9 Tips for Building a Thriving Learning Culture

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Discover our top 9 tips for building a thriving learning culture at your organisation to help your employees go further. Creating a workplace culture within your organisation doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a journey that will take time and resources but is something worth every investment made. A learning culture can be described as an organisational environment where continuous learning and development are promoted and a priority. It refers to a workplace where employees are encouraged to share their knowledge, expand it, and develop and apply this new expertise to their roles.

Leaning cultures impact all areas of an organisation and creating a strong learning culture comes with many benefits such as:

• Improved employee engagement
• Increase productivity levels
• Enhanced innovation across teams
• Higher retention levels
• Improved collaboration

These are just some of the incredible benefits that are seen by organisations that value learning and foster a learning culture. In this article, we will be sharing 9 tips for building a thriving learning culture at your organisation to help your employees go further.

1. Make training a priority from the first day

The very first day an employee joins your organisation, learning needs to be prioritised. If you want to build a thriving learning culture within your organisation, then you need to create an onboarding process that is as seamless as it can be. When employees are used to learning from the very beginning, they will continue to want to learn to progress and develop in their careers. It also shows new starters that learning is something that your organisation values, which will result in them feeling their career is cared about and that as an organisation you’re willing to help them reach their full potential.

2. Make training accessible

If you want your employees to learn, you need to make sure that training is easily accessible to them. Making the process seamless and stress-free is going to make more employees want to take part in learning within your organisation. From the software being user-friendly to straightforward signup processes, making training accessible is a must. We also suggest incorporating mobile learning and virtual learning methods to ensure that all employees have access. When you decide to launch a new learning program you need to tell your employees how they can access it and where it can be found. Clear instructions make the whole process as simple as possible.

3. Provide mentorship programmes for employees

Building a learning culture and mentorship go hand in hand. Mentoring programmes are an underrated tool of learning that comes with some incredible benefits for all involved. One of the key advantages of a learning culture is bringing employees together to develop and grow, this is something mentoring is effective at. Learning needs to have a social aspect to it, as it encourages ideas, resources and knowledge sharing. Mentoring contributes to a learning culture in a few ways, such as creating personalised learning for employees, providing networking opportunities, knowledge transfer, providing inspiration and building a learning community. To learn more about how mentoring can be used in your organisation, book a free demo with us today.

4. Give your employees time to learn

Employees have lives outside the workplace which means that if you want your employees to learn, then you need to give them time to do so. Finding time to learn can be difficult, with meetings taking place and projects needing to be completed, many things are often prioritised before learning. However, if you are truly motivated to build a learning culture then you need to show your employees that not only is it allowed to take time out of their day to develop professionally but also encouraged. Whether it’s setting aside an hour a week for employee training or managers giving permission, to foster learning you need to give everyone the time.

5. Provide resources

If you want your employees to learn, then you need to provide them with the resources to do so. You need to create a livery of resources that your employees can be given access to whenever they need it. Having a variety of resources readily available such as online courses, books and tutorials ensures that your employees have everything they need and can even take learning into their own hands. Your employees can pick the resources that they need to learn, this can be particularly useful for employees wanting to learn skills related to a different department or those who want to learn new things without attending training courses or events.

6. Lead by example

Leadership buy-in goes further than initial sign-off. Within an organisation, it’s often top-down. If you want your learning culture to thrive then you need to ensure that leaders understand how it works, why they need to be visible and why it’s worth every resource invested. Make sure that leaders are involved from the beginning, this also provides them the opportunity to invest in their personal development. When leaders show they are committed to learning and prioritise development, it leads as an example for others. When employees see that learning is encouraged by leadership, they are more inclined to take part.

7. Encourage knowledge sharing

The best learning cultures are built on open communication, collaboration and sharing. Encouraging knowledge sharing among employees is a great way to guarantee you build a strong learning culture within your organisation. When you encourage your employees to share their expertise, you’re building a collaborative atmosphere where learning is a collective effort. Your employees should want to talk about and share what they’ve learned with their colleagues. We suggest using a platform or solution where your employees can share their knowledge, expertise and the lessons they have learnt in their careers.

8. Experiment with learning methods

Everyone learns in different ways, which is something that organisations need to consider when planning their learning and development strategy. When it comes to employee learning, there are thousands, if not millions of different approaches that an organisation can take. To keep employees engaged and satisfied with the learning received, the learning method used must be suited to them. This personalised style of learning is an effective method to keep employees motivated and wanting to take part in learning activities. From one-to-one coaching to video calls, it’s important to understand the needs and wants of your employees.

9. Give and promote continuous feedback

If you want to keep employees engaged with learning, then you not only need to give them feedback but promote and encourage continuous feedback across your organisation. When your employees complete learning tasks and sessions, give them feedback on what they’ve done correctly and where they can improve. When you foster a culture of learning, having feedback encourages employees to discuss performance, growth and development. A feedback-rich culture ensures that leadership and colleagues support each other's learning journeys and that trusted relationships are being built which is essential for learning.

Final Thoughts

As mentioned, building a learning culture comes with some incredible benefits, which is why more organisations must prioritise it going forward. A learning culture allows you to ensure your employees are meeting their full potential and continuously developing and progressing within their careers.

Whilst learning isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution and will need to be adapted to the needs and wants of your employees, creating a learning culture within your organisation doesn’t need to be a difficult task. By using a combination of these 9 tips, you will soon see learning flourishing within your organisation!