Learning and development
There are a variety of ways in which we help you develop and maintain the skills, competencies and capability our people need to be effective and successful. Our Learning and Development Policy describes the purpose, approach and elements of our learning and development program. In summary, we are committed to giving our people every opportunity to excel in their jobs. A large part of this is providing the learning and development to ensure our team have the necessary skills and competencies to perform at their peak.
Your responsibility
- set high standards and consistently talk about excellence.
- show commitment to the development of your team.
- ensure your team honour their training commitments (attend sessions they have committed to).
- be aware of your own needs and committed to your own growth.
- systematically work with your team to identify gaps, development opportunities and solutions.
- put in place on-the-job training activities which develop the skills of your team.
- find opportunities every day for the 70% and 20% elements of our 70-20-10 philosophy.
- grow your people through mentoring, delegation, job swapping, secondments etc.
- systematically develop your people for promotion opportunities and career development.
- make sure you operate within our learning and development policy and budget.
Identifying training needs
Doctors are taught, “prescription without diagnosis is malpractice”. Before prescribing a learning and development solution, you need to carefully define the development need or gap. Sending someone on a course is expensive and often not the best solution. For example, on job training from experts in your team is usually a better (and cheaper) way to grow capability then sending someone on a course. A systematic approach to identifying training needs and putting development plans in place is the GROW model below.
GROW helps us define the need (Goal), assess the gap (Reality), identify and choose (Options), and put action plans in place (Way Forward). You can document the resulting plan using our Coaching Plan Template. Contact your HR business partner if you would like some assistance with this process.
70-20-10 learning philosophy
Our philosophy centres on the 70-20-10 framework, which acknowledges that most learning occurs through experience and practice. This approach requires that 70% of organisational learning occur through on-the-job experiences, 20% from drawing on the knowledge of others and 10% through formal learning. It is designed to encourage thinking outside classes, courses and conferences.
Ways to incorporate the 70% into your leadership style
- Create opportunities for team members to apply new learning and skills in real situations.
- Spend time with team members discussing, reflecting and learning from projects and experiences.
- Create opportunities for people to participate in projects and activities that grow them.
- Look for ways your people can participate in cross-functional activities.
- Promote swaps and secondments.
- Give people increased levels of responsibility including covering for people on leave.
Ways to incorporate the 20% into your leadership
- Regular one-on-one discussions with your team about progress, issues and their development.
- Make a habit of providing feedback and debriefing team members.
- Have your team meet regularly to reflect on progress, share experiences and learnings etc
- Help your team build strong internal and external networks.
- Promote membership of professional and industry associations.
- Facilitate group discussions.
- Encourage your people to seek advice and feedback, share opinions and explore new ideas.
Ways to incorporate the 10% into your leadership style
- Commit to fast high quality onboarding of new team members.
- Promote the use of Ollie online by your team members.
- Seek out and bring high quality, relevant learning initiatives to your team.
- Encourage your people to attain relevant professional qualifications/accreditations and/or certifications.
- Encourage your team to undertake relevant research and reading.
- Promote participation in relevant activity-based workshops, interactive training courses, seminars, conferences and expos.
