Organizations are spending trillions of dollars on new technologies that will change the workplace over the next decade. According to the World Economic Forum, the unfortunate result is that one billion people will need new skills to maintain their employability.
This means that your organization and employee training programs must adapt to this new reality and create a desire for learning and adaptability, which are the two of the most important skills needed for today’s workforce.
Let’s explain what this means and learn how to embed learning agility in your learning and development (L&D) strategy.
What it means to be an agile student
Learning agility has nothing to do with how good or bad someone’s grades at school are. Learning agility is the ability to find a solution when the person is faced with an unusual situation or problem.
At the organizational level, it means ensuring that employees have access to learning resources when they need them, especially as needs change and evolve. It also means giving people the opportunity to immerse themselves in a learning experience.
If you’re not sure how to build learning agility at your organization, the ideas below are a great place for you to start.
Learning agility idea #1: Add learning agility to your recruitment process
The most successful recruits will be those who learn, adapt, and grow at the rate of change. But how exactly would you rate the learning agility of a potential candidate during the interview process? It’s easier than you think.
When looking for agile learners, one of the strongest indicators is their curiosity. It is a sign that someone will be open to understanding and learning new things. This applies regardless of the role or level. Even C-suite roles are more successful when they are filled by those with learning agility. Ask a curiosity question at the interview, for example, whether the candidate has recently taught himself/herself a new skill.
Organizations should also look for those who have no fear of failure and instead, view all the experiences as opportunities for growth. They take risks and use unconventional tools and despite setbacks, they are confident in themselves and their ability to adapt and grow.
Finally, organizations should take note of the questions which candidates come armed with. Questions about stock or questions that can be answered with a glance at your company’s website should arouse suspicion. Alternatively, questions about the future of the organization are indicative of the interested, curious learners.
Learning agility idea #2: Point out the value of the learning agility across your organization
Many companies claim that they prioritize learning and development, but few of them give their employees time and space to learn.
It’s true that some employees like learning in their own time and their own way. But for your organization to be successful, they must take the time to learn. For example, at Udemy, each employee has an hour of learning time on their calendar called the Drop Everything and Learn (DEAL) hour.
Organizations that successfully develop an appetite for learning set an example at the executive level. If learning and development is considered as a secondary activity at your organization, work with leaders to highlight the importance of learning and share the learning objectives with teams.
Learning agility idea #3: Incorporate learning agility into your career development plans
Once organizations find the right people, the next step is to develop them. It starts by incorporating learning into the goal setting process.
A great way to do this is to make learning an integral part of annual or quarterly review milestones. Provide challenges and growth opportunities. These learning objectives could be to master a new tool like Photoshop or Marketo, increase their knowledge of an existing skill, or – if a person wants to grow by moving into a different role – establishing the basic learning steps needed to make that change.
Learning agility idea #4: Build a modular and adaptive learning agility approach
Instead of spending time and money to create more courses, rely on the blended learning.
Blended learning is a combination of classroom-based learning programs, on-demand videos and blogs, and one-on-one coaching sessions. The approach provides a bottom-up approach to learning where employees can discover the right courses for themselves when they need it.
A study by the U.S. Department of Education shows that a combination of online learning resources and the face-to-face learning is the most effective way to learn. For example, in order to ensure the application of new knowledge, L&D can combine these innovative tools with an inverted learning approach, with pre-study video courses assigned prior to role-play classroom sessions.
The future of learning at the workplace is agile thinking.
Here is an exciting time to learn. Our world is changing so fast that you can’t trust our old way of working. Instead, you need to create a culture of learning throughout your organization and make it a business imperative.
In order to help your company stay competitive, proactively focus on industry trends and long-term business strategy.