Most companies will already have training programmes in place to ensure employees have the right resources to develop within their roles. A strong culture of learning and development enables employees to evolve and expand their skills, keeps a company’s workforce motivated and engaged, and enables an environment for innovative thinking that helps a company grow.

Fostering a strong learning culture within an organisation aids employee careers, improving employee well-being that leads to improved performance, increased job satisfaction and, ultimately, better business outcomes.

In this guide, we will explore ways to achieve this, discussing how companies can create a successful learning culture for their employees, including how to enable and develop a workplace learning environment.

Along with the benefits of training, we’ll also outline why having on-demand training spaces can further enable successful employee engagement with a learning and development programme.

Incorporate training into the company's culture

Learning and development should be considered a fundamental part of company culture and warrants increased focus from the people-focused teams within a business, enabling them to support this key strategic pillar in their company’s roadmap.

However, to be successful, any training and development programmes need to be engaged with by employees themselves. Due to busy schedules, or increasing workloads, it can be challenging for employees to find the necessary time to focus on this area.

To enable personal development as a focus area for employees, companies should ensure a process exists to regularly review employee performance and use this as an opportunity to discuss development areas for that individual. Linking these processes within pay review and promotion cycles can often incentivise employees to engage more regularly with the learning and development programmes a company offers.

Secondly, giving employees opportunities to step outside of their comfort zones with new tasks and/or responsibilities is also a great way to allow people to lean into new areas and skill sets. As a result, this offers an element of learning-whilst-doing through integrating development opportunities within day-to-day responsibilities.

These opportunities must be discussed with employees first, with collective agreement from both employees and line managers that this is manageable and does not disrupt an employee's current responsibilities.

What is a learning environment within the workplace?

A workplace that promotes a learning culture means that there are resources and opportunities available within an organisation that support and encourage employee learning and development.

This can include things such as access to training and development courses whilst ensuring there are clear policies around learning and development budgets available to an individual.

Company values should include and promote people development, and the mission statement for this initiative should be clearly understood by all employees to encourage engagement.

Why is it important to establish a learning culture in the company?

A good workplace learning environment ensures that productivity and motivation of the workforce remains high whilst also allowing employees the space to innovate and develop new ideas, processes and opportunities for a business to grow. We have broken down the key advantages below.

1. Improved employee satisfaction

As a result of establishing a learning environment within your organisation, employees will feel more valued, engaged, and stimulated. Ultimately, this will improve their well-being and job satisfaction.

2. Helps with employee retention

Thanks to an increase in job satisfaction, you can expect lower staff turnover. This will save the business from increased expenditure on recruitment, employee onboarding and training, and retains ideas and skills within the business.

Some level of staff turnover can be good for a business as it offers opportunities for existing employee progression and fresh perspectives. However, most businesses will want to keep staff turnover at <10%.

3. Creates a more talented workforce

Ongoing training opportunities will undoubtedly allow your employees to develop new skills and improve their knowledge. This will enhance their abilities in the workplace, allowing them to tackle tasks more effectively, and will positively impact the business in new ways.

4. Increases productivity

When employees’ skills and experience are being actively nurtured, they are more likely to feel empowered and satisfied with their job; therefore they tend to have a more positive attitude towards their work. This makes them more motivated and engaged in their tasks, which leads to improved focus and productivity.

5. Employees feel valued

An established training environment makes employees feel valued. They recognise that their company is invested in their growth and development.

When employees have access to training resources and opportunities, it sends the message that the company is committed to helping them advance their careers and to succeed in their careers. This all contributes to creating a strong, positive reputation for the company both internally and externally.

6. Aids business growth

As employees continue to develop their skill sets, staff members can begin to expand their knowledge and build upon their experience, therefore improving the company’s overall offering.

With continuous improvements, workers may become more knowledgeable not just in general practices, but in specific or more niche skills. In this case, the company could expand its operations and move into new areas to unlock new revenue streams that enable growth.

Tips for cultivating a learning environment in the workplace

Having a special venue or setup for training in the workplace is important. It shows commitment to employee development, but more practically, can help avoid distractions whilst focused on learning.

Creating a rich and successful learning environment is important for every business. Below we discuss some thoughts on how to best enable this.

1. Review the current training strategy

Take a look at your current company training strategy to uncover opportunities for improvement. Creating a conducive learning environment starts with having a clear staff development plan in place.

This plan should outline the specific skills and knowledge that employees need to acquire to meet the needs of the business. This can include both general skills, such as communication and teamwork, as well as specific technical skills that are relevant to the role, industry, or company.

If a training programme is not yet in place, ensure sufficient time is spent creating an employee development plan, identifying gaps in skills, or room for growth, and create a training and development strategy around the most immediate needs, then review regularly once up and running.

2. Establish a learning and development policy

A learning and development policy is an official document that outlines the company's commitment to employee learning and development.

It states the company's goals and objectives for employee training and development. It may also reference any resources and support that will be provided to employees to help them achieve those goals.

The policy typically includes:

• Information on the types of training and development methods that will be offered
• The process for employees to request and access training
• The criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the training programs

 

3. Ensure learning is a core organisational value

Learning should be a priority, one that is woven into the fabric of the company culture.

To achieve this, leaders and managers should lead by example. This means they should strive to engage in a productive learning environment, frequently working on their own, regular professional development, while also encouraging and supporting their teams.

They should allocate specific days and times of the week to their own development, encouraging their employees to similarly focus their time on training.

4. Develop a growth mindset

A growth mindset is a belief that one's abilities and intelligence can be developed and improved through hard work and learning.

As a part of workplace training, employees should be led to view failures as opportunities to learn. Encouraging this belief is vital, as some may still view failure as an entirely negative experience and can often lean into a fixed mindset in these scenarios.

Employees should be encouraged to step outside of their comfort zone, taking on challenging tasks, which will provide them with the opportunity to learn and grow. In doing so, it’s also important that employees feel supported and not pressured with additional work taken on, as this can become counterproductive to their mental well-being.

5. Understand employee development needs

Regular check-ins with employees will encourage a culture of communication and feedback. This allows managers to ascertain what support employees need to improve employee development.

It's a good idea to try out different training methods for employees to see what works best for different types of workers, as a one training programme for all approaches may not work well for everyone.

6. Introduce a learning and training department

Invest in a dedicated learning and development (L&D) department. Create it with a clear mandate to promote a culture of learning, helping employees access the training they need and develop new opportunities and forums for learning and development to work on within roles.

7. Ensure training resources are easily accessible

Provide employees with easy access to training materials, resources and opportunities. This way they can more easily build training time into their working schedules or choose to train in their own time, without the need for manager approval. Examples include access to an online library of training resources or a dedicated training portal.

8. Promote learning wherever you can

Create opportunities for employees to learn in everyday activities and make sure that learning is promoted across every level of the business. This can be something as simple as highlighting employee development to potential candidates during the hiring process.

9. Be open to new ideas

Encourage employees to suggest new training programs, resources, and ideas for learning and be open to experimenting with new approaches. Make it common knowledge where suggestions and ideas can be submitted and request supporting information for them to add context to the request, explaining the benefits so each request can be assessed equally and prioritised based on value.

10. Make learning more engaging

Make sure that learning is interactive, interesting and engaging. This includes introducing different types of training. Incorporating games, simulations, and interactive activities can make learning more fun and effective.

Try to make use of technology and multimedia to create a dynamic and interactive learning environment. This help keeps employees engaged and interested in learning. Having the right training environment can also have a huge impact on the success of training sessions.

Targeting different group sizes or teaching styles can help pinpoint effective training methods for different types of content. A formal, seminar-type training space may work best for delivering some training content, whereas a less formal, discussion-based or role-play-led approach in a more casual setting may be more effective for others.

Consider opportunities for employees to develop higher-order skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity.

11. Foster a collaborative workplace

Encourage collaborative workspaces and teamwork so that employees can learn from one another and provide support. One way to achieve this is by encouraging a coworking or hot desking environment. This way, employees have the opportunity to interact with different team members regularly.

12. Personalise training for teams or individuals

Tailor training programs to the specific needs of teams or individuals. This goes beyond general training, such as time management, and explores more niche, skill-specific training.

For example, an HR team is more likely to benefit from people management courses than the IT department. By tailoring appropriate training to teams and individuals, the training is more likely to be effective and used in an employee’s daily work life.

13. Initiate incentives to help people commit

Offer incentives for employees who complete training programs or who demonstrate a commitment to learning. Incentives could include promotion opportunities, financial bonuses, or recognition awards.

14. Provide opportunities for employees to showcase their knowledge

Encourage employees to share what they have learned with others through presentations, reports, or mentoring. This includes making knowledge-sharing a habit, and encouraging frequent sharing sessions.

Sharing like this provides the opportunity for employees to be heard while showcasing that the time they spent learning has value. Not only will it reinforce what they have learned, but it can also act as training for others.

15. Design training to fit into an employee's routine

Make sure that training is scheduled to fit into employees' existing routines. This will make employees more likely to attend and complete training. Set aside regular time for learning, merging training into standard work schedules.

Seniors should be checking in with their teams to get a better understanding of their workload. This includes understanding how they value training, where it sits on their priority list, and if they even have time to dedicate working hours towards it.

Create a productive learning environment with Regus

Creating a productive training environment starts with recognising the importance of training, before implementing new and creative ways to conduct it.

Finding the right venue can make all the difference when you’re trying to conduct training or business meetings effectively. Discover how your business could benefit from Regus’ training rooms.