Article: How UST Global built a ‘Digital-Savvy’ workforce

A Brand Reachout InitiativeTechnology

How UST Global built a ‘Digital-Savvy’ workforce

Create the Future Read similar articles

 

Businesses today are seeking to align themselves with the changing technology. It is important for the workforce to be able to become tech-savvy at an equal pace as the efforts of the organizations. We take a look at how UST Global undertook its process of change.
How UST Global built a ‘Digital-Savvy’ workforce

Technology has been changing at an exponential rate in the past couple of years. In fact,  it isn’t just the technology businesses, but areas like education, communication, transportation and entertainment that have also completely transformed and aligned themselves with the changing technology. 

Meeting the fast tech pace creates a challenge at the workplace in all sectors. To mitigate such challenges, a trained workforce becomes imperative. Although organizations may find the comfort in conducting training on a need-to-know basis using old classroom methodologies, such methods are slowly becoming obsolete. The ways to successfully assimilate the latest tech into the work of L&D function is becoming prominent in discussions on creating the talent strategy for the organization, making L&D a business accelerator. 

It was at the backdrop of such market changes that UST Global, a leader in providing digital and IT services and solutions, chose to upscale its L&D practices to create a digitally ready workforce.  As technology is driving more business transformation, here’s how UST Global built the necessary skills to meet their business demands.

UST Global decided to follow a different structural model for its enterprise than creating separate companies targeted at different functions in the marketplace to manage digital growth. It decided to create a completely digital company to manage all its targets. This set a clear path for its digital transformation. A key component of the success of the transformation process comprised of creating a workforce with the right mindset and skill levels to undertake the tasks of the company. In other words, the company went fora “digital savvy workforce.”

In order to achieve a strong alignment with the tech-compatibility required at the workplace, following suggestions should be followed – 

Key Interventions

1. Align the training and learning programs to six key focus areas— 

  • Focus on user experience,

  • Robust content,

  • Bringing disruption through diversity,

  • Building a powerful ecosystem,

  • Changing the outlook on talent and

  • Focus on building a digital culture. 

These areas were formulated from the overall change the business sought to achieve. 

2. Driving learning goals to meet business objectives 

This was a key part of UST Global’s L&D strategy. For example, as the business aimed at not just becoming proficient with delivering different technological services, but rather also focused on the end user, a stress on user experience became a key factor to be developed within the company. The L&D function supported this business requirement by ensuring that the transformation within the organization led to a change in the mindset of the employees and managers.

3. Targeting mid-level managers to modify their leadership competency

The goal was to enable the managers to be technology leaders, rather than just being people managers. This meant becoming tech-savvy and proficient in understanding and deploying technologies to make their work efficient. This skill-building initiative—called the “Digital Leadership Edge”— also enabled managers to have technology related conversations with their clients and take them through the company’s technological curves.

Criteria for choosing the right partner

Getting the right partners on-board is a key pillar of any successful learning program to be built upon. There were two key requirements that the UST Global were looking at while choosing their partners: 

1.   A learning partner that could provide cutting-edge technology while at the same time continuing to revise the content, ensuring the workforce doesn’t lag behind global standards.

2.   A partner that was able to create a great learner experience.

UST Global’s attempt to create a digital savvy workforce has been an ongoing process. Much like the changing technology, the learning practices are also evolving. Online learning, on-demand learning, and virtual learning platforms have become integral to the company’s learning strategy. While technological adaptation has become one of the most important drivers of change in the modern era, it is also necessary to keep up with the change in a timely manner.

This article is curated by Dhruv Mukerjee based on an interview conducted by Srinivas V. Vijayaraghavan, Pluralsight

Read full story

Topics: Technology, Learning & Development, #Create The Future

Did you find this story helpful?

Author