establishing their role within organizations and Moving from CLO to Consultant By Steve Arneson One of the most common career moves for the retiring chief learning officer is to leave the corporate world for a different type of challenge consulting. Whether joining a firm or striking out on their own, former CLOs often make very successful consultants because of their deep technical knowledge, their strategic thinking skills and their experience working with senior business leaders. Former CLOs have designed learning content, managed and developed staff, implemented software and learning management systems, created budgets, and fought (constructively, of course) with top management. They probably even produced a few innovations in the field along the way. In short, they ve seen it all and therefore bring a perspective to the consultant role that can be invaluable in the right situations. If you re a former learning leader considering a consulting role, consider these three avenues for your talents: 1. As a coach for a current CLO. Particularly if a company has a new CLO (or one who s been recently promoted), bringing in an experienced veteran can be a great way to capture 16 Training Industry Quarterly, Summer 2009 / A Training Industry, Inc. ezine /

3 have been good constructivists learning through doing and experience. There is growing clarity for the vision, mission, goals and strategies of the CLO role and the title is used in a growing number of companies. But hold on! The rules of engagement for CLOs are changing. The focus on TM and human capital management (HCM) is intensifying. Look at the topics presented at conferences, articles in professional publications or the ads of major learning technology providers. TM and HCM are front and center. As we engage in the talent wars, a holistic strategy and a new set of methods and tools are required. Learning management system (LMS) providers (and others) are working feverishly to develop integrated TM systems that will meet our needs. However, many issues must be resolved before their solutions are compelling to potential customers. Bundled TM solutions are very complex, implementation is resource-intensive, and extensive change management work is required. To implement successfully, many users prefer a phased approach for example, integration of development with performance management, followed by selection, etc. Numerous research companies, think tanks and interest groups ( thought leaders ) are pondering the TM and CLO functions and where they belong in the organization. The catalyst is a heightened emphasis on the financial side of HCM. Our culture and economy has historically measured investments in and returns on equipment, buildings and land, but has not formally recognized the value of human capital. Although we often hear Our people are our most important asset, organizational behavior and accounting practices do not support this statement. But recently, the way companies think and act regarding learning is beginning to shift. There is a movement toward formally recognizing the financial value of human capital. As HCM gains traction, the impact on the CLO role may well be significant. Some feel the HR and learning functions, because we develop and execute strategies for a critically important asset (people), the wisdom and maturity of someone who s been there. Hiring a former CLO to coach a current one accelerates their learning curve significantly. In the process, the new leader gains a trusted mentor and lifeline for any future rough spots. 2. As a strategy consultant. If a company is opening a new learning center or thinking about getting into the corporate university game, it needs someone who s built learning departments from the ground up. Former CLOs can be a huge asset to develop strategy, sell it to senior leadership and begin the process of building a team and a learning portfolio. 3. As an auditor. A company can always use a second opinion, and one solution is bringing in a former CLO to audit learning groups from top to bottom. The former learning leader can evaluate curriculum, metrics, facilities and even talent. Businesses will get a no-nonsense review of the training shop, with proven recommendations for improvement. As learning professionals, you have to find the right tools for the job. Former CLOs have the knowledge, maturity and expertise to come back inside and add tremendous value as consultants. Steve Arneson spent 16 years as CLO at four Fortune 500 companies, and now has his own leadership consulting practice. He can be reached at steve@arnesonleadership.com. Training Industry Quarterly, Summer 2009 / A Training Industry, Inc. ezine / 17

4 will eventually report to the chief financial officer. Most learning professionals do not view this as optimal, or even probable at least not in the short term. We raise issues such as the significant differences between managing physical assets such as equipment and buildings, versus enhancing human performance. All must be managed effectively, but managed very differently. However, as CLOs continue efforts to measure and report the value of learning solutions and interventions, a new organizational structure will almost certainly evolve one that clearly differentiates the TM strategy and execution functions. We should carefully consider potential organizational designs and relationships and do it now before someone does it for us. Consider Noel Tichy s sage advice: Control your destiny or someone else will. Currently, most learning functions report into the HR organization. HR works hard to integrate all of the people processes e.g., recruitment and selection, performance management, learning, career development, succession planning and compensation into a cohesive talent strategy. HR certainly understands the value of strategy formulation and the alignment and relevancy of their solutions. However, when working concurrently at both the strategic and tactical levels, often strategy receives less than optimal time. Due to the day-today challenges that HR experiences, it is difficult to carve out time for strategy and stay the course. Ensuring that people are paid accurately, answering benefit questions, identifying good candidates to interview, dealing with labor relations issues, etc., gobbles up much time planned for strategy development. How can we alleviate this situation? We can consciously organize such that one group has responsibility for strategy formulation and strategic initiatives and another has responsibility for execution. Both report to one executive with overall responsibility for human capital management. For example, the top Figure 1 People-Friendly Organizational Structure SVP Human Capital Management Strategy formulation and communication Executive client relationship management Initiative prioritization and funding Solution alignment with organizational strategy Solution adoption and compliance Preferably a former operations executive who has intimate knowledge of the business challenges and opportunities (optimally someone on the CEO s succession plan); understands and can operate effectively within the organization s culture; has credibility with and respect of corporate and operations executives; leads/facilitates corporate human capital governance committee; strong strategy and process skills; strong financial savvy, especially in building and presenting budgets and business cases; excellent negotiation and influencing skills. Bottom line: a senior executive focusing their knowledge, skills and energy on leveraging human capital for business value. 18 Training Industry Quarterly, Summer 2009 / A Training Industry, Inc. ezine /

5 of the people organization could look as shown in Figure 1 for a large company. The VP of Talent Management is the role that CLOs should aspire to. Although the scope and definition of that role is beyond that of many current CLOs, we have the majority of the needed skills and experience. Most importantly, we understand the value of leveraging human performance for business impact. Knowledge and skills are the common thread through all domains of talent management. And these are the currency of the learning function. Final Thoughts The HCM (r)evolution has begun. Talent management and learning solutions must align with business strategy and focus on supporting accomplishments of business value. We should organize in a way that allows us to best leverage our hard-won knowledge, skills and experience After reflecting on how the TM organization will evolve, where it should reside and to whom it should report, it appears that CLOs can be in a catbird seat. The talent process is rife with components in which we excel. If we are willing to close a few performance gaps, the CLO has a head start in the race to create extraordinary value for our organizations. We need to pause and think about how what we do fits into the talent management model. Who better than us to lead the talent management function? And what better time to begin the effort? As Charles F. (Boss) Kettering (American inventor) once said, My definition of an educated person is the one who knows the right thing to do at the time it has to be done. David Lamb is vice president and chief learning officer for Rollins Inc. David has led or been a member of the senior leadership team of corporate universities for Rollins, Bell- South, Bank of Montreal/Harris Bank, Aetna, ADP and General Motors. You can David at dlamb@rollins.com. VP Talent Management (Strategic focus; lower volume) TM strategy, policies, methods and tools Performance consulting Solution design and development TM technology planning Vendor/outsourcer selection Ability to implement an integrated TM system, e.g., recruitment and selection, performance management, learning solution design and development, succession planning, etc.; expert in areas of talent and learning strategy formulation; performance consulting; HRIS/instructional technology, e.g., LMS and TM systems; talent solution/instructional design, e.g., workforce planning and leadership development solutions; strong program management skills; successful experience in aligning solutions with organizational goals; ability to develop a culture of measurement, i.e., ensures business value and ROI of solutions; excellent communication and influencing skills. VP Talent Programs and Services (Tactical focus; high volume) Execute all people transactions Manage client relationships Problem resolution Manage administrative functions TM technology management Strong shared services experience; exemplary client service skills; excellent management of solution delivery, e.g., learning solution facilitation and performance management deployment; focus on execution of defined TM goals and programs; management of all transactional tasks, e.g., payroll and benefits, service delivery to all corporate and operations organizations; generates required reports, e.g., non-compliance, problem resolution, etc.; excellent communication and influencing skills. Training Industry Quarterly, Summer 2009 / A Training Industry, Inc. ezine / 19