Key Messages
How To Encourage Lifelong Learning In The Workplace
Learning in today’s workplace is constantly evolving, and it’s important to understand how.
In the past, people relied heavily on training courses to learn new skills and knowledge, but this type of learning is becoming less prevalent with the emergence of more collaborative and self-directed methods.
In Driving Performance Through Learning, you’ll learn about how to analyze a company’s underlying learning needs and why shooting for perfection isn’t always ideal.
You’ll also discover ways to encourage community and self-directed learning at work – because when it comes to learning on the job, these are two key elements.
By understanding how learning in the workplace is evolving, you’ll be able to make better decisions that will ultimately help drive performance.
Learning And Development Teams Need To Help Employees Learn In-The-Flow Of Work For Maximum Effectiveness
It’s now widely accepted that employees often learn more effectively when it happens in the flow of their daily job duties instead of a traditional course setting.
This method of learning is known as “learning in the flow of work” and is gaining momentum in the world of workforce development.
Rather than relying solely on training courses, learning professionals need to identify and meet their organization’s learning needs by tapping into this ever-present form of learning.
This could include encouraging staff to get involved in community interactions, coaching and individualized learning opportunities.
The 70:20:10 ratio is also helping to reshape traditional thinking about workplace learning and development.
This ratio states that 70 percent of workplace learning comes from experience while 20 percent arises from conversations with others or mentors, and only 10 percent through structured courses.
In other words, L&D professionals must embrace the need for ongoing learning that occurs outside formal structures if they are to upskill employees effectively without taking them away from their day-to-day tasks for too long.
The Key To Effective Learning: A Forensic Analysis Of Needs
If you’re looking to create value through the implementation of effective learning solutions, it’s essential that you correctly diagnose an organization’s needs.
Just simply responding to requests and signing people up for courses is not enough – especially when it comes to succeeding with lasting learning solutions.
A Learning Needs Analysis should be done first and foremost.
Starting with what staff need to learn and why they need to learn it will ultimately provide a much better result.
Additionally, scoping out the project beforehand as well as being able to identify and then implement the best solutions can get you one step closer to providing quicker and more effective results.
For example, in a situation where employee turnover is high; determining why this is happening – such as ineffective management from staff or lack of support from HR – and then appropriately addressing those issues (instead of front-loading an IT system induction) can lead to much better results for maximum organizational growth.
All in all, diagnosing an organization’s needs accurately and then properly creating effective learning solutions based on those needs is crucial when looking for success!
Embrace The Agile Approach To Get Learning Solutions Quickly And Improve Them With Continuous Tracking
In the fast-paced world of L&D, there isn’t always time to create perfect learning solutions.
Instead, quick and agile solutions that address the problem right now must be implemented in order to ensure staff competence and business continuity.
For this reason, an iterative approach needs to be taken – one that involves trial and error and focuses on getting the job done quickly rather than chasing perfection.
This is where agile or responsive methods come in – methods which involve coming up with an initial solution that is then adapted until it meets all the necessary criteria for a minimum viable proposition.
Moreover, agile approaches involve continual testing and feedback from stakeholders which helps ensure that solutions are constantly updated as work systems evolve.
While this requires a shift in mindset from perfectionism to Agility, it is ultimately beneficial for businesses in terms of cost savings and quicker time-to-competence for staff.
In practice, this could mean designing in-the-flow solutions or even microlearning sessions that provide quick bursts of information.
It also includes performance tracking so that areas where improvement can be made are easily identified.
All things considered it’s clear why instead of chasing perfection, designing agile and responsive learning solutions ultimately proves to be more effective!
Measuring The Impact Of Learning On Performance Is Difficult But Essential
Tracking the precise impact of learning on performance is essential for any successful Learning & Development (L&D) initiative.
While it may be hard to accurately quantify the impacts, without taking the time to measure them, you won’t know if your solutions are having the desired effect.
The traditional way of measuring impact through a Kirkpatrick Model can have its flaws, such as reliance on self-reporting and subjective ‘happy sheets’.
That’s why it’s important to start using data when tracking the performance of L&D initiatives.
This means understanding concepts like analytics and key performance indicators (KPIs), so you can measure the real results of learning projects.
Before every new project, make sure you have an idea of what you expect in terms of KPIs, as well as an estimated return on investment – from which you can crowdsource from learners themselves.
All this will help ensure your L&D solutions achieve their desired goals and improve staff performances in meaningful ways.
Harnessing The Power Of Digital Learning Solutions To Enhance Education
The power of digital learning solutions cannot be underestimated.
In today’s rapidly-evolving world, people need to be constantly adapting and learning as technology changes around them.
With digital solutions making education more accessible, individuals have the ability to access a much larger variety of educational content in a more convenient way than ever before.
Digital learning solutions can have a transformational effect on the way that individuals learn by providing resources that are interactive, dynamic, and efficient.
Apps developed by companies such as BP can allow students to access custom courses that are both comprehensive and attractive, while augmented reality and virtual reality technologies can provide immersive and interactive training experiences for workers in professions like energy or aviation maintenance.
Additionally, existing online content from platforms such as YouTube, Twitter and Google offer learners significant amounts of knowledge which can be easily accessed and curated for each individual’s specific needs.
By harnessing digital learning solutions in this way, learners stand to gain invaluable insight into educational topics – all while allowing them to become self-guided, confident members of society who understand the changing world around them.
How Community Learning Has Been Helping People Grow Since Prehistory
Workplace learning doesn’t have to be totally dependent on individual learning methods.
There is a way to involve the community and get everyone supporting each other: through social learning!
Social learning has been around for centuries and continues to be used today in many working environments.
It can be incredibly beneficial, enabling employees to ask each other questions related to their tasks or any issues they may have.
As a result, issues can be resolved quickly with little intervention from the L&D team.
Furthermore, this type of support can promote thought leadership among peers and foster trust between coworkers.
To implement this, technology can provide a great platform for social spaces – either customised professional ones or those already existing such as Facebook or LinkedIn.
Additionally, getting senior leadership involved in these spaces will aid in encouraging others to participate as well.
Lastly, self-direction can also play an important role here by fostering curiosity and motivating individuals to learn something new and develop their skillsets.
Of course, coaching should still be available when needed but overall it’s crucial that staff feel empowered to take control of their own progress as much as possible.
In conclusion, L&D teams should consider using community-based social learning whenever they want their staff’s development journey to reach its full potential!
The Takeaway: Make Coaching A Part Of Workplace Culture To Enhance Learning And Development
Coaching has been around for years as an important part of workplace learning.
However, it’s only really effective if it is fully integrated into the culture and not just done in a few singular meetings here and there.
In-the-flow coaching is a powerful way to get the most out of this process and benefit the organization in various ways.
Not only does it help develop internal talent, but it also offers performance support and increases team engagement.
Furthermore, informal peer coaching can be even more beneficial if you have the right people taking part in it.
But regardless of who is doing the coaching, having an effective leader is essential in order to ensure that everyone gets the best out of it.
Of course, mistakes are bound to happen with any kind of learning process – but rather than seeing them as negative occurrences, view them as opportunities for growth.
Mistakes can lead to amazing inventions or ideas which can revolutionize how we do things.
The challenge for the Learning & Development teams then becomes recognizing those moments when mistakes can serve a higher purpose and capitalizing on them – so that everyone in the organization continually learns something new every day!
Wrap Up
The key takeaway from this book is simple: learning and development are essential for any modern organization, but they need to be dynamic, varied and well-measured approaches to drive performance.
Reflecting on your context is the best way to understand what you need to do to improve.
Solutions like augmented reality, targeted courses and one-on-one coaching can all help you to achieve your goals.
Finally, encourage learning in the flow of work rather than relying solely on theoretical courses – this will lead to better results and help you reach peak performance.
