How can continuous learning drive workforce sustainability? Gianpiero Petriglieri explains how learning is crucial for attracting, developing, and retaining talent, and how HR can cultivate growth, purpose, and a lasting legacy within organisations.
Sustainability, both for organisations and society, hinges on the ability to produce and integrate new members, ensuring that culture and knowledge persist beyond a single generation. Just as ancient tribes evolved from hunter-gatherers to farmers to sustain their communities, workforce sustainability requires similar adaptation.
No matter the size of your workforce, mobility is crucial. While HR often emphasises retention, top talent seeks growth opportunities, both within and outside the organisation. A truly sustainable workforce system not only retains talent but also supports their growth, even if that means they move on. This enhances an organisation's reputation as a career-building entity.
Learning: the cornerstone of workforce sustainability
For a sustainable workforce, organisations must address three core areas: attracting talent, turning that talent into effective performance, and securing future potential. Each of these areas is deeply interconnected with continuous learning and development.
Attracting talent: Is your company drawing the right talent?
Learning's role: Unlike tribal communities that grew organically, organisations must actively attract external talent. The attraction process involves more than just recruitment; it requires embedding new hires into the organisation’s culture and values. This socialisation is a learning process, where newcomers absorb the company's ethos and align with its goals.
Turning talent into performance: Do employees have the skills and resources to perform effectively?
Learning’s role: Once talent is onboard, their effectiveness depends on continuous learning. Providing ongoing training, skill enhancement, and access to necessary resources ensures that employees can convert their potential into actual performance. This ongoing development is critical to maintaining a high level of productivity and adapting to evolving job requirements.
Securing future performance: Are employees realising their potential and achieving their aspirations within the organisation?
Learning’s role: Long-term sustainability is tied to the future performance of employees. Organisations must provide opportunities for personal and professional growth, helping employees discover their potential and work towards their aspirations. This ensures that they remain engaged and motivated, envisioning a future within the organisation rather than seeking opportunities elsewhere.
In the past, workforce sustainability was tied to loyalty, but today it depends on the quality and availability of learning opportunities. Companies that invest in comprehensive learning programs are more likely to attract and retain top talent. For instance, a common talent practice is to ensure there are strong internal candidates for leadership positions, which serves as a proxy for enterprise sustainability. Just as a tribe sustains itself by raising children, a company sustains itself by continuously developing its workforce. Employees should feel they are more than just resources achieving performance targets; they are individuals being developed for the long run.
Three types of learning
There are three types of learning crucial to workforce sustainability: instrumental, humanistic, and connector learning.
- Instrumental learning focuses on the skills needed for current and future jobs.
- Humanistic learning broadens individuals’ understanding and personal development, ensuring they see themselves not just as cogs in a machine but as members of a community.
- Connector learning combines both types to address inclusion, making sure that employees feel integrated and valued while contributing to organisational goals.
One company exemplifying these practices is Schneider Electric. Recognised for its sustainable business practices, Schneider Electric is also committed to talent sustainability. They balance immediate performance needs with long-term development, using principles of energy management as metaphors for talent management. This approach ensures they don't use more energy than necessary and invest in employees’ futures, storing energy for future growth and innovation.
HR's role in creating sustainable workforces
HR’s role in fostering a sustainable workforce is multifaceted. It involves embodying and advocating for a broader conception of leadership that includes not only upskilling people and making processes efficient but also ensuring wellbeing and fostering a sense of purpose. HR should ask: “What kind of people do employees become after spending their working life in this company?” and “What do they leave behind?”
A sobering, yet enlightening, exercise I use with executives is imagining someone on their deathbed saying they wished they could have spent more time in the office. What would need to have happened in that office for them to say that? The answer usually involves creating a workplace where employees felt they were making a difference, connecting with others, and leaving a lasting impact.
Creating workplaces that inspire legacy
Fundamentally, most of us have three needs: meaning, connection, and impact. A sustainable workforce satisfies these needs. Meaning isn’t just about today but includes a temporal element—it’s about building something that lasts beyond our immediate presence. This expanded consciousness is what we need in our organisations today.
Leadership development should elevate consciousness, helping leaders realise their role isn’t just about immediate performance but also about building a legacy. The question of workforce sustainability is, ultimately, a question of existence. It’s about protecting and nurturing our workforce today while ensuring we leave something valuable behind for the future.
Ultimately, workforce sustainability is a comprehensive approach to managing talent that ensures wellbeing, promotes growth, and builds a thriving community. HR’s role is to champion this vision, creating environments where employees can develop, contribute, and find lasting meaning in their work. Let's move beyond treating our workforce as a resource to be used and discarded. Instead, let’s build sustainable organisations that foster growth, inclusion, and a sense of purpose for all.
