Technology is advancing at a record pace, so fast that most of us can’t keep up anymore. And with these advancements, the old ways of doing business are evolving with the times. The skills of employees must remain at the industry forefront in order for your business to successfully do the same.
Continual learning is important on an individual level. It allows your people to embrace new trends, learn additional information, and become more confident in their abilities. But continual learning is also a strategic business tool, one that drastically sets you apart from the competition.
Individuals grow through learning; and they spread their knowledge to peers and raise the competencies of the entire workplace. When you create an environment of continual learning within the workplace, you increase employee morale and satisfaction as well as provide a 353% return on investment. Fail to embrace this trend at your own peril.
Learning does not simply mean teaching new skills or knowledge. Instead, it is the active process by which an individual comprehends and retains information and later uses it in everyday life. By not just facilitating individual lessons to sharpen skills, but by creating a learning culture in your workplace, you are providing a space to continually allow individuals to improve their performance throughout life and support a competitive advantage within the marketplace.
Here at entreQuest, our employees are continually sharpening skills and driving our growth within a thriving learning environment. In order to create a learning culture within your company, here are a few suggestions:
• Begin to demonstrate the power of learning to your team. Elevate the group mindset to value the learning to come. CEOs and managers must support the learning culture for it to spread throughout the organization. Leadership development courses for management can help get the ball rolling toward a learning culture.
• Link learning to talent management. Work with employees to build on their existing skills and increase capabilities with a well-developed plan aimed toward long term career goals.
• Allow learning through multiple channels. Some people learn best through online courses; some need in-person instruction and feedback in order to grasp new abilities. Don't stick with one learning service or plan, as this will alienate those who learn in different ways.
• Build learning into the onboarding process. An onboarding process is the start of an employee's growth within your culture, which is why, when it comes to continual learning, it's important to provide a structured program, supportive environment, and tangible expected results for the employee upon completion of this initial learning experience.
• Encourage reflection and sharing of knowledge. Allow time for learners to present new knowledge to the rest of the team. This will not only help individuals retain information and make them accountable for the new skills, but also help the team learn and encourage everyone to take classes and expand on their own knowledge.
Learning new skills does not simply benefit the individual. Supporting education throughout your workplace will create a learning culture, leading to increased company growth and placing your business at the industry forefront.
