A lasting vestige of the pandemic on organizations is a heightened focus on rapidly upskilling and reskilling of the workforce as the needs of the business change. The issue always existed, but the speed and scope of the changes necessitated by the pandemic showed companies how unprepared they are.
In the process of reexamining their approach to learning and development, companies have been looking at their strategies, technologies, and processes to uncover ways to better develop the workforce and close skills gaps. What really needs to happen, though, is for the organizations themselves to make a shift, developing and sustaining a culture of continuous learning.
This is critical for many reasons, including the following:
- The ability of the workforce to learn and adapt to change is vital to the success of the business. Otherwise, the organization will be unable to respond quickly enough to the demands of the market and competition.
- A workforce of lifelong learners is an engaged workforce, especially when they feel they are growing and being developed.
- A solid learning culture is emerging as a competitive advantage in the war for talent.
- The skills challenges companies face are rapidly evolving and cannot be solved by hiring alone. The incumbent workforce needs to be upskilled and reskilled now and moving forward.
Of course, cultural change is not easy, but that is another reason it must happen. The longer learning is overlooked as integral to the organization’s culture, the harder it becomes to make it so. In Brandon Hall Group’s Upskilling and Reskilling Study, only 45% of companies rated themselves a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale for being a learning-focused organization.
Brandon Hall Group Smartchoice Platinum Preferred Provider EI works closely with a variety of organizations to help them build armies of lifelong learners. They help companies realize that even though it seems like a monumental task, changing the organization’s culture is actually an aggregation of many specific, smaller steps.
Some of the key elements they work through with their clients include:
- Identifying opportunities to provide learning in the flow of work.
- Providing Microlearning options for frequent nudges that build learning habits.
- Creating opportunities for trial and error and the celebration of failure as a learning opportunity.
- Prioritizing, recognizing, and rewarding learning. Show the organization’s commitment to learning by rewarding successful outcomes and behaviors.
- Retraining and reskilling the L&D team to better facilitate a culture of learning.
To learn more about these strategies and others that can help transform your organization, join us for a webinar with Brandon Hall Group and EI on July 15th. We will reveal specific moves L&D teams can immediately make to create a culture of continuous learning.
– David Wentworth, Principal Analyst, Brandon Hall Group
