Identify — and Hire — Lifelong Learners

在疫情的推波助瀾下，人才管理已經(jīng)歷一次巨變。人們以前所未見的迫切程度，采用各種工作環(huán)境、商業(yè)優(yōu)先要?jiǎng)?wù)和新科技。在美國(guó)，招聘與到職已成為多半采遠(yuǎn)距進(jìn)行的活動(dòng)。2020年1月，在新冠肺炎變成大流行疫情之前，世界經(jīng)濟(jì)論壇（World Economic Forum）就呼吁全球進(jìn)行培養(yǎng)新技能的革命，現(xiàn)在公司要求員工具備不同技能，包括復(fù)原力、順應(yīng)力、數(shù)字化能力、設(shè)計(jì)及人際技能。

Talent management has undergone?a massive overhaul, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Working environments, business priorities, and new technologies have been adopted with prodigious urgency.?Hiring?and?onboarding?have become substantially remote activities. In January 2020 — before Covid had even become a pandemic — the World Economic Forum called for a global?reskilling revolution, and firms now require?different skills?of their workforces, including resilience, adaptability, digital, design, and interpersonal skills.

這些改變對(duì)求職者與雇主同樣都是挑戰(zhàn)。但我相信，有個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的方法，可以帶來亟須的清晰與指引。這個(gè)方法能為員工的整個(gè)工作周期增添價(jià)值，從雇用到績(jī)效管理，全都包括在內(nèi)。

These changes have been a challenge for job candidates and employers alike. But I believe that there’s a simple way to bring some much-needed clarity and guidance — one which adds value all the way along the employee lifecycle, from hiring to managing performance.

秘訣就是問人們一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的問題：你是如何學(xué)習(xí)的？

The secret is to ask of people a simple question:?How do you learn?

這不是要了解簡(jiǎn)單的學(xué)習(xí)偏好（像是作息表與學(xué)習(xí)模式），也不是要知道不再受人追捧的學(xué)習(xí)風(fēng)格（例如視覺或聽覺學(xué)習(xí)者）。這是關(guān)于一個(gè)人在更新、改善及分享自己的知識(shí)與技能時(shí)，所用的個(gè)人系統(tǒng)。你考慮招聘的求職者，是否有這樣的系統(tǒng)？同樣地，你自己有嗎？

This is not about simplistic learning preferences (such as schedules and modalities) or?broadly discredited?learning styles (such as being a visual or aural learner). This is about an individual’s personal system for updating, improving, and sharing her knowledge and skills. Does the job candidate you’re considering have such a system? And, for that matter, do you?

這或許是最適合向在職及未來員工提出的一個(gè)問題。影響個(gè)人未來表現(xiàn)的因素，不僅包括過去的成就與資質(zhì)，同樣也包括高品質(zhì)、系統(tǒng)化與刻意地培養(yǎng)技能，而過去的成就與資質(zhì)，正是傳統(tǒng)上面試時(shí)的重點(diǎn)。因此，公司能力與大部分的價(jià)值，來自本身工作人才的集體技能。

This may be the most pertinent question one can ask of a current or future employee. Future performance of the individual is just as much a function of high-caliber, systematic, intentional skills development as it is of?past achievements and qualifications, the traditional fare of job interviews. And the capability and much of the value of a company is, in turn, a function of the collective skills of its workforce.

終身學(xué)習(xí)，現(xiàn)今大致被視為經(jīng)濟(jì)要?jiǎng)?wù)（economic imperative），以及唯一可永續(xù)維持的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)優(yōu)勢(shì)。求職者和員工若能考慮、更新，并改善本身的技能，就能創(chuàng)造高績(jī)效，尤其從長(zhǎng)期來看，就是如此。強(qiáng)迫我們思考自己學(xué)習(xí)的方式，能務(wù)實(shí)地強(qiáng)化那個(gè)重要卻模糊的“成長(zhǎng)心態(tài)”（growth mindset）概念。

Lifelong learning is now roundly considered to be an?economic imperative?and?“the only sustainable competitive advantage.”?Job candidates and employees who consider, update, and improve their skills are?the high performers, especially over the longer term. Pressing ourselves on the question of how we learn brings a hard, pragmatic edge to the important but nebulous notion of?growth mindset.

讓我們考慮把這個(gè)問題，運(yùn)用到員工的工作生命周期兩個(gè)關(guān)鍵階段：招聘與績(jī)效管理。

Let’s consider the question’s application to two key stages of the employee lifecycle: hiring and performance management.

招聘與求職

假設(shè)我們?cè)诤Y選面試者階段，提出前述那個(gè)問題。如果能提出令人信服的答案，也許就表示回答的人具有高度的好奇心、組織力及方法運(yùn)用能力。

Hiring and getting hired

Suppose the question were asked by default during the screening process. Convincing answers would indicate high levels of curiosity, organization, and method.

身為招聘經(jīng)理：

As a hiring manager:

? 務(wù)必要對(duì)學(xué)習(xí)的定義，抱持包容和開放的態(tài)度。部分做法是要能體會(huì)文化及個(gè)人的差異；同時(shí)要知道，現(xiàn)在有非常多內(nèi)容可以學(xué)習(xí)，像是課程、書籍、他人、詩歌、提升績(jī)效的工具、歌曲、影片、對(duì)話、觀察、反省、回憶等。求職者如何理解所有這些內(nèi)容？他如何處理內(nèi)容超載的問題？他如何選擇最相關(guān)的內(nèi)容，再加以分割并消化，以改善自己的長(zhǎng)期成就感與績(jī)效水準(zhǔn)？

Take care to be inclusive and open-minded about what counts as learning.?This is partly to be able to appreciate cultural and personal differences. It’s also to recognize that there is a?dizzying proliferation of content?from which one can learn: courses, books, people, poems, performance support tools, songs, films, conversations, observations, reflections, memories, and more. How does the candidate go about making sense of all of this? How does she face up to content overload? How does she select what’s most relevant and then slice, dice, and digest it in a way that improves her feeling of fulfillment and level of performance over the long term?

? 詢問求職者最近學(xué)到的東西，以及如何將這些東西，運(yùn)用到他應(yīng)征的職務(wù)上。

Ask the candidate about something they’ve recently learned?and how they could apply it in the role for which you are considering them.

? 準(zhǔn)備好求職者會(huì)問你相同的問題。要展現(xiàn)出你很清楚公司認(rèn)為，哪些技能具有特別高的價(jià)值，這通常涵蓋了二十到一百項(xiàng)技能、行為與價(jià)值觀。

Be prepared to have the same question be asked of you.?Show an awareness of the skills deemed to be of particularly high value at the firm — this is typically a list of 20 to 100 skills, behaviors, and values, defined with care.

身為求職者：

As a candidate:

? 詢問公司的學(xué)習(xí)文化及學(xué)習(xí)設(shè)施。這有助于更了解你可能會(huì)任職的環(huán)境，并有助于你向未來雇主展現(xiàn)你的學(xué)習(xí)興趣。

Ask about the learning culture and facilities for learning at the firm.?This will help understand more about the environment you may be walking into, and will help demonstrate your interest in learning to your prospective employer.

? 別等別人來問你如何學(xué)習(xí)。在對(duì)話當(dāng)中的適當(dāng)時(shí)機(jī)，主動(dòng)提出有說服力的答案。

Don’t wait to be asked about how you learn.?Volunteer your convincing answer at the right moment in the conversation.

? 準(zhǔn)備好回答招聘經(jīng)理提出上述任何問題。

Be prepared to answer any and all of the above questions for hiring managers.

績(jī)效管理

Performance management

“你如何學(xué)習(xí)？”這個(gè)問題，也能在績(jī)效評(píng)估流程中帶來收獲。除了評(píng)估并獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)過去的績(jī)效，實(shí)施得當(dāng)?shù)目?jī)效評(píng)量，能找到員工的技能缺口來補(bǔ)強(qiáng)，并找出員工的長(zhǎng)處來強(qiáng)化。追求進(jìn)步的雇主，會(huì)安排適當(dāng)?shù)膶W(xué)習(xí)內(nèi)容，讓員工能做到前述這兩點(diǎn)，并搭配提供數(shù)字技術(shù)，以便把適當(dāng)?shù)膶W(xué)習(xí)內(nèi)容，分配給適合的學(xué)員。他們也可以把上述問題納入績(jī)效管理軟件，好讓所有人都必須回答這個(gè)問題。這個(gè)問題往往引導(dǎo)到下一項(xiàng)評(píng)量的談話：那么你學(xué)到了什么？

The question “How do you learn?” can also reap rewards in the appraisal process. As well as assessing and rewarding past performance, a properly conducted appraisal will identify skills gaps to close and strengths to reinforce. And the progressive employer will have curated the right learning content to achieve this for their workforce, along with intelligent technologies to distribute the right learning to the right learner. They may also incorporate the question into?performance management software,?so it is fully embedded for everyone. The question usefully tees up the conversation for the next appraisal: So what?did?you learn?

這一切必然會(huì)產(chǎn)生的結(jié)果，就是個(gè)人應(yīng)該確保自己擁有這樣的系統(tǒng)，以便踏實(shí)而一致地發(fā)展自己的技能與思維。即使在鼓勵(lì)進(jìn)步與創(chuàng)新的公司文化中，學(xué)習(xí)的最終責(zé)任，仍是落在學(xué)員的身上。

A corollary of all this is that individuals should themselves ensure they have such a system in place to reliably and consistently develop their skills and thinking. Even within a progressive and innovative corporate culture, responsibility for learning ultimately lies with the learner.

因此，我們每個(gè)人都必須培養(yǎng)并保持對(duì)技能的好奇心。個(gè)人所具備的最佳技能為何？其中哪些技能是真正能讓你與眾不同的強(qiáng)項(xiàng)，而且不僅對(duì)你現(xiàn)在的職務(wù)是重要的，對(duì)你整個(gè)事業(yè)也很重要？技能缺口在哪里？如何讓抽象的概念如溝通、領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力及復(fù)原力等，變得更具體？我們應(yīng)如何量化、調(diào)整并談?wù)撐覀兊募寄埽?/p>

For this we all, as individuals, need to develop and carry around with us more of a?curiosity?about skills. Which are the skills of one’s best self? Which of those are the real differentiating strengths which are not only important in your current role, but to your entire career? Where do the gaps lie? How do we make abstract concepts such as communication, leadership, and resilience more concrete? How should we quantify and calibrate and talk about our skills?

技能是人才管理的共同要素，出現(xiàn)在所有員工的工作生命周期里所有重要文件中，從履歷、工作說明、學(xué)習(xí)內(nèi)容到績(jī)效評(píng)量都有。我們必須培養(yǎng)更多技能智慧，個(gè)人和組織都是如此。

Skills are the?lingua franca?of talent management and run through all the important documents of the employee lifecycle — from resumés to job descriptions to learning content to appraisals. We need to develop more of a?skills intelligence, as individuals and as organizations.

有許多實(shí)務(wù)能協(xié)助學(xué)習(xí)者，以下列出其中幾項(xiàng)：

There are many practices that may help the learner, including but not limited to:

? 培養(yǎng)正向的學(xué)習(xí)習(xí)慣。習(xí)慣始于某項(xiàng)活動(dòng)。選擇適合你個(gè)性、生活方式與工作模式的活動(dòng)，這樣它們就較可能發(fā)展成長(zhǎng)久的習(xí)慣。這些活動(dòng)可以是每天早上讀一篇文章、每周定時(shí)學(xué)習(xí)、每月讀一本書，或是每晚花15分鐘寫日記自我反省。

Developing?positive learning habits. A habit starts out as an activity. Choose activities which suits your personality, lifestyle, and working pattern so that they are more likely to develop into enduring habits. This could be anything from reading an article each morning, to a?timeboxed?hour of learning per week, to reading a book a month or taking 15 minutes for?reflective journaling?in the evening.

? 經(jīng)由刻意練習(xí)來改善表現(xiàn)。把你試圖培養(yǎng)的技能，拆解為各個(gè)組成元素，采取特定的主動(dòng)措施來改善每個(gè)元素。這種做法，與每次只是以相同方式重復(fù)同樣的表現(xiàn)正好相反。

Improving performance through?deliberate practice.?Deconstruct the skill you’re trying to develop, and take proactive and specific measures to improve each component part. This practice stands in contrast to just repeating performance in the same way each time.

? 保有一份“已學(xué)到”及“待學(xué)習(xí)”清單，在你的整個(gè)事業(yè)中保有這份紀(jì)錄，而不只是在現(xiàn)職使用這份清單。這可以是一份簡(jiǎn)單的試算表，或是Google文件。重要的是，這份清單涵蓋你已學(xué)到的東西，以及你在何處、何時(shí)學(xué)到的，在理想情況下，還要記錄你如何運(yùn)用它們（事后回憶寫下）。這張清單讓你能回答一些繁瑣的問題，像是你半年前在學(xué)什么？

Maintaining?a “l(fā)earned” and “to-learn” list, which stays with you throughout your career, not just during your tenure at your current employer. This can be a simple spreadsheet or a Google doc. What’s important is that it covers what you learned, where and when you learned it, and ideally how you’ve applied it (written retrospectively). The list should enable you to answer an otherwise onerous question like: What were you learning six months ago?

? 運(yùn)用一個(gè)2乘2矩陣法，來協(xié)助你選擇現(xiàn)在想專注培養(yǎng)的適當(dāng)技能。很少人有很多時(shí)間學(xué)習(xí)，所以我們應(yīng)該考慮評(píng)估一下，運(yùn)用某項(xiàng)新技能的好處與取得這項(xiàng)技能的成本，借以排定學(xué)習(xí)項(xiàng)目的優(yōu)先順序。

Utilizing?a 2×2 matrix approach?to help you choose the right skills to focus on now. Few of us have much time to learn, so we should prioritize our endeavors by considering evaluating the benefits of applying a new skill against the cost of acquiring it.

世界與工作場(chǎng)所已經(jīng)改變。我們工作與蓬勃發(fā)展所需的技能，也隨之改變，因?yàn)槲覀儽仨毟髦?、更聚焦地聚焦在這些技能，以便了解是哪些技能，并主動(dòng)不懈且有方法地找出那些技能。其中一個(gè)方法，就是詢問我們自己與他人：你如何學(xué)習(xí)？

The world and the workplace have changed. The skills we need to function and flourish have correspondingly changed, and so we need to bring them into a smarter, sharper focus to know what they are and to seek them out proactively, persistently, and methodically. One way of doing that is by asking ourselves and others: How do you learn?

馬克·趙-桑德斯是filtered.com 的首席執(zhí)行官兼聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人，該公司將咨詢與技術(shù)相結(jié)合，以提升能力并推動(dòng)業(yè)務(wù)變革。