HR Chief Magazine July 2026 | Page 77

TALENT ACQUISITION ach employee has different needs, yet many businesses have training plans that offer an umbrella approach, giving the same treatment for all – rinse and repeat. But is the method causing a decline in engagement, while wasting talent potential and L & D budgets? One way this can be rectified is by providing employees with personalised training plans tailored to them as individuals, rather than attempting to upskill everyone with the same check-the-box training modules. By tailoring learning modules to individual competencies and goals, companies can eliminate training bloat while increasing productivity and creating a culture centred on continuous, self-directed upskilling.
Finding the gaps to boost productivity What are the key drivers of productivity loss in the workplace? Although all HR leaders have their own opinions, a new analysis from McKinsey & Company’ s Increasing Your Return on Talent: The Moves and Metrics that Matter report suggests three key, measurable areas.
Employees become less productive when there is a:
• Skills gap: They don’ t have the skills needed to be successful in a role
• Will gap: They aren’ t engaged or energised by the work
• Time gap: They spend time in ways that don’ t increase value, such as poor prioritisation and low-value meetings.
For HR leaders to maximise the return on talent, they must actively work to eliminate these organisational leaks. McKinsey’ s report further states that leading enterprises are moving away from traditional, role-based cohort training as it’ s found to be less cost-effective than building tailored, skill-based learning journeys.“ In our experience, the most effective organisations encourage personalised, adaptive learning,” the report notes.“ Employees are motivated to own their journeys by deciding which skills and areas of expertise they want to focus on. They are given feedback, along with coaching and peer-learning opportunities, and they
hrchiefmagazine. com
77