Employees must learn how their business works internally. It is also important for them to cast their attention further afield to learn about their industry.
Unfortunately, half of all UK workers are frustrated and feel that their superiors are wasting their potential. While bosses and managers must provide a steady influx of training and development opportunities, employees should also try to show initiative and make strides with their abilities.
Gently encouraging staff to explore learning opportunities could be a good idea. If you’re a business boss, you could facilitate these efforts and help them in their pursuit of knowledge.
Here are some ways to build a culture of learning for your employees.
Recommend Online Courses
Some world-leading academic institutions now offer online courses. Many of them are oriented around business and managerial skills.
Moreover, these courses can be completed on a part-time basis, demanding only around 8-12 hours of time per week for a rough period of 10 weeks. There’ll be some variations with the scheduling, but the point is that employees can easily slot these opportunities into their schedules. There are other types of courses too, so there is always more they can do.
If you recommend any online courses, ensure they’re from a reputable supplier and are CPD certified. View the prospectus with the interested employees to be sure the course applies to their roles and aspirations. Any resounding testimonials from past students should also boost your confidence. It may also be in your interests to pay for employee participation and to treat it as an investment.
There is also increased availability of free courses for workers to explore, regardless of their stage in life. If necessary, touting these offerings may also be a good idea. Ultimately, your workers can benefit from an endless supply of intriguing courses.
Use Global Mentoring Software
There are many digital learning opportunities to be accessed today. While online tutors can be insightful, a consistent mentoring program can give workers an indefinite learning experience and help them build meaningful working relationships.
It could be a good idea to utilise easy-to-use, world-leading mentoring software in your business. Know that these services are widely used and trusted by thousands of businesses, big and small. With their help, you can launch and scale thriving mentorship programs for all. These platforms have high recurring engagement among users. Request a free demo of their software to get started.
The capabilities of this software include scheduling mentoring sessions, tracking the progress of those involved, and matching mentors and mentees to ensure an optimal working dynamic. Learning becomes far more organised, encouraging mentees to embrace the process and make the most of it.
Because mentoring software is so efficient, it can create a constant wave of energy, inspiration, and motivation in a business setting. The process develops a culture of learning and enrichment that is almost self-sufficient.
Suggest Conferences to Attend
Many experienced professionals in the industry have valuable information to impart, even without a mentoring dynamic. They will make appearances at conferences and conventions to discuss how they perceive the sector and where it may be going in the future.
Speakers at these events range from prolific business figures to entrepreneurs on the rise with their innovations. Different schools of thought can be on display that gives your employees as many riveting questions to wrestle with as it does concrete answers.
If your employees attend these events, it can give them a sense of perspective. Instead of feeling they are just part of a business, they can feel like they are a part of a wider industry. They can draw on the thoughts of others and feel the inspiration to come up with their own ideas.
Moreover, if workers attend these conferences in a team, they can discuss their findings with their colleagues and share in a group learning experience. They can develop their professional dynamics, build on each other’s ideas, and create a more memorable and collaborative experience.
Nurture an Open Dialogue
As mentioned at the start of this article, employees are frustrated. High turnover rates can be expected in some sectors in the coming months as many feel the opportunities aren’t there.
Multiple ways to encourage further learning have been mentioned so far. Every employee will have preferences regarding all of them. Therefore, an open dialogue must be in constant effect so that employees can comfortably give feedback to their superiors regarding their learning trajectory.
Employees must keep learning, but questions about how should always be asked. New (and sometimes free) courses, technology, and events come to fruition all the time. There is no endgame with these efforts, and the exploration of further learning opportunities should be a process that’s constantly interrogated and collaborated on.
It would help greatly if you had an approachable, open-minded demeanour. If an employee has seen a resource or had an idea they would like to explore further, whether or not they feel comfortable bringing it to you could change the trajectory of their career or even your business.
