Sustaining a robust Learning Culture for HR professionals.

Tips on sustaining a strong Learning Culture

Fundamentally, to survive in this VUCA environment, having a strong learning culture is very important. We need to sharpen the workforce and stay competitive to face financial headwinds induced by the ongoing war in Ukraine, rising inflations and COVID variants.

What is a learning culture? It is about managing change and transforming the organization inside-out to create a conducive learning environment for employees. In addition, it facilitates employees’ learning within the organization that propel her to the next level.

Benefits of having a strong learning culture:

1.?????Seamless sharing of best practices.

2.?????Satisfaction derived when there is more engagement at work.

3.?????Secure organization’s competitive edge.

“Organizations that prioritize the ongoing learning and development of employees are?more likely to be successful?than those that do not. – T&D Magazine”

Here are some tips on (6Ps) how we could improve the learning culture:?

a)????Picture – From a strategic perspective, it is wise to strengthen the organization’s learning culture and competitiveness. Performing a SWOT analysis to figure out current competencies and where the existing gaps are. Taking a quantum leap, what are skills & knowledge which are in demand for the next 5 to 10 years? Moreover, having a shared learning vision among the organization is important too.

b)???People – Our employees are vital resources to tap on. The management is in a position to influence and craft a conducive learning environment. They could be good role models and mentors, embracing a systems thinking mindset to make learning a priority. In addition, they could promote Team learning opportunities to leverage from peers' working experiences and failures.

c)????Prepare – Even though the HR or L&D department could spearhead the learning strategy, it is wise the employees be accountable to stay relevant after their onboarding program. It is ideal to invest resources in personal mastery and set aside time to share and learn. Selecting appropriate in-house trainers and creating a comprehensive learning plan is appreciative. Review the current learning budget to fund learning opportunities.

d)???Place – ?Flexibility to allow employees to attend external seminars and trainings could upskill relevant competencies. Internally, leaders and appointed ‘champions’ could influence and create a conducive learning environment to allow sharing too. Reward and recognition could be deployed to leverage from the employees’ experiences.

e)????Production – Consolidating and executing the comprehensive plan and bring it to fruition. The plan to narrow the competencies gaps identified earlier would help align the achieving of organizations’ SMART business goals objectives more systematically and readily. Always remind the employees the benefits of being a lifelong learner.

f)????Post Production – Evaluate learning results and always have a continuous learning improvement attitude to fine-tune any learning strategies. It may be carried out via 360 Feedback , observation of employees’ work to customers’ inputs too. There could be continuous engagement to keep employees excited and initiatives to drive the learning behaviours.?

Other criteria for a successful learning culture:

1.????Leverage on the ‘Boomerang’?employees who returned from previous resignation. They could be some new insights to share with the organization to challenge the status quo.

2.????Using advanced technology to share learnings. Employees could tap on the mobile to transfer learning gains on the go. It may be an e-platform where employees could upload their experiences real time.

3.????Soft skills could be further enhanced among the employees. The future of work may be ambitious, but a robust learning culture could help employees adapt in the marketplace. Emotional Intelligence, effective communication, adaptation to change and collaboration at work are just some examples to work on.

4.????It is ok to make mistakes as we learn from them. Isn’t this the crux of learning? Encouraging others to overcome workplace mistakes and shortening the learning curve for new comers / existing ones definitely have positive implications to the organization. Growth Mindset is key.

5.????Trust and respect among the workforce are necessary ingredients to boost a learning culture. People across the organization must be willing to share, admits mistakes and are not embarrassed to let colleagues know about their limitations.

Engagement Examples:

i)?????????????Lunch and Learn

ii)????????????Regular meetings with a specific learning purpose

iii)??????????Articles and Success stories on intranet

In summary, this write-up is to assist HR professional step up their game to deliver agile exponential learning experience and to transform employee’s engagement into practical and positive collaborations.

Quote of the Day:

“Continuous improvement is the minimum requirement for success in any field.” – Brian Tracy

Wishing you all the great success & hope to hear your learning success stories soon. Keep learning! Connect with me! linkedin.com/in/terencechow168168

Terence Chow is a freelance Soft Skills Trainer & Curriculum Developer.?