Learning in the Workplace

To inspire change is a huge calling. How you inspire change comes in many forms. How you inspire change is extremely useful, depending on the situation. Business is an ever-changing and growing organism. How upper management embrace and support change will ultimately make the difference in whether your employees will change with the company.

We know that every person that is hired is capable of doing the job. Any person can be trained to produce quality results. But if you want someone to do something differently, don’t address them like you’re not sure if they can. If you want a better solution, you have to ask more profound questions like what is getting in the way of the desired results. 

In corporate culture, work can be tedious, repetitive, and standardized. Companies, businesses, and organizations have significant responsibilities that always keep employees in a state of extreme stress. Unmet demands and expectations ultimately lead to a feeling of little or no control. The best opportunity in this situation is to propose a solution to the problem, not the person. 

Sometimes it can be the policy, procedure, or perspectives. Many times they are out of date. When a company is large, it takes more time to respond to the new information or trend, which is a huge disadvantage. Sometimes, it could be the environment, circumstance, or season. We can’t always assume that it is the employee who isn’t changing as quickly as the company. It can be the other way around. Sometimes the role isn’t a good fit, but the company is. Maybe from the beginning, they were missing vital information, data, or knowledge and didn’t have access to resources. 

Teach: to impact knowledge of a skill in; instruct in or to; It is a valuable skill to teach and an even more valuable skill to learn. They are many ways to learn and in the workplace. But a major roadblock is the disconnect between what is expected and what is learned. 

Teaching doesn’t always have to be formal. In fact, in most cases, it isn’t. We learn so much by watching people more than by listening to them. We know that actions hold more value than words. We can’t assume because we are verbally teaching a skill, people are learning. The teacher must live what they are teaching. 

Educate: To develop the faculties and powers of a person by teaching, instruction, or schooling; to qualify by instruction or training for a practice; to develop, train, or educate a person or group. You can educate a person on a product, service, or process. That is the beauty of learning. But educating a person doesn’t guarantee they will implement what they have learned. 

Coach: A person who trains, a private tutor, a person who instructs. The biggest question is, can they perform as well when you are not coaching them. Will they have to be told what to do again, or will this action produce their actions? 

Progressive discipline: According to SHRM, progressive discipline policy and procedures are designed to provide a structured corrective action process to improve and prevent a recurrence of undesirable employee behavior and performance issues.

I think this is a poor way to look at the problem. We are assuming that the behavior of the employee is the reason for performance issues. If you already have a structured corrective action process, how are you taking every case on an individual basis?

Lecture: A speech read or delivered before an audience for instruction. A lecture would work if you can guarantee employees heard everything you said and apply it. Most times, the mind wanders, and they don’t retain all the information unless you can make it interactive. 

Learning can be a sore spot for many people because of our negative experiences with learning. The way we are educated is the reason why most of us stop learning after we don’t have to.

Humans learn best from people we like, admire, or trust. Because humans are social creatures, many of our decision are made based on popularity. Everything we learn is learned from another human directly or indirectly. 

In the business world, we are taught that business and learning must be taken seriously, but we all have different learning styles. If you want employees to retain information that is vital to your business, deliver it in a fun and playful way. Employees who have satisfying learning and training experiences develop the confidence, creativity, and self-motivation necessary to excel in the workplace.

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