How To Foster A Culture Of Continuous Learning

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How To Foster A Culture Of Continuous Learning

Written by: Ashu Goel, Forbes Councils Member




CEO at WinWire Technologies, assisting Senior IT Leaders in helping them support business transformation.

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Speed, agility, flexibility – companies value these traits today. Such characteristics come only when an enterprise has employees who are inquisitive, engaged, think dynamically and have the ability to make decisions quickly to impact the business. To build such an organization, corporations must nurture a culture of continuous learning – something that seems intuitive but is quite challenging.

Many corporations talk about creating a learning culture. The Corporate Executive Board (CEB) – a part of Gartner, Inc. – offers a definition for this type of culture: conditions that support an open mindset, encourage an independent search for knowledge and welcome shared learning that focuses on not only the mission but the goals of an organization. Even with a defined understanding, the CEB reported in 2015 that only about 1 in ten companies build a learning culture for themselves.

What stops more company leaders from building this type of culture? Nowadays, everyone is busy – busy with projects, deadlines, meetings, emails and the new pressures that the pandemic created. So fixing immediate, pressing problems take precedence over long-term goals, such as employee education. Even before the pandemic, an article in Harvard Business Review shared the results of a survey showing HR executives surveyed expect managers to spend about 36% of their time supporting the development of subordinates. The same survey showed managers averaged dedicating only 9% of their time to this cause.

Organizational Hurdles Stymie Education

Several factors contribute to the disconnect. The typical organizational structure and management style is often hierarchical, so learning flows from the top downward. In this case, departments can become siloed and opportunities to interact and learn from one another fritter away. 

Complacency is another factor. Employees become comfortable with the modus operandi and avoid – and even resist – opportunities to discover new ways to work.

The end result is many organizations’ training programs fall woefully short of employee expectations. Many workers – 56% of those recently surveyed by Hibob – rate career growth as more important than compensation, but simultaneously about half (47%) are dissatisfied with their current training programs.

Tips To Build A Continuous Learning Culture 

So what can you do to close the gap? One step is gaining an understanding of what type of learners are in your organization. While there are many theories and postulations about types of learners, one that offers a palatable breakdown is from Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck.

Her work shows two different mindsets that people use when it comes to learning: fixed and growth. Those with fixed mindsets can struggle when it comes to taking full advantage of the benefits learning provides. This can look like emotional or defensive reactions to receiving feedback or even giving up in the face of obstacles. Those with growth mindsets see opportunity in coaching. It’s a chance to develop their skills further.

Also, management must recognize what employees value. Often harried, they are understandably looking for a time-efficient approach. An old-school approach of taking a week off from work for professional enrichment is difficult for most workers to justify nowadays. Markets move too quickly, and time is too short. Learning done in small increments, dubbed microlearning, fits better.

In addition, learning materials must be user-friendly. Not everyone wants to spend time sifting through the depths of dense learning content to find a needed tutorial or tip. The concept of just-in-time learning, like the manufacturing concept, applies. To be effective, a lesson needs to be delivered to the person when it is needed, not before or after, and accessible in a click or two.

Formalize The Learning Process

One possible resource is peer coaching. Here, cohorts and managers take time to educate their coworkers. Such training is often assumed to take place but is rarely formalized. Businesses need to do more than just tout continuous learning; they must assimilate the idea into the corporate fabric. A good way to start is setting specific times when peers share tips, insights or praise with one another.

Support is crucial. Leaders need to set realistic goals and, more importantly, guarantee time and resources for team members pursuing their goals. One framework that can help is the SMART model. In this model, each goal is specific, measurable, assignable, relevent and timely.

Ideally, everyone buys into continuous learning concepts. To gain such support, have team members set their own learning goals. They should be challenging but achievable. In sum, learning goals need to be transparent among employees and managers and they both are accountable for reaching them.

A Big Pay-Off

The development of a learning culture has not been a traditional MBA point of emphasis. However, connections are evident between companies that create this culture and business success. Deloitte found:

  • Continuous learning firms are 46% more likely to be first to market.
  • They experience 37% higher productivity.
  • They are 92% more likely to innovate.

Learning opportunities also have a positive impact on retention. In 2018, Josh Bersin, a Global Industry Analyst and Learning and Development leader, conducted a survey and found that the number one reason why respondents begin to look for a new job is an inability to learn and grow. On the flip side, workers are extremely reluctant to leave an organization focused on their professional development.

Turnover is very costly. In a 2019 report, The Work Institute conservatively estimates the cost of losing a U.S. worker as $15,000. When they generalize the cost over the course of 2018, U.S. employers have lost around $617 billion due to employee turnover – with $469 billion of those costs controllable. With career development identified as the number one category of employee turnover in this report, the cost to upskill or even reskill employees is likely to be lower than the cost of turnover. This also shows how companies either pay on the front end or the back end of the equation. 

A continuous learning culture drives innovation. Employees who want to learn and grow are not satisfied with past achievements. Because they own and control the learning process themselves, the company continually increases its knowledge, becomes more competent, innovates more regularly and develops future leaders. In effect, the corporation drives itself to new heights – ones often beyond even the most visionary manager.


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March 4, 2021 at 04:55AM

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