Building An Effective Learning Ecosystem In 2022
More than 70% of an employee’s skills are acquired by them through their jobs.
Learning on the job is an incredibly important aspect of said job. It becomes even more paramount in the pandemic — a time when many employees tend to feel on their own during crucial times.
The concept of learning ecosystems has been around for a while, but it has emerged as the need of the hour for organisations around the world. During such tricky times, we need a well-connected network of content that motivates and educates us more than ever.
If you are an organisation looking for a positive change, work toward building an environment where your employees can learn on the job, help each other develop new skills, and thrive in a culture that promotes collective learning.
The need for a learning ecosystem
A learning ecosystem can be defined as a learning environment set up by an organisation. People interact with educational material and go through learning experiences that facilitate their growth both within the organisation and on a personal level.
Since they learn 70% of their skills on the job, it becomes extremely important to give them the means to grow. A learning ecosystem lays down the groundwork for consistent growth within the organisation by providing the employees the means to become the best versions of themselves.
With the pandemic, most companies are working remotely in some capacity, if not completely. This leads to many employees feeling devoid of the structure an in-office working environment provides. Therefore, it becomes even more necessary to provide them the support to grow in their jobs.
Efficient, skillful employees directly influence the growth of your organisation. Not only will you see the results in day-to-day operations, but in overall increased productivity. Learning ecosystems help you create a culture where your team can thrive and help each other achieve goals with ease.
Where to begin?
Creating a flourishing ecosystem can feel like a daunting task at first, especially if you need to establish it from scratch. However, like most tasks, no matter how big or small, the best way to go about it is to review your situation and create a rough plan at first.
Start by assessing the current situation of your organisation and seeing what improvements need to be made. Include your employees and encourage them to participate in the process.
Ask them what tools they need for their growth and how would they respond to educational processes being included. Next, devise a strategy for creating an educational structure in the organisation that enables learning experiences.
Plan. Provide. Prosper.
Don’t shy away from making corrections in your plan as you move along the journey. The most important step of the process is to actually create an education framework within the organisation. You need to provide your employees with the tools that help in their learning.
These can be different things for different people. The accounts team may benefit from the introduction of new working software and classes of their mechanisms. The writing team may be in need of a creative writing seminar.
Online classes, guides, podcasts, on-the-job tools articles, videos, recreational sessions, and therapy — anything and everything that helps an employee is a tool in the making of your ecosystem. All these options are doable remotely.
At the end of the day, the idea is to create a culture in the organisation where your employees prosper and learn. Learning is what gains people enjoyment out of their jobs. It creates a positive environment around the workplace.
Final words
The working environment that comes with the pandemic has driven the need for an in-built learning system even higher. A learning system is one of the things that can help keep your organisation afloat during challenging times.
Employees seek belonging and learning opportunities in a workplace. If you can provide them that, you give them all the more reasons to give you their best and help you flourish.