Organisations are now investing largely in soft skills training: Dale Carnegie of India MD Pallavi Jha

In the last 10 years we have seen a drastic wave of change when it comes to organisations stepping up their L&D initiatives. As information about people development and its impact on business results becomes more mainstream, we have observed organisations evolve.

They have evolved from merely implementing compliance practices, into moving assuredly towards cementing L&D as a top priority. Besides, with employee engagement becoming critical to business success there is no alternative to investing in growth of employees. Millennials are also very aspirational and interested in learning and growth.

Do multinational corporations (MNCs) fare better than homegrown companies?

It is easy to say that MNCs have the advantage when it comes to L&D because of the ease of replication across each geography. They also have a pre-existing L&D foundation that often exists when it comes to a corporate global network.

On the other hand, learning and talent have driven home-grown companies equally in that direction as organisations cannot afford to ignore building a culture of continuous learning if they want to stay relevant.

What are some of the most common L&D practices in India?

Some of the most popular L&D practices are real-time learning supported by technology, as well as learning through gamification. Organisations are also investing largely in soft skills training. This is especially in the spheres of employee productivity, customer relations and leadership development.

Are there any gaps that need to be filled in the Indian market?

With the entry of artificial intelligence, adapting to a rapidly-changing world of work will be the defining task of our time. The answer is to ‘upskill’ the workforce to be qualified enough to handle new positions created by these changes. The rate of advancement and globalisation cannot be offset, but we can invest in employees’ skills to enhance their learnability and ability to adopt new skills to stay abreast.

Is there data to show whether L&D activities help in employee retention?

Today's workforce does not take L&D lightly. According to ‘Workforce of the Future’, a study on millennials in the workplace by PwC, 44 percent of millennials claimed that compensation was a motivating factor when considering jobs, but a whopping 52 percent cited learning and growth opportunities.

L&D professionals see that employees increasingly want access to cutting edge learning programmes, and fear losing talent to competitors because their company does not offer a solid learning strategy. When an employee feels they have gained relevant, invaluable skills from a developmental activity that will propel their career, it can be a powerful driving force for heightened engagement and increased alignment to the organisation.

Are companies ready to learn from each other?

There is a lot of good work happening in several organizations in India. Companies are using L&D to enhance the employee experience ad business results at every life stage of an employee’s career – whether they are freshers or high potentials who will succeed leaders. Needless to say, our book, Rethink Employee Experience the Dale Carnegie Book on LD Best Practices was born from this very observation and is a collation of the best practices in India, with a global dimension.