Business transformation is hard – here’s how to improve the odds
Higher and Degree Apprenticeships are helping organisations change the horizon for talent development, equipping employees with skills, knowledge and behaviours relevant to and culturally aligned with their workplace.
McKinsey & Company’s Jeff Boudens reminded the recent Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Organisational Development (OD) conference (4 October 2016) that despite transformation being hard, you can improve the odds threefold by working on the change. Effective communication, active leadership, continuous improvement, accountability, empowerment were cited as ways to improve the odds in your organisation’s favour.
With Higher Apprenticeships, the Uni@Work team are driving change in the talent development pipeline. This works powerfully for the learner, organisation and delivery partner, who triangulate progression through the work-based degree. Continuous improvement is a core element of all programmes. Constructive alignment of learning with skill and behaviour based objectives is supported by regular review, feedforward and coaching sessions.
It is a win-win situation. Learners on these programmes can assess their passion and purpose for their work. They are proactively supported to develop effective workplace communication skills and are empowered to account for their own learning. By developing excellent personal leadership, they can understand the contribution they can make in their own workplaces and who to go to for the right support when they need it.
Engagement and retention is high; for example, over the past five years learners studying Management and Leadership at Work with one client have achieved:
- 100% successful completion of the Foundation Degree
- 80% completion of the Honours degree
- 70% retention of talent
We are flexible enough to adapt what we do to ensure the best possible outcomes. These outcomes marry Higher Education attainment with individual learner and organisational priorities.
Knowledge that is relevant to learners’ work is assessed and evidence is demonstrated through real work-related projects. These projects support professional skills development as individual’s strengths begin to surface, as they are exposed to key stakeholders and mentors within the business. Drawing on the behaviours they experience from their colleagues, these learners make sound judgements about how they wish to behave towards colleagues and peers. Supported by the organisation’s values, they develop a vision of their own leadership style and understand how to apply this to various situations to influence successful outcomes.
Ultimately they may begin to contribute to a change in culture and impact business transformation. Right now, though, they are changing perceptions of the Apprenticeship landscape and employers’ options for developing the talents of future employees.
Contact Uni@Work for more information about the Apprenticeship Levy and Higher and Degree Apprenticeships.