We’re all just too caught up in the inexorable flow of work. On average, knowledge workers carve out just five minutes for formal learning each day. Learning therefore ends up being relegated - consciously and subconsciously - to the important-but-not-urgent quadrant of Eisenhower’s 2×2 matrix. The traditional corporate learning portal (the learning management system) is rarely used (other than for mandatory compliance training) and it often takes many clicks to find what you need. A study we recently ran with LinkedIn found that employees waste one third of their day on emails that have little or nothing to do with their jobs. Yet the urgency of work invariably trumps the luxury of learning. And whereas recruitment is an expensive, zero-sum game (if company A gets the star, company B does not), learning is a rising tide that lifts all boats. So it makes sense that at work we are constantly looking for ways to do things better indeed, the growth-mindset movement is based on this human need. At the most fundamental level, we are a neotenic species, born with an instinct to learn throughout our lives.
For employees, research now shows that opportunities for development have become the second most important factor in workplace happiness (after the nature of the work itself). Eighty percent of CEOs now believe the need for new skills is their biggest business challenge.
And use e-mail (sparingly) to sprinkle learning into your staff’s inboxes.Īs automation, AI, and new job models reconfigure the business world, lifelong learning has become accepted as an economic imperative. Make sure that there’s a dedicated online space for learning and promote it with meaningful contributions from business leaders. Companies should make sure that internal corporate knowledge systems are up to date and easy to use. Subscribe to a small number of high-quality, hyper-relevant newsletters, and share interesting things you’re reading with colleagues. Then put it on your calendar and stick to it. Agree on a sensible proportion of your work week that can be devoted to learning (an hour, say) with your manager. Let colleagues know how important learning is to you. Ask product managers about product features ask sales people about industry trends ask peers for feedback on your presentation skills. Don’t just sit in on that negotiation with a procurement expert notice and learn her tactics and techniques as you engage with her. But, what if we could make learning more a part of our day-to-day jobs? How can we use the flow of work to drive learning? First, be open to learning opportunities as you go about your day. The urgency of work invariably trumps the luxury of learning.
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