We are living in a world of rapid and constant change. The expectations of a consumer are increasing and changing every day. Companies that keep up with this pace have a greater chance of maintaining and even increasing their success rate.
In the modern business world, a healthy learning culture has become a vital part of any organization’s growth. Companies that promote workplace learning as well as offer the right environment and resources for it can create and transfer knowledge through all levels quickly. And this is precisely what is needed for a business’ growth. If the management knows that all employees are getting to grow and learn something new every day, they can even expect a less churn rate.
As the world changes, the companies that do not match the pace of the changing economic world, are bound to lose.
Learning is a form of development. It expands the capabilities and nurtures positive development among the workers. Therefore, the importance of encouraging workplace learning cannot be overstated.
Workplace learning is very important. And it can be of different forms as well – getting guidance from an experienced senior or learning to use photocopiers. This is all part of learning.
In this article, we offer tips that you can adopt to encourage and promote workplace learning:
- Arrange Workshops Getaways
Learning is fun when done without obligation and restrictions. Work-life is already very strict and hectic, if you add on learning workshops, it will cause more harm instead of doing good. So, to make it fun and to achieve desired results, employers can plan a trip out of town and arrange learning workshops there. In this way, the employees can take a break from their hectic schedules and enjoy learning something new.
- Arranging Seminars
The government and economic forums often conduct different seminars. Keep an eye on these events. Recommend some of the employees to join these seminars. Motivate the employees to attend with certain incentives. This would help them broaden their vision and also help them to socialize more in the business circle.
The company can arrange its seminars as well. Let your employees give presentations and spread their knowledge. This will boost their confidence and also give them a sense of trust.
- Know your employees
First, an employer or manager should know their employees or team members – including their backgrounds, interests, and competencies. This can help them easily figure out where exactly people need help. When you know the areas your employees lack, it becomes significantly easier to offer the right learning opportunities.
- Create an Appropriate Training Schedule
As mentioned earlier, an employer should know about the educational background of their employees. In this way, they can arrange proper training which is not only beneficial for the company but can also help enhance the skills of the employees.
The training should be according to the abilities of the employees and should focus on enhancing them. It should teach them skills that are beneficial for them as well as the company. The company should allocate separate time for training so that it does not increase the workload of the workers.
- Lead by example
To promote workplace learning, a boss should create a learning environment in the office. The management should encourage learning by being an example. The management must take certain steps for their learning as well.
Join the workshops with the employees, or take them to attend a seminar. If you have learned something new, then you can also conduct a small workshop. Allocate a day for the workshop, especially a day in which work is lesser as compared to the rest.
Take initiative and show your employees that you also take your learning and development seriously.
- Build a Library
Another thing that the management of a company could do is build a library in a workplace. Put in relevant books and also some light learning novels. Books are the best way to reduce stress and the most effective way of learning. The library doesn’t have to be a large one or occupy a huge area, but it has to be a dedicated space meant for learning and improvement of the employees.
- Peer Learning and Mentorship
Peer learning is a kind of learning in which you learn from your colleagues. Pair up your younger and fresh employees with a senior one so that they can learn from them. Similarly, encourage senior employees to be mentors for the young employees.
This is the best way to inculcate respect for seniors in the juniors and also a way to appreciate those who have been working hard.
- Monetary Incentives and Promotions
Another way to promote learning is to give monetary benefits to those who work hard regarding their personal development. Introduce check-in sessions where the employees can test their learning. Those who score best can qualify for the awards.
Also, bonuses can be related to the learning progress of the workers. If you have prepared a group learning system, then the incentive can be given to the better-performing team. Aside from giving money, the company can base the promotion of a worker on their learning progress. This will motivate the other workers to work hard.
- Social Learning
Human beings learn best when they are together. Introduce group learning among the employees. Make a group of workers based on their diversity. Arrange group learning activities for them. You can assign them some task, on which they can work together. This way they can discuss their ideas, and their interaction will also be a part of learning. At the same time, it will develop camaraderie among colleagues.
- Self Learning
This is very important. Promote self-learning among your workers. The best way to do this is to give solo projects to them. To do the projects they will do research and, in this way, they will enhance their learning abilities. This will not only boost their confidence but they will also develop a sense of responsibility. Hence, they will try their best to live up to expectations.
- Online/Offline courses
Arrange free-of-cost learning courses for your employees. The company should bear the expenses. This will encourage the workers to participate more in the learning classes. Some many institutes and sites offer in-person learning courses and online courses. The company can make a partnership with these institutes. In this way, they can make sure that their employees get continuous learning content and assistance.
- Cater to different earning Styles
While promoting workplace learning, this should be kept in mind that not everyone can learn with the typical learning method. Some may have different learning styles. For example, some people learn best while doing things with their own hands. At the same time, some people learn best by watching. Others would learn best with written materials. The learning programs that your company introduces should cater to these different types of learning styles.
It is no secret that employees function as the building blocks of a company. The pace at which your employees grow is more often than not going to be proportional to the growth of the business. Therefore, smart management would always prioritize the professional growth of their employees. As a result, the job of the leadership does not end with offering opportunities. It is critical that they also offer the right environment for it. If you opt for the methods mentioned above, you can successfully promote workplace learning among your employees.
