The CIPD recently published a nice study about how the City of London Corporation is trying to encourage employees to catch the ‘learning bug’.
The key objective of this policy is to improve cohesion and collaboration between different functions and specialisms, and to increase internal mobility. For staff at all levels, learning is important and the emphasis on collaboration means that alongside the external training, expert employees share their expertise with classes covering fencing, Spanish and knitting, among others.
In case you are wondering, 10Eighty’s researcher says that it not a stretch to imagine knitting as a mindfulness practice, or perhaps a form of meditation. Studies show that knitting has significant psychological and social benefits, which can contribute to well-being and quality of life.
Learning new things whether practical skills or theoretical knowledge is always worthwhile. New skills may improve your CV, your lifestyle, your budget and you may discover hidden talent.
Growth mindset:
The brain thrives on learning, and it pays to hone your learning skills and adopt a “growth” mindset. Learning is good for your mental wellbeing and will boost your confidence and self-esteem. Studies show that lifelong learning is associated with greater employability, satisfaction and optimism, and improved ability to get the most from life. Working and living on a continual learning curve gives you an edge in a volatile environment.
10Eighty also champion the ‘learning bug’ and would suggest that continuous organisational learning is a key business imperative – as the University of Guelph points out:
Continuous learning is increasingly important to the success of the organization because of changing economic conditions. Given the current business environment, organizations must be able to learn continuously in order to deal with these changes and, in the end, to survive.
It is short-sighted to suppose that supporting employees in learning will only result in workers up-skilling themselves and leaving the company – actually not supporting these activities is more likely to have this effect.
Building bench strength:
Learning is about expanding the ability to learn by regularly updating skills and increasing knowledge. Good learning skills are required to successfully adapt to changing work and life demands. Learning in the workplace involves viewing all experience as potential learning and checking assumptions, values, methods, policies, and practices.
Organisations that aim to thrive, grow, innovate and maintain their competitive edge have a vested interest in helping their workforce to learn and develop. Empowering your managers to recognise and appreciate talent and to maximise the potential of team members is important. Team leaders are best placed to evaluate the strengths and potential of those on their teams.
In the modern workplace we all need to adapt and expand our skills, it’s important that organisations provide an environment which emphasises continuous learning. Training is not a one off event that occurs when you move to a new role or project, it should be seen as a continuous process that never ends as long as you remain employed.
[Featured image: Shutterstock]
