Foster a Culture of Learning, Your Employees Will Love You

Five things to consider when fostering a culture of learning, it’s a win-win

In today’s workplace, taking an “ABL” (Always Be Learning) mindset is essential. As well known football coach, Lou Holtz, once said “You’re either growing or you’re dying so get in motion and grow.”

While it may be extreme, the spirit of this message rings true in the modern work environment. Let’s face it, I think we’d agree that if you’re not constantly expanding your arsenal with new skills and knowledge you’ll likely find yourself stalling in your career journey. And it’s clear that employees and potential candidates crave the chance to build new skills — with 87% of millennials, and 69% of non-millennials, citing “professional or career growth and development opportunities” as important to them in a job, according to research from Gallup.

So far early business owners and founders, what can you do to foster a culture of learning that empowers your employees and helps attract and retain top talent?

Here’s a Five Things to Consider:

1.   Understand What Your Employees Want To Be When They Grow Up

Now if the answer is “an astronaut” it might be a bit more challenging…but not impossible 🙂

Some employees may be more vocal about their ambitions or desired career journey, others may not. Take time to talk with your employees and as the company grows, encourage managers to do the same. Get to know what employees are interested in, the types of skills or roles they’d like to be exposed to and how they view their career journey. Everyone wants to feel like their employer is making an investment in them. Don’t you?

2.   Provide Opportunities for Cross-Training

In early stage startups and small businesses, there’s usually no shortage of things to do. While this means some crazy times now and then, it also opens up some nice opportunities for employees to get involved in projects and roles well outside the job they were hired into. Work with your team to encourage cross-training across the company. It can start of informally – even something as simple as calling out projects in your weekly town hall that could use extra support and see who is interested in pitching in. Over time you can work to put a more formal cross-training or rotational program in place so your employees get exposed to various aspects of the business.

3.   Encourage Learning Outside the 4 Walls of the Office

Love this one. More and more companies are including additional learning opportunities into the perks they offer employees. In particular is funding or an allowance to attend a yearly conference of the employee’s choosing. Companies like GitHub, DigitalOcean, and Invision offer employees a budget to attend a conference throughout the year. A great way to give them exposure and the chance to bring back new ideas to the team. Of course, not every company can do this right out of the gate. But it’s a great idea to aspire to as you think about how your program can evolve.

4.   Connect Employees with a Mentor or Advisor

It’s great when employees have senior teammates and leaders within your company they can talk to about their career journey — but having mentors and advisors externally is equally, if not more, important. This can be a great opportunity for you and your leadership team to tap your network for the greater good. Let’s say you have an employee who started in Marketing and wants to get into Product Management — is there a former colleague who could offer stellar advice? Or someone in Sales who wants to get into Operations? Why not see if your former Ops Lead would be open to connecting with them and sharing insights into how they made their transition. Of course, you want to be sure employees are open to this. But leave the offer open. It’s likely the gesture will be appreciated, and a great way for them to expand their network!

5.   Ask for Open Feedback  

As you grow and experiment with different learning initiatives and activities, be sure to hear what your employees think! Solicit frequent feedback on what they have really enjoyed and valued. Encourage them to share ideas for new programs and ways that could help continue to build an always be learning culture in the company. It’s a competitive marketplace. Make it a priority to foster and embrace a culture of learning from the start. The investment won’t go overlooked by your employees, and the business will be more equipped to adapt.

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