Posted by Learning is not a one-time event or a periodic luxury. Great leaders in great companies recognize that the ability to constantly learn, innovate, and improve is vital to their success. – Amy Edmondson
- As an employee what defines happiness for you at the workplace?
- As an employer what are the steps that you can take to motivate your employees to work better?
These are two key questions that L&D teams have to handle in organizations in the context of learning in the modern workplace. As various surveys conducted in different parts of the world across industries have shown, money is no longer the sole criterion that drives the productivity of employees and makes them happy. Unsurprisingly, a vast majority of employees seek knowledge and skills, which help them do their current job better. A subset of this group looks to acquire knowledge that can help them shift to another job-role and achieve job satisfaction.
Employers need to take a keen interest in creating a healthy and conducive atmosphere for their staff to learn, grow, and work effectively. Remember – ‘A happy workplace ensures that work gets done better and faster’. The Association for Talent Development, based in the United States, states that “Organizations are more competitive, agile, and engaged when knowledge is constantly and freely shared.”
Table of Contents
Does your Organization Have a Learning Strategy?
Ask yourself this question and if you don’t have a comprehensive learning strategy, chart out one. Having a clear learning strategy that clearly aligns employee development with broader organizational strategy help you achieve your organizational goals with ease. Spend time with your HR and L&D teams to understand the requirements, speak with your project implementation teams to identify the areas in which your employees need improvement. Engage a reputed eLearning company to design and deploy your training content. Remember it is always better to get expert advice. The key again is to create learning content that lets your employees do their work better and offers you a clear insight in terms of measuring RoI.
Addressing Challenges with Technology
We often come across smaller companies and startups who ask us – Is it mandatory for us to have a dedicated eLearning platform and offer learning content to our staff? Why should I invest ‘X’ amount into creating a dedicated learning team, when I can just get my team members to take up an online course from a platform like Coursera or edX? In most cases, these smaller organizations are focused on budgets and are keen on developing their product/service rather than investing a lot in training. We take time to explain the importance of a customized learning program developed for their needs rather than a generic catalog course. Challenges can be overcome by using simpler and effective learning solutions like mobile learning delivered via dedicated apps, microlearning, and video-nuggets that hold learner attention. With the millennial generation entering the workforce, organizations need learning solutions that can be accessed anywhere and anytime with ease.
The Employee Happiness Quotient
The importance of ‘happiness at the workplace’ is something that cannot be discounted. Those in a regular job spend more time with our colleagues rather than our families, so it is no surprise that organizations are trying all out to keep their staff engaged, happy, and productive. The famous tales of great food and fun at Google, the bonhomie and relaxed atmosphere at Apple, the numerous personal development options at Microsoft are just some examples of how organizations derive value by going the extra mile to keep their employees engaged. Well everyone doesn’t have the budget of a Google or Microsoft; but are you sparing time to listen to your employees and addressing their concerns? All it takes is empathy, patience, and a strong organizational culture that focuses on values and trust.
What are your thoughts on improving employee engagement with effective workplace learning solutions? Do share your thoughts in the ‘Comments’ section below.