As an engineering manager, you know that learning is essential for your team's success. But how do you foster a culture of continuous learning that motivates and supports your engineers? The first step is to assess the current state of learning in your team and identify the gaps and opportunities. Here are some tips on how to do that.
A learning audit is a process of collecting and analyzing data on how your team learns, what they learn, and what they need to learn. You can use various methods, such as surveys, interviews, observations, or feedback sessions, to gather information from your team members and stakeholders. The goal is to understand the learning goals, preferences, challenges, and resources of your team, as well as the alignment of learning with the business objectives and the engineering standards.
I would start by making sure the team has time set aside for learning and that it’s part of your expectations and measurement of success. Once that’s established there are many paths to continuous learning. One I particularly like is cross pollination. You would be surprised by the overall skill set your team has. Sharing learnings by pair programming or switching seats for a sprint would bring a ton of knowledge to all. Of course you can leverage courses, seminars as well.
The implementation of any new changes within a team depends entirely on the team itself. Begin by analyzing your team's learning process. This includes: - How many hours a day they dedicate to improving their skills - What are they learning - What are their goals - What they need to learn - What are the resources of the team Audit the progress to identify strengths and weaknesses. Subsequently, develop a list of learning priorities considering urgency, significance, feasibility, and individual members' experiences. Select the method for this learning process. Options include workshops, courses, seminars, hackathons, or mentoring.
In my opinion, before the learning audit step, we should do two things: #1 Craft a clear "Why" Don't just say we need continuous learning – inspire your team and support them in finding answers for themselves. This will create a strong motivation for them to actively learn. Make it clear how staying ahead drives innovation, technical excellence, and greater customer value. #2 Lead by Example We can't ask for a commitment we don't model ourselves. So, share your practical actions with your team such as recommending books, participating in seminars, courses, blogging, etc.
The first step in creating a culture of continuous learning as an engineering manager is to lead by example. Demonstrate your own commitment to learning and professional development by actively seeking out new knowledge, skills, and opportunities for growth. Share your learning journey with your team, whether it's attending workshops, enrolling in courses, or reading industry-related literature. By setting the precedent of continuous learning and showcasing its importance through your own actions, you establish a foundation for cultivating a culture where learning is valued and encouraged. Your team members are more likely to embrace learning opportunities when they see their manager prioritizing it as well.
A true leader would be able to understand and identify the learning needs for each member of the team. It is important to make sure that the learning path and team goals are aligned to guarantee the time spent on learning be properly utilized to uplift the delivery performance and efficiency. I would also never mind if anyone from the team would like to learn another side topic for their personal growth.
Once you have the data from the learning audit, you need to analyze it and identify the learning needs of your team. Learning needs are the gaps between the current and desired skills, knowledge, or behaviors of your engineers. You can use a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) or a skill matrix to prioritize the learning needs based on their importance, urgency, and feasibility. You should also consider the diversity of your team and the different learning styles and levels of your engineers.
When analysing learning needs, remember to look beyond current project requirements. Help connect team members to opportunities that support their broader career interests. Aligning their growth with strategic company directions creates a powerful win-win scenario.
Depending on your team size, I would have one-on-one meetings focused specifically on each person's interests, strengths, weaknesses and career development goals. Use these conversations to identify learning opportunities tailored to each individual.
Once you know the general skill gaps, dig deeper. Why does the gap exist? Is it due to lack of awareness about newer technologies? Is there a shortage of practical project experience? Identifying the root cause, not just the symptom, shapes your learning strategy. Someone struggling with project management needs something different than an engineer who lacks knowledge of a specific niche technology. Tip: Utilize peer-to-peer knowledge sharing. Senior engineers might hold valuable expertise to address gaps for their less experienced colleagues, saving some external training costs.
Yes, I use SWOT analysis as a tool. I am confident that this approach will provide valuable insights for our team's development and growth.
Every individual in the team are different and so is their learning needs. Having continuous one-on-one with the individuals and understanding their career growth plan, their weaknesses, current and future skill requirements(technical or behavioural) to manage their work efficiently will give perspective to the learning needs. Learning needs should be aligned with the organisations vision, goal and culture. Set the timelines and expectations correctly to monitor the progress which is tailored for each engineers.
The next step is to define the learning outcomes for your team. Learning outcomes are the specific and measurable results that you want your engineers to achieve after a learning activity or program. They should be aligned with the learning needs, the business goals, and the engineering standards. You can use SMART criteria (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) or Bloom's taxonomy (cognitive, affective, psychomotor) to write clear and effective learning outcomes.
The outcome of learning needs to be decided before you can plan an effective training plan. This prevents courses being ran/attended that have no real benefit to the engineering department and keeps engineers engaged as they feel they are learning relevant information
It is also necessary to define or highlight the return on investment of the trainee in measurable terms: promotion, salary increase, bonus, etc.
If your team member has been learning clean coding practices, then you would expect as an outcome to see the code in the next review session has some clean coding practices applied, if there were still some obvious code smells and mistakes, then it would be great to have an open discussion to see if the learning part was effective or there were other matters that prevented from applying what was learned. It is a continuous process with a progressive outcome, but it should be assessed from time to time to guarantee an effective learning process.
Ditch vague goals. Example: Instead of "improve problem-solving," aim for "define problems, generate multiple solutions, evaluate feasibility." Outcomes should link to observable changes (reduced bugs, better code quality). This allows for tracking progress. And make sure outcomes support company goals and the results of your needs analysis. Let engineers co-create some outcomes. This boosts ownership and engagement with learning.
It's not enough to say "Let's get better at Python." What does 'better' actually look like? Are you aiming for basic fluency, in-depth mastery, or the ability to architect solutions independently? This helps you align training programs and materials with concrete goals. Tip: Think "outcome", not "course." Focus on real-world applications of the skill – can your engineers confidently work on projects using Python after the training?
Now that you have the learning outcomes, you need to choose the learning methods that will help your team achieve them. Learning methods are the ways of delivering and facilitating learning, such as courses, workshops, mentoring, coaching, peer review, hackathons, or self-directed learning. You should select the learning methods that suit the content, the context, and the learners. You should also balance the formal and informal learning, as well as the individual and collaborative learning.
One thing I’ve found helpful is to choose the learning methods that suit the learning needs, the learning outcomes, and the learning preferences of the team. I considered different factors such as the content, the complexity, the duration, the budget, and the availability of the learning resources. I also involved the team members in the decision-making process to increase their engagement and ownership. I opted for a blended learning approach that combined online courses, workshops, mentoring, and peer learning.
Create opportunities for sharing. Consider a monthly lunch and learn sessions, where someone presents what they recently learned to the broader team. This has many benefits: - It helps to share what each department/discipline brings to the team - helps to develop presentation/communication skills - breaks down departmental silos which are often unconsciously created within companies, and - encourages two-way dialogue and discussion.
The first step is to establish a supportive environment that encourages curiosity and allows for failure as a learning opportunity, setting the foundation for continuous growth and innovation.
I think that once we or I have the learning outcomes, it is needed to choose the learning methods that will help our team achieve them. Learning methods are the ways of delivering and facilitating learning, such as courses, workshops, mentoring, coaching, peer review, hackathons, or self-directed learning. You should select the learning methods that suit the content, the context, and the learners. We should also balance the formal and informal learning, as well as the individual and collaborative learning.
The final step is to plan the learning activities that will implement the learning methods and achieve the learning outcomes. Learning activities are the specific tasks or actions that your engineers will do to learn, such as reading, writing, coding, discussing, presenting, or solving problems. You should design the learning activities to be engaging, challenging, and relevant. You should also consider the time, budget, and resources available for the learning activities.
By following these steps, you can create a learning plan that will guide your team's continuous learning journey. But remember, this is not a one-time process. You should regularly monitor, evaluate, and adjust your learning plan to ensure that it meets the changing needs and expectations of your team and the organization.
Learning activities are the specific tasks or actions that our engineers should do to learn, such as reading, writing, coding, discussing, presenting, or solving problems. We should design learning activities to be engaging, challenging, and relevant. We should also consider the time, budget, and resources available for the learning activities.
Engineers have a wide set of preferences when it comes to learning: some prefer a group setting, some like offline courses, and some go for meetups. Culture of self-learning comes from providing them with opportunities to share what they've learned. This can come through internal talks, interest groups, guilds etc. The important aspect here is that the management needs to recognize, and promote such forums - specifically the engineers who do the most to keep them relevant and viable.
The organization must demonstrate openly that it truly values continuing education. If an employee completes an activity, comments like, “that’s great in a classroom but this is the real world,” and “that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee,” or just ignoring the accomplishment will destroy any efforts made and morale. Without truly valuing continuing education, the organization is wasting time, effort, and money.
Engineering Managers needs to understand that every individuals are different. Different people have different motivations behind their learning curve. Understanding the team, their strength and weakness and plan a learning curve for the team members individually is the best option. Team needs to have a clear idea how their learnings will impact and help in their current situation. There might be a framework but that needs to be modified based on individuals. Weekly/Monthly sessions on what team learned or found interesting in their work also boosts the urge to learn.
Forge a culture of continuous learning by fostering mentorship, engaging in hackathons, and organizing innovation challenges. Cultivate a community of practice, where team members actively share insights and collaborate. Dive into the immersive realm of virtual reality for hands-on learning experiences. Encourage cross-functional project rotations and establish a knowledge-sharing book club. Integrate gamification to make skill development engaging and rewarding. These value-added initiatives not only enrich individual skill sets but also create a collaborative and dynamic environment that thrives on innovation and shared knowledge.
Creating a healthy workplace culture is a pre-requisite to any learning initiative: why would anyone engage in learning if not knowing something is perceived as a fault or weakness? Creating a blameless environment where mistakes are accepted as part of the innovative process is essential. In fact, it's impossible to learn something new without making mistakes: innovation happens when you go beyond what is already done and known. Things you can do: - Create a safe space where it's ok to show vulnerability. - Lead by example by admitting being wrong or not knowing something. - Reward innovative behaviour, and encourage learning by dedicating time and resources for it.