Introduction
Employee education and training are vital and inseparable parts of any company’s development. To keep in pace with the demands of customers and the constantly changing, innovative setting of the global economy, an organization must learn to adjust and improve its human resources. For Gucci, the process of training will require focusing on the cross-cultural aspects of communication. By integrating the principles of cultural competence and cultural literacy into the workplace setting, Gucci will construct the framework that will appeal to all staff members, thus, galvanizing their training process.
Training: Rationale and Key Stages
The main reason for Gucci to consider training as an inevitable option is linked to the need for constant development. Innovation has become not only a buzzword, but the cornerstone component of successful organizations. Therefore, integrating innovative tools and strategies into the organizational design, Gucci will be able to respond to its customers promptly and address the emergent concerns in a timely manner (Rupietta & Backes-Gellner, 2019). Moreover, with the focus on innovation and the high rates of preparedness for change among its staff members, Gucci will obtain significant competitive advantage compared to similar companies in the apparel industry. The implementation of change at Gucci will follow Kotter’s 8-Stem model as the primary method of introducing change into the corporate environment.
Implementation
To encourage change, particularly, the development of enhanced communication skills in staff members, Gucci will need to develop several critical notions on which the proposed change will rely. Several concepts need to be addressed when implementing the training process and inciting change. Specifically, these include the need to manage cultural identity issues and the necessity to address the HR-related obstacles
The significance of understanding the cultural identities of staff embers and those of customers cannot be overstated in advancing change within a company. For Gucci, the incorporation of the principle of cultural identity into the training framework will imply that cultural needs of any demographic must be taken into consideration when promoting change. Specifically, in staff members, understanding their culture and recognizing its unique aspects will allow staff members to recognize the importance of introducing a new framework for managing customer relationships into the workplace. Additionally, promoting the knowledge and understanding of cultural identity, as well as cultural competence as a broader construct, will be need to ensure that learners develop a clear grasp on the issue.
Furthermore, the management of human resources must be updated so that the organization could implement the suggested change seamlessly. Specifically, the role of human resources in encouraging change will be recognized as vital. Indeed, by accepting the option of innovation into its target setting, Gucci will introduce advanced tools for controlling projects, meeting the scheduled deadlines, and especially enhancing customer-employee communication.
Moreover, the focus on human resources will allow deploying the principles of talent management in the context of the Gucci workplace. Namely, staff members will be encouraged to expand the skills of which they have particular prowess so that they could feel confident and excited about the [possibilities of evolving professionally in the Gucci corporate setting. The emphasis on the importance of professional development and the acquisition of new skills will make the introduction of new requirements and the associated training sessions natural for staff members. Thus, the significance of change within the company will be acknowledged by staff members and defined as a largely positive one. Furthermore, the focus on talent management in HR will help employees feel valued by the company, which will increase their motivation and, thus, raise their engagement levels (Rubin, & Abramson, 2018). Consequently, the grounds for change will be prepared.
Barriers to Implementation
No matter how well-trained and prepared for change staff members might be, the threat of them actively resisting change will remain a possibility that may put the entire project under a major threat. Therefore, Gucci will need to address the specified threat by developing the framework that will encourage staff members to accept the change and learn to adjust to alterations within the company. The easiest way of managing resistance to change suggests providing staff members with monetary reward (Ahmed et al., 2018). However, given the necessity to spend quite a range of resources on purchasing training courses and the related tools for employees to acquire new competencies, Gucci will need to introduce cost-efficient strategies into the range of its talent management strategies.
The language issue is likely to become the main obstacle that Gucci will have to overcome in order to ensure that its staff members acquire the necessary skills and build the relevant knowledge system. Specifically, the learning material will have to be tweaked in the way that will include a greater range of colorful visuals and the use of the most basic English vocabulary possible. Thus, instances of misunderstanding due to language differences will be avoided. Moreover, employees will be actively encouraged to ask for clarifications concerning the provided materials and recommendations regarding the workplace routine.
Education represents another significant barrier that will be quite difficult to cross. Apart form the possible lack of awareness concerning the importance of lifelong learning in staff members, the latter are likely to demonstrate the absence of background knowledge that would allow them to transfer to the use of new skills seamlessly (Lennerts et al., 2020). Furthermore, the twofold nature of the education process, namely, the necessity to embrace the concept of lifelong learning along with the development o digital literacy in the target population will complicate the education process to an even greater extent. To assist employees in building the necessary skills, introducing visual aids and using simplified frameworks will necessary so that they could develop the required skills.
Conclusion
By creating a training program based on the principles of cross-cultural communication and recognizing the key barriers that may stand in the way of promoting cross-cultural collaboration, Gucci will develop the setting where staff members will be encouraged to bid the required skillset. Specifically, Gucci managers will have to be particularly attentive to the feedback received during the training process to identify the emergent barriers and manage their accordingly. The culture-related impediments on the way to training employees presently embodies the key threat for the company. These obstacles range from language issues to incompatible cultural perspectives; however, with the focus on compromise and the enhancement of the corporate vision along with the opportunities for employees’ professional growth, Gucci will be able to convince its staff to participate in training actively. Moreover, with the correct framework for leading the change within the organization, Gucci managers will be able to transform the employees’ perception of workplace learning as the lifelong process. As a result, premises for incremental organizational improvement will be set.
References
Ahmed, U., Shah, S. A., Qureshi, M. A., Shah, M. H., & Khuwaja, F. M. (2018). Nurturing innovation performance through corporate entrepreneurship: The moderation of employee engagement. Studies in Business and Economics, 13(2), 20-30.
Lennerts, S., Schulze, A., & Tomczak, T. (2020). The asymmetric effects of exploitation and exploration on radical and incremental innovation performance: An uneven affair. European Management Journal, 38(1), 121-134.
Rubin, G. D., & Abramson, R. G. (2018). Creating value through incremental innovation: Managing culture, structure, and process. Radiology, 288(2), 330-340.
Rupietta, C., & Backes-Gellner, U. (2019). Combining knowledge stock and knowledge flow to generate superior incremental innovation performance—Evidence from Swiss manufacturing. Journal of Business Research, 94, 209-222.