Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2019 - 46

GO GROW THEM
Using Crowdsourcing to Spur
Employee Development
BY MARCELLE FOWLER

For human resources (HR) practitioners,
crowdsourcing - the use of technology
and social networking to draw resources,
services, content or ideas from a large
number of people - has broadened
talent pools, given employees a voice on
topics from benefit options to company
culture, opened avenues for internal
collaboration and content sharing, and
enhanced performance feedback and
employee recognition systems.
From cybersecurity "hackathons" to
new potato chip flavors, crowdsourcing
is rapidly growing in popularity (along
with its monetary cousin, crowdfunding),
and it's no wonder. With a just few clicks,
thousands of responses can flood your
screen faster than you can make a
coffee run.
Despite diverse applications, crowdsourcing
remains largely untapped within talent
development, even as the digital
natives (Generation Z) enter the
workforce. According to a 2018 Robert
Half survey, more than 90% of Gen Zers
rank development and advancement
opportunities as their top reason for
selecting an employer. Crowdsourcing is
an effective way to meet their needs, as

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well as the needs of their predecessors,
by merging talent development with
technology and social connectedness.
Wherever your organization is on its
digital journey, there are ways to include
crowdsourcing in your development
toolkit - whether it's enabling employees
to generate development ideas,
increasing post-learning application and
retention, or providing more development
opportunities overall.

GENERATING DEVELOPMENT
IDEAS
Employees' perspectives on their
development are often limited to
a narrow, promotion-focused or
classroom setting view. Crowdsourcing
can broaden their thinking, expand their
network of supporters and encourage
self-directed learning:
* Crowdsource, then craft: Discussing
ideas with only one or two people,
such as a manager or mentor, may
not help your employees explore
new possibilities for development.
Encourage employees to use virtual

methods to glean ideas from a
broader, more diverse population
before settling on a development
action plan by:
* Writing a post on their personal
blog.
* Posting goals on their social media
platform(s) of choice and asking
for input.
* Starting a thread in special interest
or professional associations'
LinkedIn or Facebook groups.
* Sharing progress with their
network and asking for additional
suggestions based on that progress
and updated development goals.
* Repurpose feedback and recognition
platforms:
Many
organizations
encourage employees and managers
to solicit performance feedback and
recognition from multiple sources.
However, soliciting thoughts on
development isn't common practice.
Explore ways to adapt your organization's
existing performance review platform
for seeking development ideas as
well. Simple programming shifts could
open a completely new, yet functionally
familiar,
platform
for
gaining

https://www.trainingindustry.com/articles/workforce-development/5-myths-about-generation-z-managing-and-training-the-digital-natives/ https://www.trainingindustry.com/articles/workforce-development/5-myths-about-generation-z-managing-and-training-the-digital-natives/ https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/management-tips/gen-z-characteristics-employers-need-to-understand

Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2019

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