Example Reflection – Learning Launch      Challenge       As a HR team member I am also responsible for providing skilled candidates to a number of our  company internal requirements & customers on an outsourced model. One such critical requirement  is into SAP which is a specific skill which is hard to find in the market.     The management also had a mindset of getting highly skilled staff and as a practice they were not  interested in recruiting junior staff. We were hard pressed to find the people with the relevant skills  which were within budget which would make commercial sense for the company. My company had  the ability for training junior technical staff and we were already aware of the benefits of adding less  experienced but well trained staff to manage the requirement.     Therefore, we were convinced that this approach would also work for this critical requirements too.  It had long term implications for us financially. But we could convince the hiring managers & top  management to be open towards recruiting junior personnel.      Selection     We used a learning launch to get the candidates on board. We have a company career site which is  managed by us. We ran an advertisement campaign using disqualifying questions. From that, we were  able to attract 275 filtered candidates and managed to shortlist about 157 candidates for hiring  managers to do the interviews. Since the candidates performed extremely well in the initial interviews  and forwarded 54 candidates for language, IQ & logical tests. Finally we were managed to shortlist 30  for the final interviews & finalized 15 as the junior batches who went through the learning.     We wanted to use a learning launch to try out the idea of Our team has already gone through several  design thinking activities/tools, so we are ready to try the learning launch tool. Broadly speaking, the  learning launch is an experiment meant to quickly test an idea and prototype.      Application      During this launch, our focus was on creating a new mindset within the ranks of the company’s  management team. We also wanted the first batch of recruits to succeed. We planned technical as  well as soft skill trainings to make sure that they would succeed in the job. For an example, we have  conducted broader company inductions, personal effectiveness trainings & Business Etiquette  training. Also we have taken them for other companies for field visits to give a better understanding  about the businesses.  Because, at the end they providing solutions to the different types of business  scenarios. The success of this initiative would give us more revenue at the end.     This learning launch was a long term (12 months). They were allocated to a “Guru” (very competent  person in a specific technical area). We had periodic reviews to ensure that the trainees were exposed  to the required technical areas. Also we involved technical specialists to conduct some of the training  programs giving them face time with the potential recruits.

Insight     Through this initiative we learnt that a period of 12 months training is required for the recruits to be  fully conversant on the technical aspects. The soft skills training was essential and a critical success  factor in getting them involved with the clients. Involving the technical experts in the training process  gave a broader value. Initially some were joined even without a clear view of their career path & with  less confidence. But at the end, for the recruits the brand image of the company and potential learning  opportunities in a changing field gave them confidence and motivation in their chosen path.    Since this was a pilot launch and we were trying this out in a real environment with specific outcomes,  it was critical for us to ensure that the initial batch was a success. We also found out there were some  candidates who was not suitable to continue with the training due to reduced commitment &  incompetency to catch up the training. This also helped us to set a baseline for future campaigns.       Approach     So far through training different batches, we have gained a lot of insights & different approaches to  do this in a better way. The initial learning launch was invaluable to make the program a success. This  also has open up new opportunities. From the time of the initial launch we have successfully increase  our footprint in the digital market and have seen a potential revenue growth. Also from the initial  batch to today, we were able to design a proper framework for the learning.


Example Reflection – Learning Launch Challenge As a HR team member I am also responsible for providing skilled candidates to a number of our company internal requirements & customers on an outsourced model . One such critical requirement is into SAP which is a specific skill which is hard to find in the market . The management also had a mindset of getting highly skilled staff and as a practice they were not interested in recruiting junior staff . We were hard pressed to find the people with the relevant skills which were within budget which would make commercial sense for the company . My company had the ability for training junior technical staff and we were already aware of the benefits of adding less experienced but well trained staff to manage the requirement . Therefore , we were convinced that this approach would also work for this critical requirements too . It had long term implications for us financially . But we could convince the hiring managers & top management to be open towards recruiting junior personnel . Selection We used a learning launch to get the candidates on board . We have a company career site which is managed by us . We ran an advertisement campaign using disqualifying questions . From that , we were able to attract 275 filtered candidates and managed to shortlist about 157 candidates for hiring managers to do the interviews . Since the candidates performed extremely well in the initial interviews and forwarded 54 candidates for language , IQ & logical tests . Finally we were managed to shortlist 30 for the final interviews & finalized 15 as the junior batches who went through the learning . We wanted to use a learning launch to try out the idea of Our team has already gone through several design thinking activities / tools , so we are ready to try the learning launch tool . Broadly speaking , the learning launch is an experiment meant to quickly test an idea and prototype . Application During this launch , our focus was on creating a new mindset within the ranks of the company ’s management team . We also wanted the first batch of recruits to succeed . We planned technical as well as soft skill trainings to make sure that they would succeed in the job . For an example , we have conducted broader company inductions , personal effectiveness trainings & Business Etiquette training . Also we have taken them for other companies for field visits to give a better understanding about the businesses . Because , at the end they providing solutions to the different types of business scenarios . The success of this initiative would give us more revenue at the end . This learning launch was a long term ( 12 months ) . They were allocated to a “ Guru ” ( very competent person in a specific technical area ) . We had periodic reviews to ensure that the trainees were exposed to the required technical areas . Also we involved technical specialists to conduct some of the training programs giving them face time with the potential recruits . Insight Through this initiative we learnt that a period of 12 months training is required for the recruits to be fully conversant on the technical aspects . The soft skills training was essential and a critical success factor in getting them involved with the clients . Involving the technical experts in the training process gave a broader value . Initially some were joined even without a clear view of their career path & with less confidence . But at the end , for the recruits the brand image of the company and potential learning opportunities in a changing field gave them confidence and motivation in their chosen path . Since this was a pilot launch and we were trying this out in a real environment with specific outcomes , it was critical for us to ensure that the initial batch was a success . We also found out there were some candidates who was not suitable to continue with the training due to reduced commitment & incompetency to catch up the training . This also helped us to set a baseline for future campaigns . Approach So far through training different batches , we have gained a lot of insights & different approaches to do this in a better way . The initial learning launch was invaluable to make the program a success . This also has open up new opportunities . From the time of the initial launch we have successfully increase our footprint in the digital market and have seen a potential revenue growth . Also from the initial batch to today , we were able to design a proper framework for the learning .