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Today, employers are placing greater emphasis than ever before on the “soft skill” of continuous learning, continuing education, or being a lifelong learner.
Why?
Today's economy is driven by technological advancements and viral consumer demands. Workforces must be innovative, adaptable, and equipped with emergent skills in order to remain competitive.
To do this, a culture of continuous learning is essential. Regarding learning as a priority will not only manifest as greater employee knowledge, but it will also provide a boost to overall productivity, employee engagement, motivation, and retention.
Below, we’ll outline six steps for building and sustaining a culture of learning in your organization.
Step 1: Lead by Example
Continuous learning requires a top-down approach. Leaders and managers should set an example by engaging in training and development programs.
Remember that attitude is everything.
Leaders must speak positively and with enthusiasm about upcoming or past trainings rather than viewing them as boring, useless, a hassle, etc.—and saying so. Leaders can also share what they’ve learned with their teams. When this type of example is set before them, employees are likely to prioritize their personal and professional growth as well.
Step 2: Weave Learning into the Fabric of Work
Learning does not have to be limited to occasional trainings. Encourage employees to view their everyday tasks as opportunities to learn new things or hone their skills.
You can do this by hosting brainstorming meetings or “lunch and learn” sessions. You can also be alert to areas that could benefit from further on-the-job training or cross-functional projects that bring employees together from different departments.
Regular hands-on learning opportunities can provide employees with a storehouse of relevant experience—meaning they can use it to demonstrate technical and soft skills on their resumes, which may in turn provide opportunities for lateral growth or promotions.
Step 3: Provide Access
We’ve already mentioned various avenues for on-the-job training, but you can take this a step further by increasing access to learning tools. One way to increase employee engagement is to create a personal development fund to support “extracurricular” training including conferences, workshops, or professional courses.
Alternatively, you could purchase workforce-wide access to specific online courses or to an online learning hub in which users can choose their own classes.
Step 4: Encourage and Reward Goal-Setting
As mentioned above, the ability to choose “extracurricular” subjects for learning can boost morale and help keep employees engaged with the learning program. You can further personalize the learning experience by helping employees identify individual learning goals that will both benefit the company and align with their personal aspirations.
For example, two employees in the marketing department may have different interests—one may want to improve his public speaking ability for client meetings while another may wish to broaden her understanding of advanced data analytics. You can implement personalized learning paths via the methods described above and below—mentoring, assigning stretch assignments, funding courses and certifications, and the like.
Don’t forget to acknowledge the efforts your employees make. Use incentive programs to gamify learning.
This might include public recognition in the form of a badge or points system, or more tangible rewards like bonuses, promotions, increases in salary, or unlocking additional learning opportunities. This will reinforce the importance of continuous growth and increase motivation.
Step 5: Be a Mentor
A mentorship is a professional relationship focused on promoting career growth.
When you give personal attention to employees or pair more experienced with less experienced employees, a culture of knowledge sharing is created. Mentorships also help expand professional networks and give all involved the opportunity to discuss challenges, bounce ideas off one another, and receive constructive feedback.
Step 6: Don’t Forget to Listen
To remain healthy and vibrant, the learning culture you’ve created needs a continuous feedback loop.
On the one hand, regular check-ins to discuss employees’ goals and progress help them remain accountable and motivated to learn.
On the other, they should feel free to provide feedback to the organization as well. This could be in the form of group discussions, suggestion boxes, or surveys. When employees see that their suggestions are taken into consideration and acted on when appropriate, they will be more likely to continue openly providing feedback.
Surveys—especially anonymous ones—are among the best ways to collect candid feedback. They allow employees to share their opinions openly, without fear of repercussions.
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So, when employees see that their suggestions are taken into consideration and acted on when appropriate, they will be more likely to continue openly providing feedback.
Key Takeaways
A company culture that values continuous learning is ideal and beneficial, both for the organization and individual employees. You can start fostering this environment this week by enacting the above steps one at a time.
Once you’ve done so, don’t forget to periodically monitor the impact your learning initiatives are having. Look at your performance reviews, productivity levels, and retention rates, and make adjustments as necessary. When you see that your efforts are adding value to your workforce, you too will be motivated to continue pursuing a course of lifelong learning.
