Growth opportunities are crucial in the corporate world. They allow professionals to continuously progress in their careers while ensuring that they are prepared to face whatever challenges may come their way. That’s partly why the lack of growth opportunities in the workplace can become a deal-breaker for most professionals who are just starting their careers.
A lot of corporate employees are always looking for ways to expand their horizons. And it just so happens that one of the best ways to turn this into a reality is by starting a culture of learning within the company. Rather than letting employees seek out their own opportunities, employers should be the ones providing them.
If you don’t know where to begin, consider using these tips below to encourage your employees to learn more. And since most professionals are simply waiting for a push towards the right direction, you can be the one to ignite their untapped passion for learning. That said, here’s how you can make that happen:
1. Start Leading by Example
Continuous learning is beneficial to everyone in your organization, which includes you. If your employees see that you are dedicated to learning more about your industry and gaining new skills that will help you perform your job better, they might just be motivated to pursue learning themselves.
As a leader, what you do and how you act will strongly influence those following in your footsteps. That’s why you have to reinforce the new culture of learning in the workplace by making the first move. After all, the best leaders are those who can lead by example because they do what they want their followers to do first-hand.
2. Communicate Your Goals
Implementing a culture of learning in the workplace means being open to communication. You can’t just mandate a rule and expect everyone to follow you with no questions asked, even if you’re sitting in the highest position. Remember that communication is a two-way street; sometimes you’re the sender, and sometimes you’re the receiver.
Take, for instance, if you want your employees to undergo industry-relevant training from an accredited initiative like SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG). Before you can urge your employees to take SSG supported courses that will help them master emerging skills, you must first consider their input.
Discuss the learning goals you want to achieve amongst yourselves, and then think of a way to accomplish them. The main point of lifelong learning is to encourage individuals to seek out learning rather than have it forced down their throats. So, learn to communicate your goals with one another.
3. Integrate Learning into Daily Work Life
When it comes to providing learning opportunities, you must understand that your employees are people who may not be enjoying the same privileges that you have. That’s why you need to make learning accessible for everyone by integrating it into their day-to-day life at work.
To make this happen, you can provide remote learning opportunities that they can access from their devices when they have spare time. Or you can create an in-house learning area where they can go on their breaks to catch up on their courses. The possibilities of what you can do are endless.
4. Provide Meaningful Feedback
The best way for people to grow is by receiving constructive criticism and feedback. Most people shy away from giving negative feedback because it tends to bring out heavy emotions. So they often resort to only focusing on the positives. However, doing so will never help anyone grow.
You need to learn how to provide meaningful and constructive feedback without personally attacking the person’s character. This way, your employees will receive the feedback you give as an opportunity to improve and be better rather than as a chance to belittle their personalities.
5. Continually Measure and Adapt
The whole point of building and introducing a new culture of learning in the workplace is for everyone to grow as professionals. That’s also why you took the time to communicate with one another and create goals that you plan to achieve. So, it only makes sense to assess the results of your efforts.
By continually measuring the effectiveness of your learning initiatives, you will be able to collect enough data to gauge whether you should keep going or if you have to change strategies. If you do not see any fruits from your labor, you should take that as a sign to change courses and adapt better.
Hiring competent and competitive talent can do wonders for your business, but it’s also important to invest in their continuous learning. Even the best knives need to be sharpened from time to time so that they won’t get dull. By investing in your employees, they’ll see that you care about their welfare and that they’re not just a means to a profitable end.
