Much has been said about the importance of continuous learning and this became indispensable last year when a pandemic caught us all unawares. Most organizations have had learning & development as a critical function in their org-chart yet many face the challenge of truly leveraging value out of the same.

The differentiator is a 'learning culture'. A learning culture, simply put, is all about fostering an environment that empowers people to learn. A learning culture not only helps organizations build capabilities to deliver on their business strategy but is also crucial to promote continuous improvement across organization and to stay up with the pace of change in today's VUCA world. Here are some of the ways in which organizations can build a learning culture:

Instill a growth mindset

If every single person in your organization is focused on learning, you're more likely to outperform your competition and have a greater employee satisfaction rate. According to research by Deloitte, companies with a continuous learning culture experience 37% greater employee productivity and are 17% more likely to be market share leaders.

Leaders in the organization must encourage a growth mindset and promote curiosity, allowing people to be more collaborative & innovative. Learning does not always come from theories and concepts, it also comes with sharing experiences, feedbacks, and making errors. Creating an environment where people are encouraged to take risks, fail, and try again without fear of being judged allows for greater commitment towards one's goals and higher chances of making it big.

Hire learners

Creating a learning culture at the workplace becomes a lot easier if organizations screen for learners at the time of hiring. These people are always ready to learn new things and expand their knowledge base. Hence, when we hire people who are naturally curious then one need not worry about their willingness to learn and they make training and development interventions more effective because it's easier to augment potential than travel against someone's nature.

Read the full article Are YOU Creating a Learning Culture at the Workplace?