Blanket Learning Management Systems Don’t Work for Tech Teams
Employers must tailor training programs to the individuals and teams that make up their workforce, and the business outcomes they hope to achieve.
The corporate landscape has been shaken like a snow globe in recent years, leading to challenges and opportunities for both employers and employees alike. Yes, the challenges lean toward the employer side — but less so for those who can adapt.
For workers (and candidates) with the right skills, the world is now your oyster. Remote work has made the job market truly global. This means you’re not constrained by geography, and your job opportunities have increased exponentially. You no longer have to remain in a middling job that doesn’t fit your career aspirations.
For employers and at scale, the current situation is much harder to navigate. But it has also presented an opportunity… An opportunity to become an employer of choice by making the right strategic investments to engage and retain top talent, and thereby making it easier to successfully recruit when needed.
The status quo
Large enterprises have put their money on Learning & Development (L&D) teams to oversee this initiative. However, these teams often don’t have the resources necessary to create advancement opportunities through professional development — particularly for those with specialized skills. With Millennials and Gen Z taking the reins, this has never been more critical.
L&D leaders have a tremendous burden to remain on budget while offering something of value to hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of employees. The easiest way to do so is by leveraging a Learning Management System that does a little bit of everything. But this presents yet another problem.
Top performers suffer from lost productivity or simply ignore LMS content that they already know, and specialized teams (like technology) get left behind with outdated or irrelevant content that doesn’t match up with their current or future job roles that can be very specialized, such as opportunities Cloud, DevOps, Software, Data, and Machine Learning.
A modern approach to tech upskilling
Specialized tech talent requires specialized platforms to pursue meaningful learning and development that can translate to tangible career progression. Otherwise, companies will never be able to overcome skill shortages, promote innovation, or properly address the issue of disengagement with L&D initiatives.
A September 2021 study by Gartner found that 64% of IT executives see talent shortage as the most significant barrier to adopting emerging technologies, compared to just 4% in 2020.
A September 2021 study by Gartner found that 64% of IT executives see talent shortage as the most significant barrier to adopting emerging technologies, compared to just 4% in 2020.
Just take a look at your turnover and recruiting costs, and it will be easy to identify business units that take up most of the budget. I’m betting you’ll find technology teams rank at, or toward, the top regardless of your operating model.
Opportunities lie in the investment toward upskilling these individuals and teams. And it will only work with a skills intelligence platform that’s solely dedicated to the software, programming languages, and certifications they care about.
The solution for L&D teams
Everything — from the way we work to the way we buy and how we consume information, has become personalized. Wouldn’t it make sense that learning and development programs follow suit?
We at Cloud Academy think so, and we’ve produced an eBook that explores why – for HR and L&D leaders – a predictable, scalable upskilling program for tech teams is critical to thrive in the digital age. Get your free copy.
