In celebration of ATD’s Employee Learning Week (Dec. 4-8, 2018) AND as a kick-off to the holiday season, we will be sharing 3 gifts that learning can bring to your company (partridge in a pear tree not included)!
The Association for Talent Development is currently celebrating “Employee Learning Week” which they describe as “an awareness campaign highlighting the important connection between learning and achieving organizational results.” (https://www.td.org/About/ATD-Employee-Learning-Week)
We wanted to contribute to this week by highlighting a few of the “gifts” we feel training and learning can bring to a company, its employees, and the world in general (yes, the ENTIRE WORLD)!
Alignment, good for the spine and also L&D!
eLearning Industry posted an article in July stating that, “…just 8% of L&D professionals believe their vision and mission are fully aligned to and actively contribute to long-term company strategy” (https://elearningindustry.com/align-learning-and-development-with-corporate-goals-how). Alignment with company goals is a huge factor in creating a meaningful impact with your training. What better way to instill a sense of pride and accomplishment in your employees than teaching them using the same vision and values that the company is built upon! One way we ensure alignment within the training we develop is simply by speaking to the company’s goals right from the project kick-off. No matter what the subject matter is you can always ask, “What is the overall vision and mission for this project and how does it relate to the company’s vision and mission?”, “What values from the company vision would make sense to include in this training?”, and “How are we ensuring the company brand and mission is aligned with the lasting impression this training will leave with our employees?” Think of alignment not as an after-thought, but as a jumping off point to beginning a project! Through this type of thinking, we can build that 8% up more and more every year.
Learning creates a culture of support and empowerment
Employees are at the heart of any company. Without the workforce, there would be no work getting done, and without a product or service to deliver, your company won’t be in much demand! Simply put, without employees, there is no heart to a company. And I do believe that every employee has the same want – to belong to a company that values what they can add to the overall culture. The Learning and Development industry has a unique, but amazing, opportunity to support employees in what they need to know, what they want to know, and what they need in order to grow. Through the training you offer, you have the chance to empower employees to be their best, and support them in reaching their full potential. Whether this is made possible through leadership training, advancement opportunities, or even after-work activities such as a basketball team or board game night, you really can empower employees and give them a true sense of pride in their work.
Curiosity; the gift that keeps on giving
Ok bear with me because this one is a bit more abstract, but curiosity is a fantastic gift you can give to employees! Allow them to learn at their own pace, and give them room to explore. Do you have an onboarding training? Why not give your employees a micro-module on one aspect of your onboarding that may not have been focused on during the overview. Or aggregate content of similar topics together in a centralized location so they can learn more if they’re interested. Giving employees an avenue to seek out and discover new information shows that your company truly values employee growth and acknowledges that more information can cultivate a better informed (and prepared) learner.
What L&D gifts are you looking to give as this year comes to a close? Share with us!
From everyone here at RS, have a happy holiday season and KEEP LEARNING!
Alicia Raff, Account Manager
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Liesl Christle, Account Manager
