Creating Learning Culture in a Workplace

We live in a world with rapid changes. The expectations of consumers are being shifted. Our economy has become unstable. Technology is interrupting every area of our life. It is an age of digital revolution. Therefore, there is a shift in demand for human expertise. As a result, the needs of every organization are changing.

The Changing Demands of Required Skills

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2020 shows that 99% of learning and development professionals agree that their organizations will be negatively impacted if their employees do not gain the required skills. It can negatively impact future growth, customer experience and satisfaction, product or service quality and delivery, and the ability to innovate.

Even though the demands are changing drastically, it isn’t a sustainable solution to hire new people to meet the requirements of the rapidly changing work environment. But how can organizations meet their changing needs? Can they succeed in the changing environments?

Why do we need a learning culture?

Edward Hess, author of Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization, says, “Companies that learn fastest and adapt well to changing environments perform the best over time.” Creating a learning culture is the solution for a successful business in times of change.

Continuous development of knowledge and competence is at the heart of an organization that has developed a learning culture. When organizations have a strong learning culture, they can create, acquire, and transfer knowledge efficiently. It enables every employee to continuously seek, share, and apply new knowledge and skills. They excel at modifying behavior to reflect new knowledge and insight. Consequently, they develop competitive advantages.

What is learning culture?

A learning culture is an environment in an organization where employees who spend time developing their knowledge and skills are appreciated. These skills and knowledge would help the employees to perform their best and enable growth within the organization. It would also help the employees in their career progression.

An organization with a learning culture has “learning” at the forefront of its values and strategies. It encourages and invests in learning. Learning culture is an investment that provides tremendous benefits for your organization. It helps an organization capitalize on its employees’ potential and grow its business. A “growth mindset” is instilled in its employees when a company has created a learning culture. So, what is a growth mindset?

Growth Mindset: A growth mindset motivates the workers to expand their knowledge and learn from one another. Such workers apply what they have learned while at work. Therefore, the knowledge and skills they have gained contribute to the growth of an organization.

Levels of Learning culture

An effective learning culture has three levels. They are organizational, team, and individual.

1. Organizational:

Every organization has a mission. An organization becomes successful when everyone in it works together to achieve it. A learning culture at the organizational level allows people to connect with this mission. Thus, learning contributes to the success of the organization.

2. Team:

Teams are an important part of any organization. Lots of learning, sharing experiences, and providing feedback happens in a team. At the team level, each member can share their learning and reflect on their work.

3. Individual:

An individual can learn well when they feel supported. Individuals know that their development is valued in an organization with a well-created learning culture. They have a growth mindset and feel responsible for their development. Such organizations have different training programs, resources, and methods. Therefore, they can personalize the approach they take to learning.

Creating a Learning Environment

Learning environments come in all shapes and sizes. They can be achieved in different ways. But there are some common characteristics:

• A learning culture supports independent learning and development
• It encourages team members to reflect on their work
• It encourages employees to share their learning
• It fosters a growth mindset
• It creates a desire to learn throughout the organization
• It enables learning to shape strategy and process change

Edward Hess, a business professor at the University of Virginia, also says about identifying and recognizing the limitations that may prevent people from reaching their full potential as learners. The obstacles that inhibit learning must be addressed while creating a learning culture. These obstacles include ego, fear, and complacency.

This is important because people try to defend, deny and deflect anything that they think would make them look uninformed or not particularly smart. We try to avoid the embarrassment of failure. We also act without thinking when we do something we have done many times before. And in this process, we often resist new challenges and ideas.

The Benefits of a Learning Culture

When a learning culture is created at every level of an organization, the benefits are numerous. The following are the benefits of creating a learning culture:

1. Adapting quickly to changing needs:

When the employees are encouraged to have a desire to learn, it enhances their capacity to adapt and acquire new skills.

2. Solving problems effectively:

As the employees are comfortable sharing new learning, skills, and ideas, they will be able to effectively identify and solve problems.

3. Reduce staff turnover:

When employees develop an increased sense of ownership and accountability, they will stay longer with the organization.

According to the LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2019, 94% of employees say that they would stay at a company longer if there is an investment in their learning and development. The employees are not just concerned about the money they make anymore.

4. Increase in efficiency, productivity, and profit:

Every organization wants to be successful. Learning culture contributes to the success of an organization.

5. Maintain the competitive edge of your organization:

To win the market, the employees in an organization must be prepared to meet the challenges ahead. Implementing a learning culture helps in that.

According to IBM, 84% of employees in the best-performing organizations receive the training they need. This is opposed to just 16% in the worst-performing organizations.

6. Learning culture helps improve employee engagement:

Employee engagement is a challenge for many organizations. A well-established training program can do a lot to engage with your people.

Why Is It Important?

According to City & Guilds’ annual skills index 2021, 30% of workers in the UK have not received formal workplace training in the last five years. This suggests that learning and is underinvested. Workers do not have enough development opportunities and gain new skills.

The future of work is based on skills. With the global pandemic, we have realized the need for digital skills and adaptability. Learning is therefore very important for growth, success, and survival.

According to LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2021, 63% of L&D professionals agree that learning and development has a seat at the executive table. This shows learning is now being recognized as crucial to business growth.

Creating A Culture of Learning in Your Workplace

So, we know that a well-established learning culture is an investment to any company as it can contribute to success. How do we create a learning culture in a company? The following are some actionable ways to develop a culture of learning in your workplace:

1. Learning must be a core Organizational Value

The employees need to feel that the organization supports a learning culture. Making learning a clearly defined core value is one of the ways to do it. This is because its values guide the decisions and actions made by an organization.

2. Creating Personalized Learning Plans

When the learning plans are personalized, they become more relevant to the employees. Learners would get more engaged when learning goals are set and plans to achieve them are strategically developed. The learning plan would aim at supporting the employees and helping them reach their career goals.

According to the Chief Learning Officer 2020 Learning States of the Industry survey, 75% of 1,500 L&D professionals agree that their companies will be developing more custom learning content in the upcoming years.

3. Giving Personalized Career Coaching

Career ambitions are one of the primary sources of motivation to learn. When organizations offer one-on-one coaching, they help individuals identify career opportunities and develop personalized learning plans. It also makes the learners feel accountable and explore many available resources.

4. Lead by Example

Organizational leaders are in an influential position at all levels. When the leaders are dedicated to their continuous learning, it reinforces a learning culture. A leader can talk about their training, be willing and open to corrections and feedback, and reflect on mistakes made.

5. Provide the Right Rewards

Rewards can support the building of a learning culture. These can be soft rewards like publicly recognizing a learner’s success. They can also be hard rewards like financial incentives. Many online courses provide badges and other virtual rewards for learning success. Providing a reward to support the learning efforts and develop a culture of learning for every learner.

6. Create the Right Learning Environment

The learning environment of an organization should both facilitate and support learning. It should be easy to use. It should also provide the opportunity for knowledge sharing and interaction between learners.

7. Establish Learning in Your Hiring Process

A learning culture can be created in your hiring process. Have discussions about your learning commitments during interviews with your candidates. This will attract candidates with a growth mindset and make you more attractive as an employer.

How to Promote a Learning Culture?

Many people enjoy learning and need little encouragement. But not all employees will be as enthusiastic from the beginning. Here are some ways to motivate employees and promote learning in the workplace:

1. Align Interests

Find out skill training that is beneficial for both the organization and the employee. Employees would be motivated to learn when they feel their career can also progress with the skills they learn. Therefore, the training should teach them skills that would be beneficial for them in the long term, not just the current role.

2. Model Behavior

Leaders of organizations can set examples. When you take an interest in your learning and continuing education, it will motivate your employees to do the same.

3. Coaching and Mentoring

Employees must feel they have support. They must realize they have somebody to turn to if they have questions or concerns about their learning. Make sure that employees feel that the organization is interested in their progress. Be open to hearing about any problems they might face when they take the training.

4. Recognize Success

Make sure to recognize and reward the success of the employees.  If you do so, they know you appreciate their effort. Acknowledge the achievement of goals. Let them know you appreciate their efforts.

5. Allow Collaboration

Set a time during which employees can come together to help each other with any parts of their learning. This allows them to discuss the training among themselves. It will cultivate a sense of team spirit.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is a learning culture?

Employees find, share, and apply new knowledge and skills in a learning culture. Learning helps in improving their individual and organizational performance. It consists of a community of workers who have a “growth mindset.” Organizations with a learning culture strongly encourage their members to understand their values, practices, and beliefs.

Why is a learning culture important?

Learning culture allows people to design their career paths. It values and encourages learning. It is an investment that provides benefits for your organization. It helps organizations capitalize on their employees’ potential and grow their business.

What are the characteristics of a learning culture?

• A collaborative learning culture
• Lifelong learning mindset, also known as continuous learning
• A room for innovation
• A forward-thinking leadership
• Knowledge sharing and team learning

How do you develop a learning culture?

The following are some actionable ways to develop a learning culture:

• Make learning a clearly defined core value of your organization.
• Develop personalized learning plans to make learning more relevant to your employees.
• Give personalized career coaching. This coaching can help individuals identify career opportunities and develop personalized goals.
• Introduce the right rewards to support building a learning culture.
• A learning environment that supports learning and facilitates it must be created.
• Create a meaningful training program