Employee learning and development from the perspective of strategic HRM

In this chapter, we develop conceptual arguments suggesting that HR systems targeted at enhancing employees’ ability, motivation, and opportunities for learning and knowledge creation are critical for effective knowledge management. Based on the assumption that the knowledge base of an organization lies within the minds of its talent pool, we argue that effective talent and HR management processes facilitating employee learning and development can create social climates for knowledge management, which in turn impact individual-level learning, organizational-level knowledge depositories, and consequently critical firm outcomes such as innovation and performance. Our theoretical explanations are informed by foundational strategic human resource management principles, such as the synergetic orientation of HRM practices and internal fit of different HR practices as prerequisites for enhancing employees’ ability, motivation, and opportunities for learning and knowledge creation. These conceptual arguments land themselves to practical talent management recommendations such as the need to identify learning-related skills and attributes among talent and ensuring talent management processes target those qualities, as well as assessing the social climate regularly to ensure it is conducive for effective knowledge management.