Yearning for learning

Michael Vindevoghel, Responsible Digitalisation & Development at FPS Finance: “As Jan Rotmans, Professor of Erasmus University Rotterdam, phrased it, ‘We are not living in an era of change, but in a change of era.’ If we translate this to learning in today’s VUCA world, we no longer need to provide training, but rather ensure that our employees get the support they need. We have to shift from just-in-case to just-in-time training, and Cornerstone’s learning tech ecosystem makes that possible for FPS Finance.”

Educating the adult world

Michael V.: “With more than 20,000 employees in diverse areas of expertise, a wide variety of learning materials are needed to train everyone at FPS Finance. This is why digitisation of learning is playing an increasingly prominent role. Thanks to Cornerstone’s platform, we can offer employees a smooth onboarding process and make learning materials available 24/7.”

Michael Neefs, Country Sales Manager Belgium and Luxembourg at Cornerstone explains: “Cornerstone helps employees and managers make smart HR decisions. Our platform supports all traditional talent management processes and provides support from hiring to retiring.”

“Within the FPS Finance, Cornerstone’s platform lives on under the name Explore,” Michael V. continues. “Where we, as the HR department, used to outline the training programme, employees can now indicate themselves what they are interested in. This way, we want to encourage them to explore their skills and shape their own careers.”

Goal!

Michael N.: “Salary is no longer the key factor in switching jobs today. People are looking for a challenge and a goal to pursue. What do I want to contribute to the organisation? Where do I want to go? These are the questions that concern them. Thanks to platforms such as Cornerstone, every employee gets a clear picture of the opportunities to develop their career. In this way, you help them set a well-defined goal and, moreover, achieve that goal.”

“Through Explore, our employees see what steps they can take to reach a particular position within FPS Finance,” Michael V. specifies. “Step by step, they can outline their development process and set goals for the coming years. Via the competence framework that is central to Explore, employees know perfectly well what is expected of them. They don’t have to spend hours in a classroom in order to subsequently learn the right skills. The content is available and can be processed at one’s own pace.”

AI to the rescue

Not only are intelligent learning platforms a win-win for employees, they offer many benefits for employers as well. “Especially now that the war for talent is lost and the war for retention has started,” Michael N. explains. “AI helps organisations identify current internal skills. You get a clear overview of the company’s talent pool and can identify which skills need to be strengthened to facilitate internal mobility.”

Michael V.: “We gain insight into the skills gap and training needs of employees and that allows us to make evidence-based decisions in terms of training and development. Moreover, an AI tool also allows us to keep the knowledge and talent in-house. After all, one of the worst things that can happen is that our experts retire and their expertise is lost. Thanks to an intelligent platform, we have the time and opportunity to prepare for this and turn their valuable knowledge into content. However, within the FPS Finance we remain cautious about AI. It is and remains a black box whose decision-making processes are not always transparent. But even in the public sector, we are convinced that not working with AI is the biggest pitfall. If you want to stay relevant and attractive in the job market, smartly deploying AI through a learning tech ecosystem is the key to success.”