Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2020 - 21

These skills may or may not make the
top-five list when you survey your internal
customers and HR partners. However,
the current crisis is teaching us that they
are indispensable, and it is up to L&D to
make the case. The good news is that
organizations seem to recognize, in the
midst of the current "new normal," that L&D
plays a critical role in BCP. In our recent
survey, 92% of talent leaders responded
that their companies' leadership is
recognizing, to some extent, L&D's role in
business continuity.

SO, HOW DO WE
STEP UP TO THE BCP
ROLE?
Having a seat at the BCP table means
helping colleagues from other functions
recognize two critical elements of BCP
that they may not routinely plan for: the
human element required to effectively
make use of the capabilities they are
building and the need for resilience when
faced with longer-lasting disruption. To
make the case, we should keep a couple
of things in mind.
We have to be prepared to speak their
language. BCP discussions typically
focus on redundancy, readiness and
rehearsals. Our task, in part, is to enable
the operational outcomes our business
colleagues seek. Start where they are

(the material requirements of continued
operations), and work backwards to
the mindset and behaviors required
to operate effectively under such
conditions. Then, move on to the
capability building and learning that
needs to take place before crisis or must
be enhanced in the midst of sustained
challenges. We also can guide our
operations peers to consider how
continuity depends upon our people
engaging externally with customers and
suppliers. We should also emphasize
that working internally - across a
complicated organizational matrix
where the lines of command and control
are already fuzzy - gets even more
blurred when our workforce is virtual or
otherwise displaced.

A STARTER
CHECKLIST
FOR L&D'S BCP
CONVERSATIONS

ʱ In how our people
contextualize their daily
tasks?

As a trusted partner, we want to
influence their thinking. But, influence
doesn't mean just advocating for our
program. Learning leaders have to
participate in the BCP conversation
with sufficient curiosity and humility,
so that we can work together to find a
better answer than either of us could on
our own.
"In times of challenge, L&D can be the
'internal voice' of the organization,"
noted one participant during a recent
learning lab we facilitated among L&D
leaders. "We can be of great assistance
to leaders working to drive change
through these challenging times."

How will anticipated
disruptions alter what we need
from our people? What will
change:

ʱ In how they prioritize and
make decisions?
ʱ In how they communicate
with each other and with
external parties?
ʱ In how they think and feel as
they tackle new challenges?
ʱ In their ability to sustain the
change?
*

What do we need our people
to do especially well during
disruption? What if the
disruption is prolonged?

What skills are critical to the
mindset and the behaviors we
need to do the above?

How do those BCP skill
requirements map against
our regular competency
development plans?

Danny Ertel, a founding partner at
Vantage Partners, recently published
a five-article series on soft skills for
adaptive leadership on Medium.
Gabriella Salvatore - a learning and
development executive, consultant,
instructor and thought leader - is head
of solution design and innovation at
Vantage. Email Danny and Gabriella.
T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MAGAZ INE - L& D'S ROLE IN CHANGE MANAGE ME NT I WWW. T RAININGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE

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Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2020

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