A learning culture is “one in which employees continuously seek, share, and apply new knowledge and skills to improve individual and organizational performance.” (source) For an employee, working in a culture of learning implies constant access to skills and knowledge, effective communication within the workplace, and constant collaboration with fellow employees.
Put differently, “characteristics that define learning cultures can vary, but talent development leaders described such essential traits as closely aligned business and learning strategies, organizational values that affirm learning’s importance, and an atmosphere in which learning is so ingrained that it simply becomes a way of life” (source).
Moreover, the rapid change defines the business environment and the digital space, making a culture of learning necessary, helping organizations keep up with the pace of change, while anticipating future needs and effectively preparing employees to deal with them.
Employees acknowledge the importance of a learning culture within the workspace, highlighting its impact on the increased job satisfaction, decreased turnover, and a better time management, according to an eLearning industry article:
Needless to say, a learning culture is more and more important at the level of the workplace, and switching from a very traditional approach to training to a continuous learning culture does not mean simply changing the curriculum or bringing more training programs, but rather adopting a corporate mindset centered around seeking learning opportunities on your own, as an employee, and knowing that the organization support this approach.
When Kellogg’s Senior Director of Global Learning and Development, Thor Flosason, took over global learning, he described the corporate learning as “classroom heavy, resource heavy, events-driven, not delivered when it was needed”, an approach that opposed his vision to create a valuable learning culture. Thus, what’s the next step after realizing that something needs to change? Coming up with a learning strategy and starting to gradually implement it across the organization, which Kelloggs has done with the help of LinkedIn Learning, as stated in their customer story. The learning strategy included 4 stages to an integrated learning culture, as it follows:
To sum up their journey towards an integrated learning culture, it has happened gradually, with specific learning outcomes in mind for every step of the journey, with measurable objectives and a focus on offering employees valuable learning experiences, easily accessible whenever they need them, oriented towards their professional development.
If you know the importance of a learning culture but you have no idea how to start shifting the approach, our learning experts can offer all the support you need. Just drop us a line, we’re always looking forward to becoming a part of a new and exciting learning journey.
Some (final) thoughts
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