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Behind the Scenes of HR: Developing Talent and Cultivating a Culture of Excellence

Posted by:

Maya Schmidt

July 10, 2024

The majority of what we learned 10 years ago is obsolete. Half of what we learned 5 years ago is irrelevant (Deloitte, 2016). In five years from now, more than 40% of the skills necessary to thrive in a job today are projected to change (World Economic Forum, 2020).

The speed of change and innovation in today's fast-paced environment is clearly inevitable. Technological innovations, market upheavals, and changing consumer preferences constantly transform industries, forcing businesses to adjust or face becoming obsolete. One thing stands out among all of this change: companies that invest in a strong learning culture as a strategic goal are the ones who prosper.

What is organizational culture?

An ecosystem of interconnected attributes that shape the way people think, how they feel in the current culture, what they say and how they act. In the context of learning and development, the organizational culture consists of the belief about the importance of personal growth, human-centric values and behaviors such as asking for and giving feedback and providing opportunities to grow.

Why is a culture that fosters learning and development important?

A study of Chief Executive found that employee retention is the top priority of business leaders, followed by cost structure, market share and profitability (Mourgelas, 2024). Would you have expected that organizational culture is a crucial driver for these goals? In fact, organizations with a strong learning culture:

Are 52% more productive
Are 56% more likely to be the first to market with their products and services
Are 17% more profitable than their peers
Have 30–50% higher engagement and retention rates

(Becoming Irresistible: A New Model for Employee Engagement, 2015)

What does organizational culture that fosters learning and development look like?

There is no perfect default culture that applies to all companies. Nevertheless, we identify four critical steps that offer guidance on which essential aspects one can focus on (Clemson, 2024).

Learning and development: At UNITH, we are committed to fostering a culture of continuous learning and development, for instance, within our engineering teams. One of the ways we encourage this is through our unique "personal research afternoon" initiative. This dedicated time allows employees to delve into topics of personal interest within computer science, whether it's exploring new technologies, taking courses, or delving into articles. This not only allows us to deepen our expertise in specific areas but also encourages a more critical perspective when tackling challenges. A crucial part is to share the findings with the rest of the team. Additionally, regular meetings are held where team members present and discuss papers related to our field. This proactive approach ensures that we stay informed of the latest advancements and are well-equipped to propose innovative solutions to complex problems.

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Innovative solutions: UNITH is not just developing cutting-edge conversational AI – we're also applying our own Digital Human technology to revolutionize our HR processes, particularly in onboarding new employees. This strategic use of technology is revolutionizing how we welcome new team members. We have cloned our Head of HR, Anniek, to offer consistent, personalized, and round-the-clock support to new hires. This initiative significantly streamlines the onboarding process and frees up valuable time for human Anniek. Digital version of Anniek expertly guides newcomers through company policies, answers frequently asked questions, and facilitates initial orientation modules, ensuring every new employee receives a high-quality onboarding experience.

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Strategic initiatives, Processes and Systems: We set specific OKRs that challenge employees and encourage them to acquire new skills and are targeted to reach general strategic goals of the organization. Using data and metrics to track performance of individuals, teams and the whole organization is every six months is a crucial part of our learning culture and the path in accomplishing our strategy.

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Leadership and Human Resources: Learning and development is a two way street. On one side, employees are expected to be proactive and initiate training ideas. Also, they should bring the motivation and effort to up- or reskill themselves. On the other hand, leadership and HR need to provide resources, transparent information and support in the employee’s career path. Upper management needs to detect learning needs and design and deliver L&D programs. Conclusively, it is essential that leaders create a learning context to achieve their culture of excellence.

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Interpersonal Relationships and Culture: Here at UNITH, we value 360 degree feedback and everyone is willing to help and learn from one another. By bringing together team members from different departments for specific projects, our employees are able to expand their skills and knowledge. Moreover, we foster a culture of bravery. Employees are not scared to take on new challenges and learn through trial and error because making mistakes are considered valuable experiences. Especially in an innovative start-up culture such as ours, we need to be ready to fail and learn from it, as we are exploring the new realms of conversational AI.

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