Research reveals that 90% of organisations are concerned about employee retention, and providing learning opportunities is the number one retention strategy – so it’s clear that the importance of L&D is not something that is going unnoticed. However, simply viewing colleague development and learning culture through the lens of a need to attain skills and expertise fails to consider that, in today’s world, workers are the creators of knowledge.

More than ever before, it’s crucial businesses not only continue to build opportunities for learning and development, but simultaneously enable two-way knowledge-sharing as part of their company culture. It’s no easy task, but there are simple steps businesses can take to ensure they’re headed in the right direction.

Driving focus

One of the main challenges is making sure that colleagues don’t view learning as the final activity at the end of their to-do list. Strategic business goals and priorities can be the north star for company leaders to drive shared alignment in building capabilities. This should not dictate what colleagues must learn, or how they should learn, but instead, dovetails their focus on what’s required to deliver against organisational priorities. L&D tools and platforms can be used to empower workers to identify key skills, build learning techniques, and ultimately take charge of their learning journey, making informed learning choices in line with business needs.

At BT Group, we’ve seen success with a colleague-led learning approach that encourages individuals to share their knowledge, skills and experiences with their peers. This fosters a culture of learning where teams are motivated to learn from each other as well as from external sources. This can take the form of communities or forums that encourage knowledge sharing between different disciplines, business units and industries – through interactive webinars, brown bag meetings or even signposting podcasts.

Encouraging collaboration

Collaborative learning builds on the idea that people learn better when they work together towards a common goal. It enhances the quality and diversity of ideas, offering new perspectives and solutions through communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills. L&D can be a great partner for helping build this environment for colleagues, by implementing opportunities that require colleagues to interact with and learn from each other. In the spirit of transparency, why not encourage teams to share their successes and lessons learnt on projects requiring key skills – creating a culture where idea and experience sharing is a cornerstone of company success. These ‘Show the thing’ sessions could also be recorded, sorted as bite-sized chapters and shared across platforms, further amplifying its reach.

This concept links to the fact that more of us prefer to consume bite-sized content on mobile devices, rather than long-form courses or modules on laptops. App-based micro-learning provides learners with convenient and flexible access to content, increasing their retention of information.

We’ve also found that gamification elements such as badges and leaderboards motivate learners to complete the content and track their progress, sharing their successes on platforms such as LinkedIn. We are extending gamification capabilities to knowledge sharing led by colleagues, to equip them with tools to design and deliver sessions and gain points in the process, enabling them to access exclusive training and certification benefits.

Collaborative learning, despite being extremely beneficial from a development perspective, may not come naturally to everyone as it requires a certain level of confidence. To build the set of skills and the confidence they need to share their expertise, we’re encouraging colleagues to enrol in presentation skills sessions, in addition to getting mentoring support from L&D staff. We are also redesigning our learning spaces so they effectively facilitate collaborative learning opportunities, such as for design thinking sessions.

Role-modelling through learning ambassadors

Organisations should also look to involve colleagues in the design and delivery of L&D initiatives from the beginning to give them ownership of their learning experience, driving engagement.  Colleagues who are passionate about learning can act as ambassadors and drive learning initiatives within their teams. By equipping these ambassadors with tools, training and resources, and recognising and rewarding their efforts, this can also help inspire other colleagues on their journeys.

Conclusion

Ultimately, whether it be through collaboration, ambassadorship or strategic alignment, organisational learning only succeeds when companies build the path for employees to maximise their development. Equipping them with the right infrastructure and training, whilst encouraging and rewarding knowledge sharing, empowers colleagues to take the driving seat on the road towards career growth.

With ever-evolving technology driving the need for continuous and lifelong learning, for businesses, nurturing talent in-house has never been more important, and fostering a culture of learning marks the first step of this journey.