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“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”

-Alvin Toffler

 

That’s exactly how the millennials feel which is why 86% of employees believe providing learning opportunities is an important responsibility of employers. Keep in mind that millennials form almost 50% of this global workforce!

 

The 2021 millennials and GenZ are here to demand accountability and the provision of a continuous learning opportunity is one of the accounts.

 

What is Continuous Learning?

 

Did you know?

 

94% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it invests in their learning and development.

 

So, why is the concept of continuous learning relevant? Let’s find out!

 

At the individual level:

 

Continuous learning focuses on the expansion of learning ability through consistent upskilling and up-gradation of knowledge. The dynamic work and life environments require strong continuous learning skills in order to adapt successfully.

 

At the team or organizational level:

 

Continuous learning is visible in a team’s ability to learn continuously in order to deal with the dynamic economic changes and, to survive and thrive in the end.

 

Why is Building a ‘Continuous Learning Culture’ a Challenge to HR?

 

1. Increasing Employee Adoption

 

The employee adoption of these learning and development programs is the biggest challenge for the HR department. And, even though employees value their career development more than ever, they prefer to engage in such programs when provided the opportunity to learn at their own pace.

 

This engagement increases when the program is based on the learning experiences they want, where, and when they want.

 

2. Onboarding the Leadership

 

Executive leaders are the faces of any organization and as such, the middle and lower management and the employees look up to them for bringing the necessary changes. Thus, they have the power to shape and advocate a culture for continuous learning and growth throughout the organization.

 

However, in reality, sometimes, even the leaders fail to view such programs as a need. Even when they realize the value of such programs, they sometimes are clueless as to where to start.

 

3. Involving Managers in Employee Learning

 

Managers form the middle level management of an organization and their involvement is the most important factor of employee engagement in the learning process. This group is directly responsible for leading the employees. Their involvement, thus, can be a huge incentive in guiding the team towards a career-enhancing learning culture.

 

Getting the managers involved in the employee learning process is yet another big challenge for HR.

 

How to Overcome these Challenges & Foster a Continuous Learning Culture?

 

Now, that we have identified the reasons why building a continuous learning culture in an organization is the biggest challenge to HR, let’s have a look at some ways to overcome the same:

 

1. Create an open mindset.

 

There are two types of mindsets while being involved with learning programs- Fixed mindset and Growth mindset.

 

Studies have shown that people with a fixed mindset continue to struggle to take advantage of any learning programs in place. Also, they face emotional difficulty while receiving feedback and may also give up when faced with hurdles.

 

While employees with a growth mindset see such learning programs as an opportunity to grow and expand their horizons.

 

Thus, in order to ensure the effective implementation of continuous learning programs, it is very important that both the employees and management realize why these are important, and why they need to participate.

 

Establishing a culture of continuous learning is not just about introducing new policies or opportunities. HR needs to explain the requirements of such a shift.

 

2. 360-degree peer-to-peer development reviews.

 

Putting a peer knowledge-sharing structure can help overcome the challenge. HR can set a specific time during which colleagues can share tips, insights, etc. with each other. This can help them get comfortable with the new culture of learning.

 

3. Teach people to provide effective feedback.

 

Giving effective feedback is an important and very powerful skill, yet most new managers lack the skill. Giving great feedback is a combination of several skills like good observation, communication, and listening.

 

Thus, teaching these future leaders to develop those skills early on will ensure they are prepared to take on their teams when the time comes.

 

4. Set learning goals within teams

 

Other than having managers set standard performance goals for the team, all team members should be asked to set their personal performance goals too and share them with the rest of the team. This can ensure that the goals are reachable and more personal.

 

Also, these personal goals of employees can let the managers know what their team members want to learn.

 

5. Start a peer-to-peer coaching ecosystem

 

Did you know?

 

70% of skills are picked up by employees through their jobs, 20% through peers and colleagues, and 10% through formal training sessions. Source- Docebo

 

Google aims to build a culture of continuous learning through a peer-to-peer training initiative called the “Googler to Googler” program. Under this program, any employee can volunteer to coach their peers on skills that they have mastered.

 

Such a system will provide a free flow of knowledge and a personalized learning opportunity amongst the team.

 

HR can set up fortnightly or monthly peer coaching classes organized by the employee volunteers. These workshops can be led in the form of presentations, group discussions, show and tell get-togethers, etc.

 

These 5 ways can help HR a long way in overcoming the challenges of fostering a continuous learning culture in organizations and building a dynamic, need-ready team.

 

The Takeaway…

 

An organization reaps the benefits of supporting and encouraging its human resources to learn in the form of employee loyalty, increased productivity, and brand reputation in the competitive market.

 

Fostering a culture of continuous learning can help organizations develop new products, services, etc., and maintain their value with the ever-changing changing workplace environment.

 

Thus, even though building a culture of continuous learning is the biggest challenge to HR, management and leadership must continue to implement measures to foster the same.