Developing Learning Organisation - case the Adecco Group
Asikainen, Mirva (2022)
Asikainen, Mirva
2022
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022112824367
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022112824367
Tiivistelmä
The world of work is highly impacted by the global megatrends: geopolitical & economic uncertainty, digitisation, sociological change, a new demographic mix, and skills imbalances. As a result, companies operate in more complex environment than ever, new changes are introduced faster than ever, and with continuously increasing speed. Organizations need to ensure they are set for success in front of these challenges, internally and externally, by creating a habit of continuous learning: the best learning organisations develop ability to recognize and respond proactively to early signals of change, or arising opportunities, rather than reacting after the changes already occur.
The Adecco Group, case study for this thesis, is a global talent advisory company operating in the areas of workforce, talent and technology solutions in approximately 60 countries. When new business strategy was introduced in 2021, the company put its employees upskilling in the very centre of it: not only to support them through the transformation journey, but also to adopt “always on learning” culture where employees are not only offered continuous learning opportunities, but also expected to use them.
The research was conducted as qualitative case study. Data consists of primary data from 10 semi-structured interviews with the Adecco Group employees from five different countries in three different continents, supported by secondary data analysis of Global Learning Survey results from 2021. Preliminary data insights were presented and validated by learning expert panel in the Adecco Group.
The outcome of this study is an adapted learning organization framework that suggests five key factors organizations should pay attention to when aiming to develop towards learning organization: shared vision or purpose, learning culture, learning environment, leadership endorsement and social learning. These factors are shown to support organizational learning to happen, and recommendations made for the Adecco Group provide examples on how they can be applied in practice.
This study emphasizes the importance of contextualization in the concept of learning organization. No single definition or approach exists for organization to transform into a learning organization: approach always needs to be customized using the language of the organization and existing infrastructure and available resources as a starting point. Leveraging best practices from successful examples is highly advisable, however developing a learning organization is a long process that requires organizations to commit to an extremely intentional planning and execution.
The Adecco Group, case study for this thesis, is a global talent advisory company operating in the areas of workforce, talent and technology solutions in approximately 60 countries. When new business strategy was introduced in 2021, the company put its employees upskilling in the very centre of it: not only to support them through the transformation journey, but also to adopt “always on learning” culture where employees are not only offered continuous learning opportunities, but also expected to use them.
The research was conducted as qualitative case study. Data consists of primary data from 10 semi-structured interviews with the Adecco Group employees from five different countries in three different continents, supported by secondary data analysis of Global Learning Survey results from 2021. Preliminary data insights were presented and validated by learning expert panel in the Adecco Group.
The outcome of this study is an adapted learning organization framework that suggests five key factors organizations should pay attention to when aiming to develop towards learning organization: shared vision or purpose, learning culture, learning environment, leadership endorsement and social learning. These factors are shown to support organizational learning to happen, and recommendations made for the Adecco Group provide examples on how they can be applied in practice.
This study emphasizes the importance of contextualization in the concept of learning organization. No single definition or approach exists for organization to transform into a learning organization: approach always needs to be customized using the language of the organization and existing infrastructure and available resources as a starting point. Leveraging best practices from successful examples is highly advisable, however developing a learning organization is a long process that requires organizations to commit to an extremely intentional planning and execution.