If you’re in the learning and development department, I bet a big part of your role is figuring out how to best disseminate information to your employees so that they can effectively use that information in real life scenarios and better serve your internal and external customers.
A huge part of creating this sort of effective learning that will make your employees feel connected to your organization’s goals and objectives, is finding the sweet spot of intersection between learning and engagement. Learning is one of the key drivers of employee engagement so it is important to capitalize on this with your employees and discuss where they are, where they want to be in the future and how learning bridges that gap.
Here are some ways you can get your employees engaged and geeked about learning:
1. Incent them to learn by recognizing them with rewards. It’s important to show your employees you are committed to learning by rolling their development into your engagement and recognition program. You can give employees an allotment of points for every lesson they complete or a larger sum upon completion. Or if monetary recognition isn’t your thing, you can use gamification and badging to set up leaderboards and start some friendly competition. Let’s face it, this gold star method has been working to encourage positive behavior since back in preschool.
2. Don’t give them too much information too fast. One of the top reasons why employees feel bored or overwhelmed with learning is that they get too much information, too fast. If you give them information in short, digestible doses, repeated and reinforced over time, they will be more likely to effectively process the information and feel encouraged to continue to pursue learning in the future.
3. Incent them to learn by providing opportunities for growth. Most people would rather be awesome than ordinary. Your employees want skills and competencies that will make them more marketable now while they are with you, and for where they want to go in the future. Not many employees want to stay stagnant in their careers. If you provide your employees with learning opportunities it shows that you care about their future at your organization. It is also important to create a culture where they can progress and grow into new and more senior roles. Have your employees shadow roles above them, and find opportunities for them to practice their leadership skills.
4. Have an action plan and accountability so they feel connected to the success. It is important that your employees are accountable for what they have learned and are clear on their learning objectives. Give them an opportunity to practice, drill and rehearse their learning in a safe environment, so that they know exactly how they can apply it with a customer. Then, senior leaders should have one on one conversations with employees about how they will apply the learning in real life scenarios.