How Can Businesses Provide the Right Environment for Employees to Learn?
Digital HR Leaders Podcast - EP83 | Janice Burns, Chief Human Resources Officer at Degreed

How Can Businesses Provide the Right Environment for Employees to Learn?

David Green ???? David Green ????

David Green ????

Co-Author of Excellence in People Analytics | People Analytics leader | Director, Insight222 & myHRfuture.com | Conference speaker | Host, Digital HR Leaders Podcast

发布日期: 2021年10月27日
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People are attracted to organisations that they think represent their values and will provide them with opportunity

In many of the companies we work with at Insight222, the pandemic and social justice crises have helped spark an increased focus on inclusion, wellbeing and learning. Perhaps one of the key responsibilities of chief human resources officers is to ensure that this focus continues beyond these crises.

One CHRO who is at the forefront of this mission is Janice Burns, Chief People Officer at Degreed, who is my guest on this week's episode of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast. Prior to joining Degreed, Janice spent 28 years at MasterCard, where she held a variety of positions initially in marketing and product management before moving into HR, spending times as an HR business partner, Head of Talent Acquisition, as Chief Diversity Officer and finally (for eight years) as the Chief Learning Officer.

As you'll hear, Janice is passionate about the importance of learning, which she frames around a number of principles including 'guided freedom' and 'career elasticity.' Janice also believes that leaders should not limit the impact of learning to the four walls of the organisation.

Our job is not to control learning, it is really to facilitate it by providing the right conditions

You can listen by clicking on the image below or by visiting the?podcast website here.?

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Throughout the episode, Janice and I discuss:

  • Janice’s key strategic goals as Chief People Officer: "The pandemic made it very clear that companies can no longer just be concerned about what is happening just inside of the walls of their organisation. We all have a responsibility to society, to help uplift and maintain the health and wellbeing of people, regardless of where they are. And most importantly people who are at risk in their careers and economically because they don't have the skills and education to compete in today's marketplace. So really pulling that into our overarching people culture and organisational agenda is key."
  • The concept of ‘guided freedom’ and why learning leaders should think differently about facilitating learning: "It is called guided freedom. And what that means is that I believe that an organisation is obligated to give people the tools and resources to learn the things that they need to learn, to perform well in their jobs and to grow in their careers and they do that by giving them the proper guidance.?But they also have an obligation to give employees the freedom to learn what they want, when they want, and how they want to learn. And we shouldn't limit people in terms of what they are learning, because the act of learning itself, regardless of if it is directly applicable to the role that someone is in or not, is something that helps to fuel innovation and creativity and imagination."
  • Why companies also need to provide 'career elasticity' to their employees: "I look at careers in two ways, the opportunity to grow within the organisation that you are currently employed in and then the opportunity to continue to grow throughout the lifespan of your career. And so, it is important to communicate to your employees the skills that are critical for your business, and for the future of your business, so that they can be guided towards either learning those skills or enhancing those skills. But I also think it is important to let employees understand what are the skills that are trending in the broader marketplace. What are the skills that they need to think about for the future, so that they can maintain career elasticity, and also to help them to think about how to evaluate their marketability and manage and design a career that is going to keep them marketable."
  • How the balance of the relationship between employer and employee is shifting towards the latter: "I think with now, what everyone is calling the Great Resignation, you are seeing people decide to exercise their option of where they take their skills. In the past, the employer kind of had the advantage because they could choose who they hired and offer whatever job they wanted to. Now the employee has the advantage because they can choose who they want to give their skills to and offer their skills to, and if they don't find that they have the right conditions and the right upside for them, and it's not just about money, they will take their feet and move someplace else. And because of this skill crisis, they can demand a much higher price for those skills."
  • The role of coaching and mentoring in professional development: "As a leader, if you are not constantly coaching and mentoring, you are not doing your job, because your job is to help people continuously grow and improve their ability to perform."

Enjoy - and please let me know in the comments section your thoughts and any questions after listening to the episode.

The employer has to create the condition for their employees to be able to learn. the employee is responsible for their curiosity, their willingness, and putting the time into the learning process. And so, it is a partnership between the two.


LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

To listen to the Podcast and read the transcript of my discussion with Janice, head over to myHRfuture by clicking on this link: How Can Businesses Provide the Right Environment for Employees to Learn?


WATCH THE VIDEOS

As well as the podcast, there will be a couple of videos available on the?myHRfuture YouTube channel?highlighting highlighting two of the topics Janice and I cover in our conversation. In this clip Janice and I discuss where the responsibility for training and developing employees lies:


THANK YOU

Thanks to Janice for sharing her time, knowledge and passion for learning with listeners of the podcast. To find out more about her work, you can follow Janice on LinkedIn, check out the articles penned by Janice on the Degreed blog and register for Degreed Lens in Los Angeles (in-person and on-line), where Janice will be speaking, on 9-11 November, 2021.

I also recommend checking out the following resources by or featuring Janice:

Thanks to Karen Burns, Vicky Holdsworth, Todd Tauber and the?Degreed?team?for sponsoring Series 17 of the podcast, and also Ian Bailie, Manpreet Randhawa, Caroline Styr and the myHRfuture team for creating the Digital HR Leaders podcast and video series.?


GET INVOLVED

If you enjoyed listening to this week's podcast episode, I'd be grateful if you could take the following steps:

  1. Please?subscribe to the Digital HR Leaders podcast and weekly newsletter?to make sure you don’t miss an episode.
  2. Please take the time to?rate the show on iTunes. We rely on your feedback and support to make the podcast, so this is very helpful!
  3. Who would you like to see me interview in future episodes? Let me know in the comments below.
  4. Lastly, don’t forget to share on social media with your friends and colleagues, your support is always greatly appreciated!


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CATCH UP ON THE DIGITAL HR LEADERS PODCAST

If you haven't listened to all of the episodes of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast, you can catch up now by clicking on the links below.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David is a globally respected author, speaker, conference chair, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work.?As Managing Partner and Executive Director at?Insight222, he has overall responsibility for the delivery of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, which supports the advancement of people analytics in over 70 global organisations.?Prior to co-founding Insight222 and taking up a board advisor role at?TrustSphere, David accumulated over 20 years experience in the human resources and people analytics fields, including as Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations increase value, impact and focus from the wise and ethical use of people analytics.?David also hosts the?Digital HR Leaders Podcast?and is an instructor for Insight222's?myHRfuture Academy. His book, co-authored with Jonathan Ferrar,?Excellence in People Analytics: How to use Workforce Data to Create Business Value?will be published in the summer of 2021.

SEE ME SPEAK AT THESE EVENTS

I'll be speaking about people analytics, the future of work at a number of upcoming events:

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Alex Armasu

Founder & CEO, Group 8 Security Solutions Inc. DBA Machine Learning Intelligence

9 个月

Thank you for bringing this to our attention!

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Rakesh Seth

Chief Mentor-HR & General Management l Author I Advisor l Trainer | Visiting Professor of Practice I Ex. Group Sr. Vice-President - TATAs, ACC-EVEREST, SHRIRAM, ANANDs, HONDA, LLOYD.

3 年

In this uncertain world, insight and foresight are critical for managers to sight and exploit opportunities for growth.

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Russell Raath

I work with management teams to build businesses that improve and grow profitably ? Better Teams get Better Results

3 年

? Janice Robinson Burns has sage advice when it comes to practical career advice. Definitely worth listening to listen

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