Building a Culture of Continuous Learning: Best Practices for Your Organization

One of the needs I am usually consulted on by my customers is, how to inculcate a culture of continuous learning in the organization. Most of my customers want to move away from organization-directed learning (Push) to self-triggered learning (Pull) by employees. Self-triggered learning nourishes curiosity and sets the employee on a higher trajectory of knowledge acquisition.?

Before we think of continuous learning, it's important to learn why we need continuous learning and how we humans lose knowledge.??

The Forgetting Curve, proposed by psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, describes the phenomenon of forgetting over time (Refer to the forgetting curve image on top). It highlights that information is rapidly forgotten in the initial days after learning and then the rate of forgetting slows down. The curve illustrates that without reinforcement or review, a significant portion of what is learned is forgotten quickly.

Such patterns of human forget curve are found in one-off learning programs/certifications or one-time interactions with experts on the subject.?

To beat such loss of knowledge, ‘Continuous Learning’ or ‘Spaced Learning’ is found to be effective. It is the process of acquiring new knowledge and skills on an ongoing basis on the subject. It is highly effective when the learning addresses the needs of the moment. It involves consistently engaging in ecosystem-driven learning, such as reading, watching videos, listening to podcasts, collaborating with experts, or practicing what is learned. Josh Bersin's article on Growth in the flow of work beautifully explains the effectiveness of learning interventions. If the learning interventions are personalized, their effectiveness grows multifold, Smitha Gupta from the University of Memphis published a research report on the consideration of individual characteristics to facilitate continuous learning.

The relationship between continuous learning and the forgetting curve lies in the need for ongoing reinforcement to combat the effects of forgetting. When we humans engage in continuous learning, we are more likely to revisit and reinforce previously acquired knowledge. Regular exposure to information helps strengthen memory retention and counteracts the tendency to lose knowledge.

At an enterprise level to inculcate such a culture of continuous learning, it's important to consider the following aspects associated with an employee. In the absence of them, it is hard to engage and retain employees on this trajectory.?

• Align: Understand employees’ knowledge needs and career aspirations to offer personalized learning experiences. In the absence of alignment, continuous learning adoption may turn into organization-directed learning programs.?
• Content : In alignment with employee aspirations, it is important to populate relevant learning content. Personalization of such content engages the employee and grows continuous learning retention.?
• Awareness: It is important to drive recurring awareness programs within employees so they are encouraged to explore their curiosity and initiate/retain their continuous learning journey.?
• Rewards and Recognise: To grow the culture of continuous & and self-directed learning, recurring employee rewards and recognition by the organization amplifies the outcome. In addition to gamified badges, certifications, and skill profiles, the most effective method I experienced from my clients is offering new opportunities to employees within the organization. It contributed to a happy employee and retention.??
• Reinforce: Once the employee completed learning on the subject, it is extremely important to offer knowledge expansion on the subject through reinforcement learning. The same needs to be compelling enough to retain the employee on the continuous learning trajectory. The absence of it contributes to learning dropouts. Getting such dropouts back on track can be an uphill task.??

I recommend additional resources to further strategize continuous learning for enterprise learners.?

• 5 Moments of Need
• Attributes of forming the habit
• Hooked - The habit-forming framework - Workbook

The habit of exploring curiosity can create a workplace environment that values and prioritizes continuous learning, ultimately contributing to the long-term success and adaptability of the enterprise.