To provide insights into how organizations can foster continuous learning and innovation, we asked HR leaders and CEOs this question. From taking a person-centered approach to running a cross-departmental mentorship program, here are the top six strategies these leaders have successfully implemented in their organizations.
 

• Take a Person-Centered Approach
• Give Your Team a Forum
• Promote Personalized Learning Paths
• Invest in Soft-Skills Training
• Empower Employees with Individual L&D Budgets
• Run a Cross-Departmental Mentorship Program

Take a Person-Centered Approach

Continuous learning is not only something the company needs to succeed but also what employees ask for to be successful. One of the ways we can support the organization and employees is by providing a person-centered approach to development and learning.

This approach sparks conversation on a regular basis to drive learning opportunities at the right time with the many resources available. These resources can include outside training, debriefing on a project, setting up mentoring, or asking each other, "How did we WOW the client?" and using those answers and ideas for innovation. The question becomes, "How do we continue to WOW our clients?" and the answer always leads to new innovative ideas.

The investment of time is an essential factor in keeping your company a learning organization. Innovation, by definition, is a new method or idea. At Sunrise Labs, we are fortunate that our projects are all unique; thought on the method of how to create the design is inherent in our work each day.

Sherry Harding, Director of Employee Experience, Sunrise Labs, Inc.

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Give Your Team a Forum

As HR leaders dedicated to driving innovation and growth, we have pioneered a transformative initiative known as "NOESIS" within our organization. The forum is not just another knowledge-sharing platform; it is a dynamic ecosystem that fuels continuous learning, fosters collaboration, and empowers our teams to excel in their roles.

In addition to periodic meetings to exchange learnings from experiences, members are encouraged to identify, select, organize, and distribute information and knowledge resources relevant to our deliverables.

Our senior group members, including me, act as knowledge catalysts, curating and disseminating valuable insights that directly elevate the quality of our strategic solutions. As a part of this, I personally take an active role in facilitating knowledge sharing about best practices and thought-provoking articles whenever I come across them.

Atul Mankad, Domain Expert, Naman HR

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Promote Personalized Learning Paths

The best practice to promote personalized learning is to ask your team members what they want to learn in relation to what they are working on. Remember to ask what they want to work on so you are guided on how best to create a development path, which includes training and such.

Basically, the development package should include training on what you think the employee should work on in order to improve his tasks and training on what they are interested in working on. This will help them improve their productivity and inspire them to stay and work more for the company.

Steven Mostyn, Chief Human Resources Officer, Management.org

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Invest in Soft-Skills Training

Organizations that offer employee training are essentially offering them a plane ticket to the world of international business. As the world gets smaller and the office continues to become an increasingly diverse environment, it's important to continually sharpen our communication abilities. Soft-skills training, such as cultural competency or unconscious bias training, is necessary for anyone who wants to advance onto a global stage.

Fortunately, corporate development programs are no longer cringe-worthy episodes from Dunder-Mifflin. There are tons of interactive online options for folks who want to invest in their ticket to growth. When a company invests in coaching its people about international business practices and different cultural norms of other countries, it's like giving them a mini MBA in global affairs! It’s a win-win combo that we love to see.

Ashley Kelly, CEO and Co-Founder, CultureAlly

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Empower Employees with Individual L&D Budgets

We give our team ample individual L&D budgets so they can choose the training that suits their needs best. Whenever learning is too restricted, you risk losing engagement from uninterested employees and creating a team that all shares a similar skill—variety is vital for the betterment of the business and employees.

One of the most potent parts of L&D has been encouraging employees to share individual learning. When a teammate uses their learning budget to pursue a new course or develop a skill, they come back and share what they’ve learned with everyone. Through individual learning, we’re helping each other become better and inspiring new learning journeys.

Marnix Broer, Co-Founder and CEO, Studocu

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Run a Cross-Departmental Mentorship Program

We conduct a mentorship program but with a twist. Rather than assigning a mentor from the same team or department, we pair new team members with experienced mentors from different departments.

This is because we have seen that new employees take time to get attuned to their leads but somehow start leaving that inhibition with other team leads. In this way, they openly communicate and share ideas, and also receive knowledge with full enthusiasm.  

Another reason is that they get to learn and enhance new skills that contribute to their growth. They get to understand different perspectives and how other departments handle particular situations. For instance, a digital marketer will learn more about the target audience from the support team, who are dealing directly with them. The same applies to other departments.  

Moreover, it also serves as a good icebreaker. Otherwise, it takes months to get acquainted with other departments of the company.

Sandeep Kashyap, CEO and Founder, ProofHub

Author Bio

Brett Farmiloe is the Founder and CEO – and currently CHRO - of Featured, a platform where business leaders can answer questions related to their expertise and get published in articles featuring their insights. Brett is an SHRM Influencer and has also been a keynote speaker at several state SHRM conferences around the topic of employee engagement.

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