'We constantly have to upskill ourselves as professionals'

Technology has always been a driver of learning and development, says Tania Hector, HR business partner at Nestlé.

“Recently, the World Economic Forum released statistics that 44% of workers’ skills will be disrupted by generative AI in the next five years,” says Hector, who has over 25 years’ experience in HR.

“That could potentially be higher in developed countries, so that means statistically speaking, roles like mine will be significantly impacted. It’s important to be very clear they did not say job losses, they said impacted, but given the fact that the world of work is changing so fast, we constantly have to upskill ourselves as professionals, at the very least in a digital context.”

Hector notes that simultaneously, the technology now available is also an enabler since it provides an opportunity to deliver powerful learning, particularly in the case of remote workers.

L&D a top priority for employees

“Learning and development tends to be in the top two priorities of what people at work are looking for,” says Hector, who will be on the panel at the upcoming National HR Summit Australia, addressing the topic of ‘L&D to engage remote workers’.

“Despite everyone’s obsession with millennials, this doesn’t just count for them - everybody wants a great place to work. They want an inclusive culture, they want respect, and opportunities for learning and development. Offering people learning and development is just what you do now - like you pay a salary on time and create a safe working environment, we also do learning and development. It's a hygiene factor. It's not a nice-to-have or a special.”

Having spent over a year within the organisation as global head of L&D, Hector emphasises that learning and development are quite different entities. Learning, she emphasises, is the experience of gaining new skills, but without the opportunity to use the knowledge, it’s worthless.

“Learning is actually not something the organisation does, it is something the individual chooses to do. The organisation needs to make sure we curate the right exposure - quality content that gives people what they need. It's our role to figure out what we want, make it available and then support the employee to use that.”

Development on the other hand is highly personalised, she says.

“People think of development as career growth but it’s actually the opportunities that we offer. Development could be a sideways move to go work in Fiji for three months. Someone might value experiencing a different culture even if the role is two levels below their current one - because development is hugely personalised. We need to make opportunities available through access to content, experiences and information.”

Personal development conversations are key

At Nestlé, a variety of resources are used to assist with personalised development, Hector says. “It involves helping line managers and employees understand who's responsible for what.”

It’s important to remember, she notes, that people’s ambitions and situations change, therefore regular communication is vital.

“That's why we have these conversations between line managers and employees at minimum once a year. We recommend twice a year but we also know that people are very busy.”

Once those parameters have been established, it’s vital that HR communicate the outcomes, but Hector advises some caution.

“I would never recommend learning and development for people who are burnt out,” she says. “My history is actually as a social worker and I did therapy for many years. Unless someone specifically says it will help with their burnout to be able to take on learning experiences, it’s definitely not a conversation I would raise with any employee in that scenario.”

Technology for L&D

And as people’s individual situations change, so too will the technology available for L&D.  The recent launch of commercially available hologram facilities for instance, she says, will without a doubt change the concept of ‘face-to-face’ learning.

“Face-to-face is really good for nuance. It's also very good for networking and building relationships but if I'm training people on how to fill in forms, they don’t need face to face. If I'm training people on safety, they don't need face-to-face.

“There’s no clear-cut answer as to which delivery is best – that’s like asking how long is a piece of string? One thing is certain though and that is face-to-face is decreasing in appropriateness.”