Do the demographics of your team(s) impact your learning and development (L&D) strategies?
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Chief Information Officer in Software2 years ago
At ZoomInfo we're about 66% millennials, so our learning and development strategy is geared towards the younger population. The focus is on ensuring that they have a career path and that every level of their career has a learning path. It's not just about promotions and accomplishments, it’s about learning something. They have to have that opportunity to grow their knowledge. In previous companies, there were different demographics and the focus was so much more around career advancement versus career development.Partner in Software2 years ago
The makeup of the workforce has changed dramatically, but the demographic change is only part of the shift we’re seeing. There has also been a shift in understanding, especially in the technology industry, which is moving really quickly. For example, we started seeing many more hybrid environments at Pure Storage. If you didn't have sales people who understood that, and they sometimes did things on their own, you couldn't always provide enablement across the company. That was a motivating factor in terms of career competitiveness and even survival. You have to think strategically, not just about the makeup of the organization but where to direct them. And where people start is very relevant. Now we’re hearing that most companies are data companies or software companies. There are a lot of legacy companies that don't understand what that means. And some of them don't understand what the digital transformation of their company means because they're still way behind, so it's a forcing function for them.
CISO in Software2 years ago
You have different L&D conversations with people depending on where they are in their career. With millennials and other people who are in their early career, they want to at least know where they'll be in a couple of years. You're putting them on that pathway by helping them find mentors and the right courses or experiences, so they can see some direction ahead. Folks on my team, at the moment, are at the other end of the spectrum. They have lots of experience, so what they want to do for personal development is more about what they're working on now. They're less concerned with where their career goes because they love being the technical experts that they are now and they just want to grow their technical expertise. I do find it challenging to think about my successor in that sense, because there are technical experts under me that wouldn't naturally be good in a management, leadership, stakeholder or owner role.
CTO in Healthcare and Biotecha year ago
Yes they do. People from different demographics have different learning styles, preferences, and needs. There is no one-size-fits-all approach so you have to tailor to various groups and demographics. To see if you are on the right track leverage assessments, focus groups, surveys, and other forms of feedback to ensure that the programs are relevant, aligned and effective for all team members.