Lifelong Learning is a Key Workforce Driver
Businesses are moving at a breakneck speed nowadays, and the price of this rapid pace is the lack of learning time. Learning a specific set of skills won’t prepare you for life, especially at your workplace where you’ll have to cope up with the increasing demands of evolution in technology, market, etc. The world is evolving, which means in order to thrive well in your respective job, you need to involve yourself with the concept of lifelong learning over the span of the entire career. The issue of lifelong learning is not just a challenge for organizations, but educators as well. The only method how corporations can ensure a fully productive workforce in order to achieve goals is by making sure that employees are consistently learning. Also, maintaining relevancy in skills by employees is considered as an important aspect for corporations to succeed. The lifelong learning process in an employee drives the business forward.
As an employee, you should never stop, instead, start revising yourself in terms of learning. If you’re not spending minimum 5-10 hours on a weekly basis for learning, you can surely expect a downhill situation. Employers are looking out for lifelong learners, i.e., employees with a commitment and passion for a consistent learning process and improvement, even if the responsibilities are huge.
As an employer, a primary way to ensure the process of lifelong learning in your employees is by investing in talent programs. Having said that, we cannot simply avoid the key point that in the current economy providing extra funds for employee skills training is a challenging task, not all corporations can afford it. But, customers demand expertise and talent of your employees in service or product provided by you.
Ultimately, productivity leads to evolution, and to ensure it in your employees, learning is very crucial.
Let’s discuss few instances where corporate giants are investing heavily in order to ensure talent and lifelong learning in employees.
Deloitte, for instance, views the development of skills and talent as a key element. Hence, despite the economic fluctuations of the market, the corporation ensures staunch commitment to fund activities and programs related to the development of employee skills and talent. Lifelong learning is a strategic step in order to build best and thriving workplace culture.
Another example is AT&T. In order to ensure that it remains ahead in the game of learning and evolution, the company runs a program, which combines classroom and online based courses in subjects such as, data science, digital networking, etc., for its employees. The program takes a look at the old skills of the employees, which can be passed to fresh careers.
How to create a learning culture with small investment?
Books Distribution
Learn together as a team. Distribute good books on economy, politics, technology, and business resources amongst your employees. Learning new things will help your employees to evolve in a positive track making them better workers, managers, or leaders. They’ll come up with productive new ideas if they consistently keep reading and learning.
Learning Goals
Learning should be involved as a segment of goal setting. Encourage your employees to set minimum one goal in every quarter regarding the objective of learning. It shouldn’t matter if the learning is based on a latest skill or revision of an old one with new parameters, all that matters is they are learning something. Support them in their learning efforts by periodic checking of their progress and finding new techniques to help them.
Reimbursements
Encourage your employees throughout their learning process by providing reimbursement programs, which will offer them freedom to broaden their horizon and it will also display your support in nurturing the ongoing process of learning. This can attract fresh young talents as well.