Grow Your Organization By Developing A Learning Culture

Why Developing A Learning Culture Helps Your Organization Grow

‘Great leaders focus on developing people’s capacities rather than their limitations.’ – Leithwood et al.

Organizations are run by people who are highly motivated to make things happen. The growth of an organization is dependent on its employees. In an organization, the learning curve of employees plays a major role in determining overall progress. This demands a culture of learning for all. A learning culture is an accumulation of organizational values, practices, conventions, and processes that are laid out for the development of employees on both, professional and personal fronts. These values and conventions encourage employees to develop knowledge, expertise, and competence.

Having a learning culture encourages organizations to promote continuous learning. Constant learning motivates employees both professionally and personally, as it gives them the opportunity to grow and improve consistently for the better.

Here are a few advantages of cultivating learning culture in an organization:

• The triple benefit of increased efficiency, productivity, and profit.
• Enhanced employee satisfaction.
• Motivated mind-set of employees.
• A sense of ownership and accountability among employees.
• Smooth transitions due to constant learning.
• An atmosphere of sharing knowledge and inquiring information.
• Improved ability to adapt to changes among employees.

Learning can be made effective for employees when it is kept more relevant to their field of work and business. It is also suggested that you conduct collective learning exercises instead of employees learning individually. This helps employees interact and mingle better, thereby building trust, developing mutual understanding, and improving coordination within the teams. Shared learning practices enable organizations to solve issues efficiently and develop a culture of sharing knowledge and contributing towards mutual professional growth.

How Can You Do It?

Creating a learning culture at your workplace must start with your leaders. Since leaders are responsible for carrying out training initiatives, their support and involvement in creating a learning environment is necessary.

Here are some quick and easy ways to establish a learning environment in your organization:

1. Make training and development mandatory for all.
   It is important to formalize training for all individuals in the organization to ensure the learning culture forms a strong foundation within the organization. Training and development programs that are not made mandatory for employees undergo the risk of being neglected, and at times, may not even be implemented.
2. Recognize effort.
   Recognize the efforts and initiatives taken by employees towards learning new skills and capabilities in the organization. Encourage other employees to also follow suit.
3. Take feedback from employees on all learning initiatives taken up by the leaders/management.
   Evaluating the benefits of these trainings and development initiatives will help in analyzing the ROI of efforts and expenses made on these training programs.
4. A major outcome of training is having employees who are prepared for a bigger role.
   Thus, it is important to encourage individuals to gain knowledge through training for their growth within the organization.
5. Formalize information and knowledge sharing as a process within the organization.
   This will ensure that employees who require training/ knowledge/ information for any of their tasks, get it whenever necessary.

A learning environment ensures that the employees of an organization are competitive and growth-driven. In today’s highly competitive business environment, employees are required to stay updated with the market trends and business requirements that vary from time to time. Hence, creating a learning culture will help employees outperform competitors via easy access to the necessary knowledge and skills.

The concept of building a learning environment within the organization is a radical change that most of the organizations find difficult to embrace. Multiple aspects come into picture when attention is paid to the readiness of the organization. So, before you plan to bring this change, a feasibility check is a must. You must find answers to some questions that will help you look at the bigger picture of bringing this change to your organization. Is your organization willing to give up confrontational attitudes to bring in an open culture of trust and inquiry? Would you be willing to bring in more cooperation to replace the competition among groups and individuals in your organization? If you have answers to these questions, building a learning culture at work will not be a challenge for your organization.

Considering the recent advancements in digital technology, it is imperative for organizations to cultivate a learning environment to keep their business growing organically and achieving goals.