1. Days of learning

Put the focus on learning new things regularly; it’s essential for thriving at work.

How to do it:

• Set aside specific days in the year where people can take a break from their usual duties to learn something new.
• Think about different ways in which learning might take place – it could be desk-based learning, going on courses, company visits, or through internal/external presentations.
• Allow people to explore the things they’re really passionate about – though they might not be directly related, these new insights might also benefit your organization.
• Keep communication up about people using the policy to help boost further uptake.
• Note: It can be hard for employees to give themselves permission to take time away from work to learn, so scheduling regular learning days helps make this acceptable.

Case study

“At our core… we believe in the power of sharing knowledge to inform and transform,” says Mike Jacobson, Director of Talent at TED. As well as organizing intellectually stimulating events for others, TED gives staff the opportunity to research, learn and share findings with co-workers. The Learning Wednesdays initiative at TED sets aside 20 days a year for staff to acquire new knowledge and share information with colleagues. They are encouraged to consider how what they learn will empower them for the future, and how it will benefit the organization. Staff present their findings at meetings, through videos or even at staff retreats.

Research

Research shows that when employees feel their opportunities for developing new skills are high, job satisfaction increases. Additionally, at a company level, productivity can be predicted by how much opportunity staff feel they have for skill development.

2. Choice over development

Give staff choice over their own development to encourage autonomy and challenge them to be creative in improving the organization.

How to do it:

• Set a budget and encourage all staff to decide what training activities they would like to complete. This could replace or be supplementary to mandatory training.
• Note: Some colleagues may need a coaching session to determine their learning goals before they make choices about what to train in.
• If you need to convince other senior leaders of the benefits, advise them that perceptions of opportunities to train determine job satisfaction. And they predict company productivity in the subsequent year

Case studies

The Irvine Housing Association encourages staff to go beyond mandatory training, meeting the costs of any new learning that supports them. This includes anything from college courses to masters degrees. The housing association was ranked second in the Sunday Times best not-for-profit organization to work for in 2014. Zappos.com uses a ‘skill sets’ system where employees choose from around 20 different skill sets to be trained in. Each individual decides whether to get trained and certified on each of the skill sets, and they also receive a small increase in pay. As well as improving learning, this strengthens the autonomy employees experience in their jobs.

3. Learning library

Open the office to a wide variety of ideas to increase engagement and aid creativity and problem-solving skills, with your very own learning library.

How to do it:

• Allow staff to purchase any non-fiction book on expenses to create a library of information for the company.
• Create a space to store these books and a quiet space where people can enjoy them.
• Ask staff to write mini-reviews to help colleagues make choice their next read and encourage discussion.

Case studies

Forward Partners, have created their own library of non-fiction books. They believe the increase in productivity and creativity from the knowledge in books is way more valuable to the company than the cost of the book. Researchers at MIT suggest that the reason Toyota has also maintained productivity and quality advantages in a competitive marketplace is because they share knowledge and information throughout the business.