Developing a learning strategy support a change in organisational philosophy
When the supply chain management function of a major United Nations humanitarian agency made the strategic decision to reorient its operational practices away from its familiar, procedural practices towards providing more consultancy services to its clients, I was commissioned to develop a learning and development strategy to support this strategic change.
This involved in developing a deep understanding of how the change was going to impact staff and clients, and to identify what training would be needed in order to allow people to work through the change smoothly and efficiently.
Systems thinking approaches were invaluable to me during this project, as they made it much easier to understand the importance of relationships within the organisation and externally, with its client base. They also made it easier to take account of the different perspectives of what the change would mean, so that the eventual learning and development strategy could meet all needs.