There was a time when learning was not taken so seriously by the corporates. But as times changed, the business world underwent transformations too. New-age technology has made life easier but humans have had to adapt to it to make things work. New developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are taking place at a face pace, and many of the job functions in the IT and even HR space are undergoing change at a rapid speed. That means, a great deal of learning is happening within the corporates today.
To achieve good results from your training and development efforts, the most important thing that needs to be taken care of is creating a learning culture.
To motivate people to learn and create something big out of their learning, you need to inspire them to make an impact. There are companies that organise events specifically to ensure that their people gain inspiration from them.
One of the most popular programmes can be the one that involves inviting some of the known figures from the business world to talk and interact with the employees.
Successful professionals from all functions of business can visit as guest lecturers and inspire the workforce with their experiences and stories of their journey to success.
One such intervention has been introduced by MagicBricks, called the ‘lecture series’. People from all functions of business are invited to share some of their experiences with the employees and try to motivate them to achieve big in life.
Schaeffler, an auto ancillary company, also organises such guest lectures for its employees under its leadership mix programme. Powerful speakers, such as Harsha Bhogle, come to its campuses to deliver guest lectures on leadership topics, such as team building.
Apart from inspiration, another component which is important is motivation to learn. Just think— if people are taking out time from their work and are keen to upskill themselves, they will definitely expect something in return.
They can be given monetary or non-monetary incentives to keep them motivated to learn. “In the fast changing business environment of today, each organisation’s competitive advantage lies in its workforce having deep and current knowledge. It is, therefore, essential to have continuous learning embedded in the rewards framework of the organisation. Statistically, it is one of the most easily-acceptable parameters to the employee because most people have an innate need to learn and grow,” says Sanjay Bose, EVP-HR and L&D, ITC Hotels.
Infosys also attached some rewards with its upskilling programme, which they introduced last year.
Infosys’ bridge programme was meant for people who were working at the junior level. Those who underwent the programme, got their pay packages doubled.
This way, the company was able to upskill its people in the junior roles and also keep them from leaving the company for higher education.
Other companies also try to offer similar facilities. They may not reward people in monetary terms, but in some other way to keep them motivated at all times and have a continuous learning attitude.
The learning methods used by a company are also crucial. Though it is difficult to say which is the best learning method, corporations are really moving towards digitalisation and are adopting e-learning and micro learning methods to improve experiences. This also ensures speed and efficiency.
“Any one would love to do a 15-minute byte size module and finish a course over their preferred time — maybe while commuting to work, or after the baby has been put to sleep, or even in the small window before preparing breakfast for the family. The convenience, and more than that, the feeling of independence is unbeatable,” shares Bose.
An inspirational learning experience comes through an inspiring learning culture. Strive on to build that culture to enjoy the benefits from the interventions that you introduce.