How To Promote Lifelong Learning And Ongoing Skill Development Among Employees

Strategies for continuous skill development

In the quest to foster a culture of continuous improvement and skill enhancement, we've gathered insights from seven human resources professionals. 

From leading by example to learning to tailor individual career-development plans, these HR experts share strategies for promoting lifelong learning among employees. Dive into the wisdom of human resources managers and directors as they reveal personal examples of nurturing their teams' growth.
 

• Lead by Example with Learning
• Implement Skills-based Learning Strategy
• Create “Teach Me” Spotlight Moments
• Develop Plans Around Universal Learning Truths
• Offer Professional Development Days Benefit
• Utilize Personalized Talent Assessments
• Tailor Individual Career-development Plans

Lead by Example with Learning

Encouraging ongoing skill development emanates from the top down. Leadership must be actively learning and sharing their learning with others. If the CEO has time to read a book or take a course, then others certainly can pull it off, too. 

Leading by example encourages others. Discussing openly what you or your teammates are interested in upskilling, and then creating a database of resources, is also another great way to build a lifelong learning community in the workplace.
 

Jarir Mallah, Human Resources Manager, Ling App

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Implement Skills-based Learning Strategy

I can share my experience in implementing a skills-based learning strategy in my capacity as a learning & development (L&D) professional in the corporate sector. In short, it's about defining the skills that your employees should develop (they need the guidance) and providing the opportunities to do so; the latter involves broad access to courses and content, combined with the L&D team doubling down on priority skills by designing comprehensive end-to-end learning experiences.
 

Ryan Tracey, Capability Development Manager, E-Learning Provocateur

Create “Teach Me” Spotlight Moments

One way this can be done is to create "teach me" moments for individuals who upskill themselves or complete professional development. These moments can look like an employee sharing three key takeaways from a recent seminar, or sharing at a town hall what new process they will be implementing based on a new learning or skill they have acquired. It can also go so far as to have the employees, who recently completed learning, provide a brief training info session to their peers.

The key to this is to share knowledge and provide the learner a spotlight moment to feel valued in obtaining their learning by sharing their new skills. When the company provides formal time for employees to teach and share with others, it not only provides informal recognition to learners but also demonstrates to the entire team that ongoing learning and development is supported and valued within the company.
 

Heather Kerr, Human Resources Manager

Develop Plans Around Universal Learning Truths

Remember your school experience? What motivated you to learn? While people are driven by various motivations, some truths are universal — we all crave recognition and reward for our efforts, we require the space and time to progress, and when embarking on new endeavors, we prefer to start with something easy.

You may have a different perspective, but I believe that simple solutions that directly address people's needs are better than fancy, innovative strategies. That's why I chose to rely on these universal truths and develop our skill development plans around them.

So, we began by ensuring time and space. We allocated a half-hour every day for employees' personal development, giving them the freedom to schedule it at their convenience to ensure maximum productivity.

Next, we facilitated the starting point by making things easy. How can you begin learning if you don't know what to learn? Sometimes, all you need is inspiration and a nudge to get started. Therefore, each manager created a list of free courses for their team to join. 

Finally, recognition was key. We encouraged team leaders to publicly acknowledge employees who followed the strategy during team meetings. Moreover, we offered to pay for courses for all employees who completed the free ones.

Within a year, three out of four employees finished at least one paid course. Furthermore, the most engaged individuals were sent to industry conferences to represent our company and further their learning.

Why did this simple strategy work so well? Because it directly addressed people's needs. We made it as easy as possible to grow, eliminating the need for verbal encouragement or speeches. By creating a conducive environment, providing resources, and allowing them to flourish, our employees thrived.
 

Karolina Górska, Senior HR Coordinator, Delante

Offer Professional Development Days Benefit

One of the things that our organization does, to encourage learning and skill development, is to offer professional development days as a benefit-time-off category. Employees can use this type of benefit time to attend workshops, training, and seminars, which may be of interest to them and relevant to their position and/or the organization. 

As part of the process, employees are then to bring back what they've learned and present the information to their peers. In addition, our organization is looking into reframing our tuition reimbursement program into an education continuum program—to include not only reimbursement for matriculated higher education courses but also for certificate programs, CEUs, and certain professional licensure fees. 

We have also introduced various shadowing and cross-training opportunities for our employees. Recently, I have begun including one of my direct reports in meetings related to a specific HR competency that they are eager to learn and that I want them to develop. We started the process with discussions about the materials this staff member researched on this particular HR competency.

The current phase is including them in meetings with various employees so that they can see what that piece looks like. The next phase will be to have them do certain tasks concerning this competency, such as processing required administrative components and running reports. With the final phase, hopefully, this individual will take over this particular process entirely, once they have a firm understanding of this HR competency. 

I also continually talk about both short-term and long-term goals that my staff want to achieve in their professional journey. Whether that is learning a new competency, staying up-to-date with trends/best practices, and/or discussing steps they can take to further their professional goals (e.g., continuing their education, acquiring new skills to obtain a different position, etc.). 

This multi-faceted approach is beneficial in numerous ways for both the employee and the employer, and personally speaking as a people leader, it is very rewarding to see the growth people achieve in various ways.
 

Mayank Singh, Director of Human Resources, Coordinated Family Care

Utilize Personalized Talent Assessments

One strategy I use to promote lifelong learning among employees and encourage ongoing skill development is encouraging them to take personalized talent assessments. These assessments can help them identify their unique strengths and talents, empowering them to make decisions with their innate abilities in mind.

In a previous role, I facilitated a series of workshops. In these workshops, team members explored their top strengths and discussed how they could leverage these strengths in their current roles and beyond. I assisted them in incorporating their strengths into annual goals, current projects, and daily tasks, fostering a deeper understanding of their personal capabilities.

By focusing on individual strengths and providing personalized support, I witnessed them becoming more empowered and motivated to pursue their individual learning journeys.
 

Alanna Jackson, Change Management Consultant, Facing Monday

Tailor Individual Career-development Plans

One effective strategy I use to promote lifelong learning among employees and encourage ongoing skill development is through tailored career-development plans. For example, at Dayjob Recruitment, we implemented individual learning journeys for our team members by matching their personal aspirations with the skills needed in their roles. 

We offered specific training for skills like CNC operation and stone masonry, allowing employees to advance in their careers while meeting the company's evolving needs. This approach not only enhances skill sets but also boosts job satisfaction and loyalty.
 

Ana Alipat, Recruitment Team Lead, Dayjob Recruitment

Brett Farmiloe is the Founder, CEO & CHRO of Featured.