Toolbox: Digital Academy

Digitization is one of the greatest challenges any organization faces. The speed and the impact with which business models get turned upside down and inside out can be overwhelming. For most people in your organization, it might even be frightening.

Will their skillset be enough in the future? Where and how should they start learning? The answers are at the same time complex and simple.

The simple answer is: start learning, continue learning, never stop.

Learning itself, should be part of your leadership principles.
I want to focus here on just one of many possible learning concepts, an in-house “Digital Academy” by and for employees.

The idea is to create a platform, on which employees can engage both ways: sharing their know-how and receiving impulses.
To get this started, it is important to focus on the “speakers” more than on the learners.

• It must be attractive and rewarding for them to invest time and share their know-how.
• They should be encouraged to share simply anything, as no input is too small or too big. You want to avoid, that they get shy or are perceived as someone “who does not have enough work to do”.
• Maybe you need to nudge some employees into sharing their know-how.
  a) Start with their personal interests. Do they edit photos, do they program, are they “cracks” of a system or working method?
  b) Look into their job description: can they show workhacks in excel or data analytics, do they develop or sell digital solutions for customers, are they experts in cyber security?
• Again, nothing is too small or too big. Excel Basics is just as valuable as Blockhain Technology, Phone hacks are as helpful as Data Analytics. You may need a broad approach with basics for many and at very the same time a deep approach with complex topics for few persons.
• Pick them up from where they are, not where you want them to be.
• Every step counts, every step is movement and step by step, the “learning muscle” is trained better and can take more load.
• Involve experienced employees as mentors and managers as mentees to create a “reverse mentoring”.

How you reward the contributers has to fit to your company culture. Minimum requirement is to give public credit, ideally by the top management. Give them attention, treasure them – they went the extra mile!

This draws a basic “self-made” concept, which may not reach to your needs. Take is as a module and build up on it by combining it with further element, like external speakers, nano-degrees, innovation labs or else. Take this as one element of Learning as a Leadership Principle.