Making learning a part of your corporate culture requires more than an LMS. Having the tools to train is important, but you also need workers who are interested and motivated. You need people who want to develop their careers with a desire to continue learning.
Education has always been important in professional settings, but there is a stronger emphasis on it today. From your company’s perspective, well-trained teams are what give you an edge in competitive marketplaces. They are the capable people who find solutions, work efficiently, and innovate.
For the individual, working for a business that nurtures learning is good for future success. Many younger generations actively look for employers who offer opportunities to develop their careers. It shows that you are willing to invest in them just as they invest their time and skills in your organization.
Turning continuous learning into a part of corporate culture doesn’t happen overnight. It begins with support from the highest tier within an organization. What can you do to support training and development within your team?
Define Learning and Development as a Core Value of Your Company
Learning and development should be integrated as a core value of your company. That means two things. First, your organization should take steps to make learning accessible and to take advantage of educational opportunities at all levels. Second, it means that learning should be displayed on your corporate website and other resources as a core value.
Only doing one or the other isn’t enough. Putting it out there clearly states that learning is valued within your company. Supporting career development and training shows that you are also taking action to make good on that commitment.
Invest in Personalized Learning Plans Rather Than One-Size-Fits-All Classes
Employee training used to be a very one-size-fits-all activity for many job roles. While workers may have to complete the same courses for onboarding or general topics, you should offer personalized learning paths that delve deeper into job roles and skills.
These help workers become better at what they do and can build a path to a promotion or a new job role. Today’s LMS platforms often include learning paths that can be custom-made based on a specific position, business goal, or need. Others include features like recommendation systems that are based on the individual learner’s activity and interests.
Make Sure Training Courses and Resources Are Easily Accessible to Everyone
A great training program won’t do much if your team doesn’t know about it or can’t access it. Make sure everything is easy to get to and keep teams informed of new developments.
Everyone should have credentials to log in and access the training they need. You should also create centralized resource libraries. These should contain documents, links, videos, and more that employees may need to learn. A repository is also helpful for workers who want to reference the material after they finish a course.
Some content may be accessible to certain groups only, and that’s ok. As long as each employee can access what they need to do their jobs and progress in their careers. This is also a convenient way to share general documents that workers use, like employee handbooks.
Encourage Your Leaders to Set the Example and Become Learners Themselves
Training isn’t just for the lower levels of your organization. If it’s going to be a part of corporate culture, then your leaders need to set an example. That means those in higher positions should also seek to better themselves through training.
Set your own goals and make sure management and others do the same. Your leadership should be open to feedback. Listening to comments and owning mistakes create more opportunities to improve. This continues to send the message that learning is part of the core of your organization.
Motivate Employees with Rewards and Recognition for Learning Success
Rewards and recognition will encourage employees to continue participating in classes and training activities. What and how you should reward will depend on your company. Some may provide more tangible prizes like gift cards for reaching a milestone. Other organizations may reward with an extra paid day off.
An LMS with gamification features can work well here. Most of these are designed to keep track of an ongoing score. Activities and completions award points that go toward each person’s overall score. These can be displayed on an online leaderboard to encourage a sense of friendly competition. Some even display digital badges on profiles.
No matter which rewards you choose, they should continue your mission of building a culture of learning.
Give Your Employees Time to Train During Business Hours
Even though online training is accessible anywhere at any time, you should still give employees an opportunity to work on training during business hours. This sends the message that you take training seriously and are willing to invest in it.
How much time you give them is up to you. It could be an hour or two a week or longer, depending on the intensity of a course and business goals. For example, if you need people who are up to speed on a certain job role or task, then it would be wise to give them the maximum amount of time possible to complete training at work faster.
If you want to provide time for workers to develop their skill sets at their own pace for personal development, then less time may be needed.
Create an Environment That Supports Formal and Informal Learning
There are two main types of learning. The first is formal learning. The term describes training that is done in a formal setting. It is systematic and intentional. Formal learning would include classroom instruction. It can be done remotely as a web-based class, online workshop, webinar, or remote lab.
Informal learning is the second type. This one is often overlooked however it can be very beneficial. Informal learning refers to training that happens outside of a classroom or structured setting. It includes watching videos, reading articles, posting in forums, coaching sessions, and self-study activities.
Your training program should facilitate both types of learning for maximum benefit.
Show Your Team How Their Training Efforts Help the Company
It can be difficult to look at the bigger picture when you feel like a small cog in a big machine. Share your business and training goals with your team. Show them how what they do contributes to progress.
Track how your training program is affecting your goals. For example, if you want to improve customer support, show before and after training statistics for key metrics like the number of support tickets in queue or the time it takes to resolve customer issues.
Discuss Learning Commitments When Conducting Interviews with Job Candidates
A culture of learning begins when someone joins your organization. Discuss learning commitments with job candidates. This will help highlight career development as a benefit of working for you. It can also help your hiring team determine which candidates will be a good fit.
Monitor Your Training Stats and Look for Areas That Could Improve
What does a perfect training program look like? That depends on your business needs and objectives. It is something that can change over time. That’s why you should monitor your training program to check for trends or weak spots that need improvement.
By continuing to evolve, you will be better prepared to adapt to new educational technology and industry developments.
A solid learning management system is a necessity if you want to build a corporate culture that includes learning. Visit our website to read LMS reviews to find a system that matches your business objectives.
