The Internet caught fire the day the world learnt that if you’re a visitor at a Swedish house during meal times, the family is likely to have their meal together without offering you to eat with them (#SwedenGate). While this is an entirely normal part of Swedish culture, it was a culture shock for people from many other cultures – where guests aren’t allowed to leave until they go up a trouser size.
When we’re used to the social norms and accepted behaviours of the environment that we live in, we’re often on autopilot. We don’t realise that culture can be something we intentionally shape.
What is a Culture of Learning?
In a company, culture refers to the shared values, attitudes and behaviours of the people in the organisation. It can be encoded formally in the system, or it can also be informal behaviour.
For example, a company with a culture that values work-life balance may make it formal that all employees are allowed to leave work early on Fridays. Informally, managers may also make it a point not to contact their team about work on weekends.
A company’s culture is the DNA of the company. One of the key indicators of long-term business success is whether a company has cultivated a culture of continuous learning.
When a company has a learning culture, its employees are self-motivated to improve and adopt a growth mindset, understanding that all abilities and skills can be developed and learning is a life-long pursuit.
The Impact of Cultivating a Culture of Continuous Learning
There are many reasons why a culture of continuous learning should be a company’s core focus. This includes:
- Rapid changes in the economic and business environment.
The world is evolving quickly, with new challenges and new tools being introduced at an unprecedented pace. Skills once prized are declining in value, and the longer we wait to adapt and learn, the more we fall behind. The need for continuous learning has never been more urgent, with a report by PwC stating that almost 40% of employees believe their jobs would be obsolete in 5 years.
- Driving innovation.
Companies with a learning culture can better meet shifting customer demands and are often the first movers in a market. As employees are constantly exposed to new ideas, concepts and skills, their brains can form new connections and see problems from different angles to create novel solutions. A study by Deloitte found that companies with a continuous learning culture are:- 92% more likely to innovate;
- 46% more likely to be first to market; and enjoy
- 37% greater employee productivity
- Increasing employee retention rate.
These days, employees value working at a company willing to invest in their growth and development. According to Forbes, 55% of employees agree that learning opportunities and career growth are more important than compensation. In addition, the cost of employee turnover is extremely high, with Forbes estimating that it may cost employers 33% of an employee’s annual salary to hire and train a new candidate.
5 Ways to Engineer a Learning Culture in your Company
The risk of stagnant employees and a business that doesn’t grow or progress should be a more alarming prospect than investing in cultivating a learning culture. While culture cannot be built overnight, the good news is excellent progress can be made by implementing a few key steps.
#1 Express a clear commitment to learning
First and foremost, the company should be vocal about the importance of learning and seek to encode learning into its formal systems.
Companies can demonstrate their commitment by working with employees to set learning goals, along with learning a plan to achieve them. These goals should be personalised to the individual, considering the employee’s skills gaps, role and career progression. Just as importantly, companies should also ensure that the appropriate time, budget and space are allocated for employee learning.
#2 Develop a learning strategy best-suited for your organisation
To increase learning engagement and retention, your company’s learning strategy should be people-centric and reflective of your employees’ ages, lifestyles, and careers.
For instance, learning strategies for millennial employees should leverage micro-learning, i.e. short bursts of learning, and use wearables and mobile tech to enable on-the-go learning that is suitable for a millennial’s busy lifestyle and shorter attention span. Additionally, allowing millennial learners to take charge and curate their own personalised learning will also go a long way to encourage active participation.
#3 Provide a bespoke learning experience
Based on your learning strategy, your company can then introduce a bespoke learning experience designed for your learners.
For instance, a series of engaging and informative videos in the style of Youtube or TikTok can be developed to execute a micro-learning strategy. Combining this with mobile-responsive features will ensure that your learners have the flexibility to access these resources anytime and anywhere. In addition, if your plan is to allow learners to curate their own experience, learners should be able to quickly search, browse and select what they want to learn, giving them the ability to take charge of their learning.
#4 Ensure content is real-world and relevant
Content provided to your learners should also be relevant to their challenges in their day-to-day jobs.
Helping learners practise and develop the skills to solve these challenges will result in better learning engagement and job performance. For instance, providing simulations that mimic real-world challenges, such as making sales calls or dealing with an irate customer, will allow learners to practise and experiment with a range of actions and responses in a safe environment. Additionally, don’t hesitate to seek feedback from your learners to ensure content remains relevant and valuable to them.
#5 Align with rewards and recognition and make it social
To solidify your company’s commitment to fostering a learning culture, growth and development should be formally reflected in performance reviews and rewards and recognition.
However, this can also be done informally by gamifying learning through creating teams, awarding points and hosting leaderboards to offer some return for their efforts. Adding this social element to your learning culture will surely increase employee engagement. In addition, user-generated social learning activities such as Lunch and Learn sessions, where someone presents a topic they want to share, are also a great way to encourage peer learning.
Conclusion
In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, fostering a culture of continuous learning is not just a competitive advantage—it’s a necessity. By committing to learning, developing bespoke strategies, and ensuring relevance, companies can drive innovation, enhance employee satisfaction, and stay ahead of market demands.
A well-cultivated learning culture not only attracts and retains top talent but also empowers employees to grow and innovate continuously. By embedding learning into the very fabric of your organisation, you position your company to thrive in an ever-changing world, ultimately turning knowledge and growth into your greatest strengths.
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