Case Study: Introduction Of A Business Skills Development Programme In A Small Technology-Based Company

As background to writing this book I interviewed the HR Director of a small technology company. The company employs around 250 people. The nature of the work that the organisation does means that its people are highly marketable. The average tenure is around two years. Most of the people in the organisation are educated to a high level: many have higher degrees, e.g. masters degrees, or a PhD. Technically then, many of the employees are very able. However, the organisation felt that some of its more junior staff lacked the necessary business awareness needed to survive in what is a highly competitive marketplace. There is a strong focus on entrepreneurialism within the organisation and all employees are expected to initiate and follow through ideas for new products and services.

To address the identified knowledge gap the HR team approached the management school at a local university to help them design and deliver a short Business Awareness Programme. The programme consisted of formal lectures, held at the university, covering areas such as: developing an understanding of the supplier–customer relationship model (thus building an understanding of what makes customers tick); corporate finance; economics; as well as how financial markets work.

Selecting an academic institution to deliver this type of development activity was felt to be particularly important given the backgrounds of employees who would be the main recipients. Many of those attending the programme were familiar with the academic learning environment, having previously spent a significant amount of time in higher education. Thus they also had a respect for the knowledge generated in these learning environments.

The programme seems to have helped these highly capable technical specialists get a better understanding of the range of factors that influence management decision-making, such as the link between share price and business performance and the economic arguments behind hiring and firing people.

This broader development activity has helped these individuals develop their ‘know of’ and ‘know why’, helping them to put their own work into a broader context. It has also exposed them to the terminology and language associated with running a business, thereby providing a common language for discussions with business leaders and senior decision-makers.

What this case study illustrates is how technical skills and knowledge is often not enough to succeed in today’s business world. With a greater emphasis on customer service, technical specialists need to be business aware, i.e. able to apply their knowledge to create business solutions that the customer actually wants. Tesco.com, for example, claims that much of the success of its online shopping service stems from the fact that each of the technical staff in its online operations area regularly spends time in a store doing basic retails tasks so that they can get closer to the customer and their shopping habits and needs^[3].

• Ensure that your evaluation process addresses the transfer of learning.

  Does your evaluation process encourage individuals to consider questions like ‘ Who else would benefit from the insights developed on this programme/learning event?’ and ‘ How will I communicate this to them?’ Are these questions posed on the ‘happiness sheet’?

• Experiment with new approaches to training delivery.

  As part of the background research for this book I discovered one or two organisations that were experimenting with different forms of skills-building workshops. One organisation, for example, had introduced a programme of short workshops designed to address gaps in specific skills areas, such as report writing and presentation skills. Instead of planning a one or two-day workshop, a series of short learning sessions, held over a three to four-week period, were held for each of these topics. These shorter sessions have proved to be more popular with managers and staff. Staff find it easier to fit the shorter learning sessions around their other work commitments. It has also made it easier for individuals to apply and build on what thy have learnt in the workshops. Equally the short time-span between workshops means that individuals can bring ‘live problems’ to the workshop, providing more valuable learning opportunities.

• Build basic IT skills training into the organisation’s overall training strategy.

  Even in technology-intensive companies technophobia can prevent individuals from participating fully in knowledge creation and sharing. The Ford Motor Company, for example, has introduced a scheme that enables staff to lease a PC, printer and modem for a nominal monthly charge. The scheme is intended to help international staff, in particular, develop the skills needed to be at the cutting edge of e-commerce.

• Encourage ‘best practice scouring’.

  Speaking at a Knowledge Management conference, the former Deputy Managing Director of Anglian Water, spoke of the need for membership of external networks and attendance at conferences to be seen as ‘intelligence gathering’ rather than academic jollies^[4]. However, individuals need to develop the habit of summarising the key learning from conferences and sharing with colleagues.

^[3]Skills Section, Computing, 24 January 2002.

^[4]Knowledge Management Conference. Strategic Planning Society. October 1999.