Emerging Role of CLO in Organisations

Maximizing the capacity of each individual through targeted learning and development over time and space is crucial to excellence and this defines the role of the Chief Learning Officer (CLO). With a seat at the strategy table, there is a requirement that learning creation and execution are linked specifically and intentionally to the business goals of the organization, and that the language of business is spoken.

The challenges are mounting for the Chief Learning Officer (CLO) as they work strategically to support success for their companies and people.

The upcoming retirement of the generation of baby boomers will bring significant knowledge gaps in organizations, and the entering generation of employees has a very different learning style, more technology-enabled and team-oriented than previous generations. Most enterprises will expect people to develop new competences at a faster pace than ever before, as product life cycles are getting shorter, and organizations are becoming flatter, more knowledge-driven, complex and global.

Executives in all industries are seeking to leverage the untapped talent of their people, and they are turning to the CLO to ensure that this talent is energized and engaged through sophisticated, advanced learning systems and approaches. No longer on automatic pilot, it is not enough to engage in delivering traditional classroom learning in isolation. Too much is at stake and the 21st century offers exceptional opportunities to deliver learning through cutting-edge channels, resources and tools. Learning must be integrated into the execution of strategy, developed collaboratively, extended through both time and geographies in a rapid, seamless execution, and must demonstrate valuable bottom-line results.

A new CLO role has emerged and involves strategic performance in a number of significant areas including:

1. Establishing Learning Governance Structure.
   It is critical to engage business leaders and Information Technology, Human Resource and Learning leaders to develop and shape a vision for learning and jointly make decisions. This support will optimize the implementation and adoption of new initiatives in today’s complex enterprises.
2. Building an Employer Brand through Investments in Learning.
   A company brand is one of the most import assets of an organization. Investments in people learning and development can help to enhance the employer brand, and position the organization as an Employer of Choice. The CLO must to play an active role in making this a reality.
3. Integrating Learning with Performance Management Practices.
   Performance management has emerged as strong area of focus for most enterprises. The Learning function must be involved in a number of areas including: developing competency frameworks, mapping courses to competences, and the design of individual knowledge assessments. This enables employees to build their personal learning plans and keep track of learning completions, gaining certifications, and building critical competencies in their desired career path.
4. Creating and Supporting an Enterprise-Wide Learning and Collaboration Platform.
   An enterprise-wide learning and collaboration platform provides the foundation for access to knowledge and learning, the capacity to track and report learning activities, and the opportunity for people to share knowledge through communities of practice and expert netwoks.
5. Providing Decentralized Capabilities to Create and Share Knowledge.
   Previously, learning programs were for the most part centrally developed and delivered to people throughout the organization. In today’s world, it is expected that information and knowledge flows through the entire enterprise bottom-up, horizontally, and top-down. Universal access to the tools and applications that enable distribution of knowledge and sharing of expertise within the organization is mandatory. Examples of these technology supported tools include: collaboration platforms, virtual classrooms, and rapid e-Learning development platforms, among others.
6. Designing Blended Learning Solutions.
   New learning solution designs provide people with the most efficient and effective way to acquire and share knowledge and develop skills. True blended learning solutions include one or more of the following components: classroom, online learning, coaching and mentoring, online referenceware, communities of practice, expert networks and information repositories.
7. Developing the Value Proposition and Measurement of Learning.
   Enhancing learning capabilities requires significant investments which can only be approved if a sound business case is communicated. In order to retain investment levels year-over-year, it is important to show the business impact that investments have achieved in enabling the talent to perform effectively and efficiently to achieve strategic goals.
   

The good news is that the CLO can leverage and blend a broad portfolio of learning methods and tools to support business and people development including:

• Classroom programs – facilitated sessions, classroom simulations, workshops, and seminars.
• Self-paced e-Learning courses and live virtual classroom sessions. Podcasts, webinars and TVonline.
• PDA and mobile-based learning. Online job aids and performance support tools.
• Process Embedded Learning.
• Online books and executive summaries. Access to rich knowledge repositories.
• Coaching and mentoring (both live and online). Communities-of-Practice.
• Expert networks. Online skill and competency assessments and feedback tools.
• Learning and career development planning tools.

The primary resource to be engaged in the execution of strategy is the skills, knowledge and energy of the people. Maximizing the capacity of each individual through targeted learning and development over time and space is crucial to excellence and this defines the new role of the CLO. With a seat at the strategy table, there is a requirement that learning creation and execution are linked specifically and intentionally to the business goals of the organization, and that the CLO speaks the language of business.