Learning and development programs are directly related to greater employee retention and satisfaction. In fact, 93% of employees say they will stay longer at a company that invests in their career development.
The Great Resignation resulted in 20 million people leaving their jobs in the second half of 2021 alone and shows no signs of slowing in 2022. To prevent these mass resignations from affecting their businesses, employers must take significant steps to improve company culture and improve employee retention.
Learning and development programs can be an excellent step toward improving retention. These programs can make employees feel valued, supported, and productive as well as build a strong company culture. Learn more about the Great Resignation and how to keep it from affecting your company, here.
From our experience, we’ve found the biggest challenge for employers is creating a learning and development environment that helps their employees succeed. In order to create this environment, you need to know what you’re creating–a clear goal can help drive the process forward smoothly and efficiently.
Let’s dive deeper into what learning and development is, and how you can start implementing it into your company culture!
Learning and development (L&D), also known as training and development, is a part of HR that aligns employee goals and performance with that of the organization. Leaders of learning and development within your organization should identify skill gaps within teams and develop and deliver training to help bridge those gaps.
A learning and development team typically takes on a few responsibilities. These include:
This can seem daunting for any Human Resources Department. Creating effective learning and development initiatives is one of the many ways that Culture Works partners with companies. We are experts in learning and development and are here to help your business grow and succeed in this arena.
Understanding the difference between skills and behaviors will help you tailor your programs to ensure employee success. Skills are typically straightforward to learn and can be easily transferred in an online teaching environment.
Changes in behavior are more complex. How people act in specific circumstances, like high-pressure situations, is more challenging to teach. Teaching the ‘why’ behind behaviors helps to promote a greater learning environment. You must teach your employees how you would like them to conduct themselves in the workplace.
For example, if you have a collaborative, candid environment, you would do well to give employees the skills to accept honest feedback and collaborate with teams. Understanding how your corporate culture meshes with your employees’ communication styles will define your company’s overall approach to learning.
It’s a common belief that company culture changes from the top down. While this is true, without high-level buy-in, any cultural initiative will fail. The engagement of middle management is essential. If your mid-level managers don’t understand the importance of learning and development, their direct reports will never completely buy in. Middle managers should understand how implementing learning and development programs can prepare their employees for potential growth opportunities as well as build their skillset.
Managers can serve as a mentor to their employees, performing the training programs, and following up after. Through taking the time to develop new skills, employees become better contributors and team players.
In addition to learning and development, middle managers should also consider the difference between holding employees responsible and holding them accountable.
In everything you do, it’s important to assess the results. These assessments will give you the information you need to build a better program and keep your employees motivated.
Employee surveys are a great way to assess your efforts. Start with an assessment to establish benchmarks in areas like knowledge and performance. Once you have the base assessment, you can base your further efforts on the evaluation. These will help you uncover the impact of the program on retention, internal mobility, business results, and other factors that lead to success.
It’s also important to assess your team’s response to your efforts. If your team is not taking advantage of opportunities and resources, you may need to adjust your plans to more efficiently implement these strategies.
As we stated above, most culture changes start from the top. When your high-level executives understand how a learning environment will impact the company’s bottom line they are more likely to encourage other employees to participate.
Your leadership team must be excited about these initiatives and model the behavior they want to be performed throughout the company. Top executives should also encourage employees throughout this process.
It should be communicated that it’s perfectly okay to fail. Failure can lead to positive learning experiences, open communication, and fewer mistakes in the future. When employees are given permission to fail, they are more likely to take good risks and experiment with their education.
In order to be a company that values a learning culture, you should put more emphasis on knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) rather than key performance indicators (KPIs). Employees should be encouraged to better themselves in order to contribute to the greater success of the business and foster a positive, collaborative work environment.
It’s important for employees to understand that learning new skills in the workplace is encouraged as well as expected. Empowering employees to take the initiative in their development is one of the best ways to help your employees and your company grow.
Communication should be an integral part of your company’s values. Leaders should consistently communicate their ideas and philosophies surrounding learning in the workplace to ensure employees understand their intentions, goals, and plans.
Culture is organizational, leaders must ensure each employee recognizes the value of learning to both them as an individual and the business as a whole.
At Culture Works, we value the opportunity to help businesses implement learning and development programs into their company culture. Our team of experts is ready to partner with your team to build greater organizational success. Contact us today to learn how we can help your business implement these programs and contribute to positive company culture.
Interested in more information? Read on to see if your company checks off the 5 signs of positive company culture.