In a recent talk we had, we shared about the power of learning to over 200 participants. Not only that learning is my passion but being a learner is one of my superpowers.
Learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or being taught.
Why is learning important?
In above screenshot, you will see some of the answers from our participants and here's the top 3 answers we have on this:
Growth (knowledge, skills, behaviour improvements)
The need for ongoing learning and development is greater at any previous point in history. In fact, 38% of CEOs believe a shortage of key skills is the top people-related threat to growth, according to a study conducted by PwC. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that building a culture of continuous learning is currently a priority for Learning and Development (L&D) leaders. You can read more relevant information from our previous article - https://www.ctsolutionsglobal.com/post/the-why-how-what-of-learning-development
Keep Engaged and Retained Employees
In fact, according to LinkedIn, 94 percent of employees would stay with a company longer if there was an investment in learning. You can find more details and statistics in our previous blog on training and development here
In our previous career coaching masterclass by Allisha Ali, Phd., she also shared more details on how learning, leadership and career development plays a role in retaining engaged employees. Read more and see the survey results from this article at https://www.ctsolutionsglobal.com/post/career-coaching-star-employee-retention-strategies-designed-for-smart-caring-employers
Increased Customer Satisfaction (People, Productivity, Performance & Profitability)
According to HR Magazine, companies investing $ 1,500 per employee per year on training average 24% higher profit margins than companies with lower training investment do.
Not only that your employees are happy as you invest in them which in turn increase customer satisfaction, this also results in improved performance, productivity and therefore profitability.
Although I hope I can absorb knowledge by doing what this guy in the photo is doing, I don't think it's currently possible.
I am glad to see the result from this question that it is still by doing or experience that we get to learn best. I have expected though that self-paced learning will be one of the top answers considering that most attendees are millennials and Generation Z. Again, there's no right or wrong answer here and in the end most of us will have to learn using different tools, techniques and modalities based on what works for us.
When people feel that they have permission to read books, take classes (both online & offline), and give & receive feedback, they will take the opportunities to do so. The concept of continuous learning should be part of the foundation of what makes a business successful rather than viewed as benefit, afterthought, or extra activity.
People need to reskill, upskill and close skill gaps that also paved way in many way to blended learning -- with so many options and combinations of simulations, gamification, coaching, social learning, microlearning, structured learning and workshops, on the job training, field trips, shared 360 assessments, mobile learning, AR/VR, etc.
What are ways we can be more accountable for our own learnings?
Some ways for us to be more accountable for our own learning includes setting goals, understanding how you work and what works for you, focusing on your strengths, finding a mentor or coach and committing & investing in yourself.
Participants responded self-awareness, brainstorming and tracking of improvements will be helpful on this journey.
How can we bridge learning to implementation?
This is one of the top challenges for most learning and development practitioners. An experiment that we are embarking on. We believe that a combination of several interventions works best and some of the best activities we believe will increase application are coaching/mastermind, creating a community of learners, gamification and simulations.
In our survey some answers include planning or action plans, put learning into practice and applying what is learned right away.