Instilling a Culture of Learning

Creating a Culture of Learning within an organisation can change the way that a business operates, vastly improve productivity, and instill loyalty to the organisation. A learning culture means that every person within the organisation is not only actively encouraged to improve their skills through learning, but they are rewarded for using their own initiative for doing so.

The lack of skills in some Northern Hemisphere countries has compelled employers to find different ways to attract and keep the skills that they need. This is evident in the announcement made by Amazon Inc in Sept 2021 whereby they offered upfront college tuition for operations employees as part of its expansion program. Read more: https://www.aboutamazon.com/workplace/upskilling-commitments. Amazon has recognised that education and learning adds tremendous value to their own business and is an attractive incentive for employees.

A culture of learning not only extends to employees obtaining degrees and diplomas, but also embraces the concept of continuous learning. We all learn new things everyday through various means; we learn new skills from formal education and training, we learn from our colleagues and managers, we learn out of curiosity of specific topics, and from many other sources. Taking the idea of continuous learning and building a culture of learning that benefits everyone is an excellent way for companies to retain skills and improve business operations.

Promoting the importance of knowledge within an organisation

In some parts of the world, easy access to knowledge is a new concept, and learning is not always encouraged. Trade unions tend to focus on wage negotiations and safety in the workplace, making training and education a lower priority. In a highly unionised country such as South Africa, this attitude often filters through to the workforce who do not see personal value in improving their skills. Training is often associated with meeting quota’s rather than improving career opportunities. Employers are sometimes reluctant to offer training because there may be an expectation that an increase in wages may result. This is where a culture of learning can change this view and highlight the personal benefits to every person who improve their skills.

Knowledge is often associated with power, and for many people, sharing knowledge means losing power. This mindset however does not belong in a culture of learning. Shared knowledge means collective knowledge and joint growth. To change this attitude, sharing of knowledge must become standard practice within the organisation, starting from the leaders and filtering throughout the organisation. This requires a change in the organisations behaviour to proactively share the direction and strategy of the company.

Establishing a baseline

The first step in implementing a culture of learning is knowing the current attitude within the organisation toward training and education, and then to gather a clear understanding of what skills there are within the organisation. Gathering this information requires careful planning as asking questions to obtain this information may arose suspicion, unless a suitable change management process is adopted.

Establishing this information is often best achieved by making use of professionals. A negative attitude towards education and training may be deeply rooted in management practices where employees are not encouraged to use their initiative in the workplace, especially within lower-level job roles.

The same may apply when attempting to establish current skills within the organisation. The most effective way to establish skills is to assess each individual against the competencies required to perform their job. This needs to be carefully managed; a typical concern is that the assessment will be used to move an employee out of their job should they not achieve the desired result. Not managing this perception can result in the initiative failing, but may also result in deeper seated suspicion within the workforce.

An important factor to consider for any initiative embarked on by an organisation is the Return on Investment (ROI). This also applies when implementing a culture of learning: what return is there to the organisation? To determine this, establishing the baseline is vitally important. Equally important is establishing what the improvement will be as a result. This will differ from organisation to organisation. Some will measure in terms of productivity, others will measure cost savings and others may measure staff retention. Typically, a combination of factors is used to determine the ROI expected by the organisation.

Managing this process to remove the fear and to create transparency is the only way to establish this information.

Partner with specialists

Learning programs which benefit both employers and employees are available from specialist training providers. A subscription model whereby all employees have access to beneficial training programs is an excellent approach to narrowing the skills gap and instilling a culture of learning.

Specialists can provide quality up-to-date learning materials and will offer support through a Learner Management System (LMS) to monitor the progress of all employees and provide meaningful reporting.

By partnering with specialists, sustainable strategies can be developed to address the needs of the organisation and individuals, and address issues identified in the analysis.?Developed strategies can cater for various categories of people and learning needs.?A budget is established which is linked to the ROI determined to measure the success of the initiative.

Rewarding employees

A personal development plan linked to a career development plan provides employees with a pathway for employees. Current skills profiles of individual roles are used to encourage continuous learning. In turn, these are aligned to the organisation’s growth and transformation needs.?

Various mechanisms exist for rewarding employees who embrace training programs.?Rewards need not be associated with monetary value; people seek recognition for effort as a basic human need. ?Linking a learning program to a recognition program has many benefits to both employers and employees. This is less relevant for employees who hold lower level positions in the company, monetary rewards linked to performance are excellent motivators to encourage growth.

In conclusion, instilling a culture of learning has many benefits to an organisation, most noticeable, a change of attitude towards work and the organisation. Whilst there is a cost involved in providing training and education for employees, determining the ROI in terms of benefits to the organisation will bring many more benefits which result in better bottom line profits for the organisation.

Written by Greta Froise. Managing Director??|CPIM, CSCP | Bizzco, Supply Chain Smart