For Anna Zlatkovic, Head of Learning & Development at Schibsted, there is no doubt that learning needs to be at the top of the agenda for a company to stay competitive. Anna herself is a living example of the possibilities to develop and walk on career depth.
She started working for Schibsted in 2016 as a Global HR Manager for Product & Tech. Since then she has had various roles, and today she is heading up a team of Learning business partners and Talent management specialists.
Why do you think it’s important for a company like Schibsted to have a learning culture?
The ever changing world demands that we constantly improve our products and services faster than our competitors. Can an organization improve without first learning something new? I don’t think so. Continuous improvement requires a commitment to learning, whether it’s about solving a problem, introducing a new or improved product, or reengineering a process. In the absence of learning, companies and people simply repeat old ways. Historically we have focused mainly on upskilling, helping employees build skills and perform well in their existing roles. Today we see that a large number of people will need to learn new skills to remain employable, so called reskilling, as the market changes so rapidly.
In order for Schibsted to attract and retain talents, we need to give our employees the possibilities to learn and grow. We believe that our ability to learn, and translate the learning into action rapidly, is an ultimate competitive advantage. Becoming a learning organisation is a strategic choice to create a company that fosters knowledge sharing, growth mindset, resilience and innovation. To make this happen we need to put learning at the top of the agenda.
Do you have any favourite initiatives?
We have several exciting initiatives, one is the Schibsted internal mentor program. The purpose of the program is to strengthen Schibsted’s current and future leaders and specialists focusing on personal and professional development, as well as networking and getting to know the larger Schibsted organization.
Another initiative is Grow, a toolbox to make sure we challenge our talents according to aspirations and readiness. It sets a standard for managers and employees to have good conversations about growth and to develop through feedback. As an employee in Schibsted you have many possibilities to keep on developing and to create a long term career across our different brands. We have a variety of professions and nationalities to explore, and Grow can really make that happen.
What’s on the table looking forward?
We will soon implement Schibsted Learning, a platform where employees can find a variety of learning content, but also interact, upload and share lessons with colleagues. This can really contribute to a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration, and I know that having a good opportunity to learn and grow has a high impact on employee engagement.
