Mind Map tool

Challenge & Selection

The tool that I have selected is Mind Mapping to establish and implement a new Learning methodology  in a large organization. This organization currently has Learning and development activities happening  through a general portal, there is no robust mechanism to track the skills required for a particular role,  the courses available to meet the skill requirement and criteria to certify the employees.

Employees usually complete the mandatory basic process related trainings and are often not very clear  on what skills and knowledge is required in order to improve efficiency and plan career growth.

Mind map is a tool in the designing thinking process to look for patterns and themes and more insights  in your data to create more creative solutions. Through Mind map tool I have brought the Training, the  Human resource and the Business operations team on one table and map the journey of an employee  from the time of induction till he/she moves to a new role.

Application:

I start the process by inviting all the stakeholders (HR, Training and Business team) to discuss the  journey of a new hire employee. The entire journey is divided into 3 Category– zero to 180 days  (Induction), 6 months to 18 months (On production) 18 months to 24 months (Career development),  category – 4 24 +months (Developing leaders)

In Category -1 – the employee will go through the formal Induction programs, basics of the business  trainings which includes understanding the process, the domain expertise and the tools involved.

Category -2 (On Production) – this is the stage where an employee is performing on the productions  floor and is expected to improve the efficiency and the output.

Category – 3 (Career Development) – In this stage the employee is getting prepared or is groomed to  take up the next level.

Category -4 (Developing Leaders) – This stage is for employees who spent considerable amount of time  with the process/ business and have shown remarkable improvement.

All the participants / stakeholders were taken to a huge display board with the above mentioned  categories. They were given a video tour showing the various categories and what is expected from the  employee, this helped them to understand the current reality.

They were asked to paste the stick notes under each category about the learning needs of an employee.  I have then divided the participants in 3 groups, each representing the category. Each group reviews the  sticky notes displayed under the respective categories and come up with the insights and learning  requirements.

Insights & Approach

While conducting this activity with various stakeholders what I realized that using visual aids- especially  something like Mind map has given a very clear understanding of what happens in the work life of an

employee, the expectation that they have from the organization and what organization, clients,  colleagues, team members expect from the individual. This activity has very pictorially defined the skills  and competencies required at each level of proficiency. The visuals used by the participants have helped  the Human resource team to understand the role requirement and hence make the hiring process more  efficient and error free. The training managers were able to identify the exact skills/ competency  learning requirement and have designed or recommended the courses and the assignments to the  employees.

The business leaders were able to understand the importance of constant learning and its alignment  with the business goals, this activity also gave them the insight on how to define the career  development or promotion criteria for high performing individuals and that they must consider both  performance and potential in the development of an employee.


Mind Map tool Challenge & Selection The tool that I have selected is Mind Mapping to establish and implement a new Learning methodology in a large organization . This organization currently has Learning and development activities happening through a general portal , there is no robust mechanism to track the skills required for a particular role , the courses available to meet the skill requirement and criteria to certify the employees . Employees usually complete the mandatory basic process related trainings and are often not very clear on what skills and knowledge is required in order to improve efficiency and plan career growth . Mind map is a tool in the designing thinking process to look for patterns and themes and more insights in your data to create more creative solutions . Through Mind map tool I have brought the Training , the Human resource and the Business operations team on one table and map the journey of an employee from the time of induction till he / she moves to a new role . Application : I start the process by inviting all the stakeholders ( HR , Training and Business team ) to discuss the journey of a new hire employee . The entire journey is divided into 3 Category – zero to 180 days ( Induction ) , 6 months to 18 months ( On production ) 18 months to 24 months ( Career development ) , category – 4 24 + months ( Developing leaders ) In Category -1 – the employee will go through the formal Induction programs , basics of the business trainings which includes understanding the process , the domain expertise and the tools involved . Category -2 ( On Production ) – this is the stage where an employee is performing on the productions floor and is expected to improve the efficiency and the output . Category – 3 ( Career Development ) – In this stage the employee is getting prepared or is groomed to take up the next level . Category -4 ( Developing Leaders ) – This stage is for employees who spent considerable amount of time with the process/ business and have shown remarkable improvement . All the participants / stakeholders were taken to a huge display board with the above mentioned categories . They were given a video tour showing the various categories and what is expected from the employee , this helped them to understand the current reality . They were asked to paste the stick notes under each category about the learning needs of an employee . I have then divided the participants in 3 groups , each representing the category . Each group reviews the sticky notes displayed under the respective categories and come up with the insights and learning requirements . Insights & Approach While conducting this activity with various stakeholders what I realized that using visual aids- especially something like Mind map has given a very clear understanding of what happens in the work life of an employee , the expectation that they have from the organization and what organization , clients , colleagues , team members expect from the individual . This activity has very pictorially defined the skills and competencies required at each level of proficiency . The visuals used by the participants have helped the Human resource team to understand the role requirement and hence make the hiring process more efficient and error free . The training managers were able to identify the exact skills/ competency learning requirement and have designed or recommended the courses and the assignments to the employees . The business leaders were able to understand the importance of constant learning and its alignment with the business goals , this activity also gave them the insight on how to define the career development or promotion criteria for high performing individuals and that they must consider both performance and potential in the development of an employee .