How to Create a Learning Culture in the Workplace
To infuse your business with the pursuit of knowledge, show that you're still learning, too.
According to Deloitte, companies with continuous learning cultures are 46 percent more likely to be first to market and 58 percent more prepared to meet future demand. Plus, they also have a 26 percent greater ability to deliver quality products and they experience 37 percent greater employee productivity.
Here's how to foster a work environment that empowers people to pursue knowledge:
Teach your team how to give feedback.
For there to be a culture of learning, your employees must learn how to effectively give and receive feedback. Many managers and team members are afraid to give negative feedback for fear of hurting someone’s feelings, getting pushback, being disliked or having their own authority questioned. But there’s power in negative feedback: Employees need to be be made aware of their limitations to spark their curiosity and eagerness to improve.
However, it's important for negative feedback to be given in a constructive way that's specific and provides a roadmap for improvement. Sharing this type of feedback within a team will help its members to continuously learn from each other and hone their skills.
Use peer-to-peer coaching.
A simple way to facilitate peer-to-peer coaching is to pair junior and senior team members and assign them to work on a project together.
However, you can also take peer-to-peer coaching to the next level by implementing a program similar to Google’s. The “Googler to Googler” program allows employees from all different departments to lead classes on both job-related and extracurricular topics such as management, mindfulness and even kickboxing. With a peer-to-peer coaching system like this, your employees can take charge of their own learning by choosing which classes to sign up for. Plus, the teachers of the classes are able to share their knowledge and personal passions while sharpening their leadership skills at the same time.
Provide online autonomous learning opportunities.
According to research from the University of Birmingham, employees with higher levels of autonomy in their work reported positive effects on their overall well-being and higher levels of job satisfaction.
Applying this to learning in the workplace, you can use a learning management system (LMS) to pull together educational materials for your team on an array of topics and in a variety of formats. Then your employees can access the platform anytime and from anywhere to learn at their own pace. The more content you provide, the more likely your team members will find something that interests them.
Lead by example.
Perhaps most importantly, if you want to create a learning culture in the workplace, you need to practice what you preach. If you're trying to instill constructive feedback or peer-to-peer coaching in an environment where this behavior has not been the norm, it may require ongoing leadership efforts to demonstrate the sorts of behavior you hope your team members will replicate.
However, the most important way a leader can foster a culture of learning is by showing that they, too, are still listening and are open to learning from their employees. This can be demonstrated in group settings but also through more personal interactions. If you discover that a team member has a hobby or well of knowledge on a topic you're interested in, make a point of asking them about it. Let them teach you something.
[via Entrepreneur]