Get good grades through high school. Enter trade school or a respected college. Graduate from an academic program, then close the learning chapter of your life to buckle down for a lifelong, fulfilling career.
Often, this is the expected trajectory we held for ourselves and still hold for our children. College graduation is often seen as the finish line to one’s education that rightfully comes with a huge sense of relief and accomplishment. It’s finally over! No more school, grades, or classes. Now true adulthood begins and we can apply what we learned for the past almost 20 years to a steady job. Some occupations may require “continuing education” as required by an employer or to renew licensing, but the average professional will build an in-depth knowledge base just through years on the job.
Yet, as employees, management, and HR professionals can attest, this departmentalized view of learning is wholly unrealistic. Whether it’s through quarterly online trainings, week-long conferences, or sponsored higher degrees, continuing education has become a staple to jobs of all sized organizations to keep competitive in an ever-changing marketplace.
Lifelong learning isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity to stay competitive
Knowledge is a Google search away. Artificial intelligence and other technologies that only a few short decades ago seemed generations away, are now implemented into every industry. With the automation of what was formally thought of as human-centered tasks, such as people management and recruiting, the volume of what we have to learn to continue in our same jobs continues to grow.
This widespread, instant availability of knowledge helps us keep pace with an increasingly fast velocity of change and innovation. However, it may be due to technology’s rapid changes that we’ve seen it become integrated in every facet of life, both professionally and personally. This drives a competitive landscape where if you’re not ahead of the curve with the most cutting-edge tools and skillsets, someone else will be.
The prominence of Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, like edX, Coursera, Udemy, Udacity, and coding camps has made a wide range of knowledge accessible from digital marketing to leadership. This type of continuing education is popular among individuals to increase their competitiveness and move either laterally into a new industry or into a higher position. Yet, what can organizations do to polish their existing workforce to maintain a competitive edge and retain talent?
How to invest in your organization’s greatest asset: human capital
Human capital is any company’s greatest asset. Your people create and execute strategies, drive innovation, and can be the differentiating factor between other competitors. Here are a few effective tactics an organization can use to embrace a culture of lifelong learning,
1. HR and management must work together to implement the change
A culture of learning requires more than just great ideas. HR and leadership in the C-Suite must collaborate to acquire the appropriate budgeting, align all levels of the organization, and instill policies that all respect and follow.
2. Incentive learning
Whether it’s by sponsoring a master’s degree, setting aside specified time slots in the week, or offering funding to attend a conference, employees should know that continuing education is not only allowed, it’s encouraged. Set aside designated time and funding to weave this education into the fabric of the organization’s culture.
3. Make learning engaging and relevant
Dry PowerPoints and passive forms of education are not only unengaging, they’re also forgettable. Gamification of learning has been shown to be an effective tactic to retain information and motivate people to learn. The information presented should also be hyper-relevant to the employee and realistically applicable.
4. Implement a system of “levels”
When employees are rooted into a single position with no possibility of promotion or moving laterally, there’s little opportunity to increase responsibility and learn new skills. A “level” system outlines a career trajectory for an employee’s tenure at an organization with required skills and training to move up.
5. Structure designated trainings that employees look forward to
Who wants to sit through a day of lectures and awkward ice breakers? For comprehensive trainings that educate on a new CRM or governmental policies, for example, retreats make an enjoyable environment that employees can look forward to. Rather than 8 hour days of back-to-back presentations, create itineraries that instill excitement and mix in a more human element, such as an afternoon visit to a local ice cream factory.
If your people aren’t growing, then neither will your organization. Building a culture of lifelong learning encourages employees to be curious and not only elevate their own careers, but the organization as well.
Latest posts by Megan McQuade (see all)
- Embracing an Organizational Culture of Lifelong Learning - December 7, 2018
