Workplace culture is like an integral identity for a company. Workplace culture is widely defined as "the foundation that supports an organization together. It is the basic code of conduct." This foundation is what subtly encourages employees to join the company and showcase their talent. "A company’s ability to improve, innovate, and learn lies directly to the company’s worth” Each company has a different approach to its work culture. Even if you haven’t seen it vividly, it has always been there to shape employees’ perceptions of the actions that leadership has taken and the values they hold. It is a manifestation of an organization’s beliefs, values, and norms, which eventually develops with time.
A learning environment
A great learning environment is one that values and encourages learning, be it an institution or a company. Developing a learning culture is an investment, and it provides tremendous perks to the organization. A learning culture is integral because it helps you channelize employees' hard work, potential and improve the overall management of the company. From employee productivity to the efficiency of work, a learning culture is something that can bring a drastic change.
Leveraging learning experience at a workplace is not something that happens overnight, but there are actionable steps you have to take to move forward in the right direction. Here are 6 tips on how to create a great learning work environment:
1. Create personalized learning plans
To build a solid learning program, employees need to feel valued and heard. Planning a personalized learning module will help the employees connect better with the organization. Moreover, getting them enrolled in tasks and activities that build teamwork will improve the engagement. It should not feel like they are attending learning programs just for the sake of completing a course. Look at the bigger picture here. More the employees learn and execute their learning, the more benefit the company will foresee. Commitment to the learning process also showcases that an organization is resourceful to employees for learning and development.
2. Correlate interests and skills
Learning is incomplete without upskilling. Organizations should incorporate skill training that is valuable to both the business as well as the employee. The benefits to the business are quite obvious, but it will motivate employees to learn better if they see their professional careers are also considerate. The training should be customized in such a way that the skills learnt will benefit them just as much in the long-term as it does in their current position.
3. Provide coaches and mentors
It is important to make employees feel supported and guided during the learning process. For every obstacle at the workplace, they should have mentors and coaches to guide them. But what does a good mentor sound like? A good mentor is someone who provides candid feedback and brings out the best in the employee with the help of learning. A constant push to achieve better results and be genuinely interested in the employees’ progress. From the training period to the onboarding, a cordial relationship between mentor and mentee should be maintained.
4. Walk the talk
Setting up a learning environment and encouraging them to follow the process is great, but is it enough? Leaders in influential positions at a workplace should lead by example. If they show contagious enthusiasm towards the process, it reinforces the learning culture. Showing initiative and interest in their own learning targets will inspire other employees to follow the same. If an organization wishes to see employees taking part proactively, provide them a platform for open discussion, feedback and corrections.
5. Recognize success and provide rewards
Hard Work deserves recognition. Tracking the learning of employees, and making sure to reward success in some way is a metric to appreciate their effort. Acknowledge the meeting of targets and achievement of goals, and let particularly employees know that organizations see and are impressed by progress they’ve made. Many LMSs or training sessions provide badges and other virtual certificates for successful learning. The rewards need not to be expensive, but provide a form of rewards to support learning efforts and develop a great learning environment.
6. Encourage collaboration
Knowledge sharing plays a big role in creating a great learning environment. Informal learning and social learning are a big part of it. When employees are encouraged to share knowledge, they help others to come forward and become a vocal part of the process. This can be done by setting up a time – after lunch – during which employees can come together and help build each other in the learning process. This will give them an opportunity to discuss the training among their peers, and will cultivate a sense of team work despite being at different stages of their individualized learning.
According to the market and the learning method, there are several methods to promote learning in the workplace. Some articles even advise using financial incentives to encourage learning, while others focus on internal rewards to motivate employees. We hope the tips we provided are beneficial for your organization in some way. If you have any questions or want to share your own ideas, please feel free to write to us. We would be happy to hear from you.