https://nasacademy.com/blog/article/how-to-encourage-learning-agility-in-your-business
We are always learning. Despite the popular belief that we can get too old to learn new things, this simply isn’t true. Life is a never-ending learning experience and, while that can be intimidating, it’s also incredibly exciting – because it offers the opportunity to keep bettering ourselves everyday. This desire to learn and adapt is called learning agility.
Learning agility can be facilitated through upskilling, and while facilitating learning in the workplace can be tricky, it’s an essential part of running a successful business. So, we’re going to break down the best practices to encourage and develop learning agility, to help you implement it in meaningful, practical ways.
Learning agility is the ability to quickly learn and adapt to new concepts and skill sets… It’s also an indication of how well you solve problems, and whether you do it with adaptability – rather than relying on old systems and traditional solutions that may no longer be relevant.
Learning agility has made headlines in recent years because of research indicating that it may be the most important characteristic a leader can have — even more so than IQ, emotional intelligence, or even education. Leaders with learning agility don’t rely on what has worked in the past, and instead take on each challenge as a new learning experience and opportunity. They use innate problem solving skills to overcome problems that would stump other leaders.
Learning agility is a skill in itself, and it only comes with practice. Agile learners are desirable leaders and workers because they are constantly learning and looking for ways to improve themselves. This results in workers who are constantly growing, and increasing their value to their team and organization.
Upskilling is when you learn new things about a task or activity that you’re already proficient in. For example, computer engineers have to upskill, and learn new software when it updates. This expands their knowledge and skill set, making them more adept and competitive in their field.
One of the best things about upskilling is that it applies to both soft and hard skills, where people management has come to the fore in a world where A.I has taken over more routine tasks.
94% of workers say that they would remain at companies for longer if they felt there was an investment in their learning and development. This means that workers not only want competitive salaries and working conditions – but they also want opportunities to upskill. Investing in upskilling is one of the best things business owners can do to hire, and keep, their talent. As hiring becomes more competitive, upskilling is an edge that business owners can’t afford to ignore –and It’s also what facilitates and fosters learning agility.
Upskilling is a simple initiative with compounded rewards. Benefits to upskilling yourself and your workforce include saving money, increasing productivity, and gaining the trust of your workers. That’s why we’ve collected some of the best strategies for upskilling – as well as reasons you should upskill as often as possible. Investing in learning and development is what will create a culture of learning agility in your business, which means you’ll be cultivating leaders and experts who become competitive – and stay competitive.
But, before we dive in, let’s clarify some misconceptions about upskilling, namely when reskilling comes into the picture.
As technology and AI takes the jobs of routine tasks, human workers are moved to more complex and rewarding tasks that will most likely require an entirely new set of skills. This is when reskilling is required for workers. Reskilling involves learning new skills that may or may not build on the ones the worker is already proficient in.
Workers may also reskill themselves if they wish to change careers. It allows for more flexibility for their career path, and also means they’re capable across multiple disciplines – making their skill sets more desirable.
It’s important to note that 22 million U.K workers do not believe they have the skills necessary to flourish in the workplace within the next 5 years. This indicates a skill gap crisis – and addressing the gaps in your own team today, is the only way to circumvent disaster in the future.
Having skills and knowledge that can be applied to different types of problems, especially in recent years with the development of digital technology, is becoming more and more in demand.. Even if reskilling isn’t strictly necessary for your workers, it offers more benefits than drawbacks and is absolutely worth pursuing.
Some skills can be built through unconventional, and creative means (which we’ll cover later), but formal training is still one of the most effective ways to upskill your workforce. This can be done through courses or training programs. The benefit of these programs is that they often provide social proof of their effectiveness, which removes risk and gives you more security on your costs. These few days workers are away from the workplace will result in workers who return with new perspectives on their role and skills.
Alternatively, there have been massive strides forward in the quality of online courses in recent years, and they often prove to be more effective than traditional learning –especially for professionals who can manage their time around their work and learning responsibilities.
ELearning has been proven to provide better retention rates than in-person learning, which is perfect for the common professional. Workers now have the freedom to complete courses online at their own pace, whereas before they would have to take business leave away from the office. An uptick of 80% of employers have reported using eLearning over in-person training since 2011, while 40% of Fortune 500 companies use online platforms for training.
Another way to upskill your workforce is through getting more experienced workers to mentor their peers. The benefits are twofold — where skills are exchanged, money is saved, and teamwork and bonding is strengthened. Mentorships are an indication of learning agility, and encourage workers to ask questions, communicate more effectively, and think creatively.
Internal mentorship also creates an environment where learning is encouraged, and workers are inspired to be curious and ask questions. Mentors can also encourage the people they’re training to enlist in other learning opportunities that the trainee may not be aware of. Overall, mentorship programs are a great way to upskill – especially for the added team bonding benefits.
This is all well and good on paper, but in practice there’s a reason so many workplaces lag behind when it comes to upskilling. The realities of the workplace mean that workers often just don’t have the time to engage in programs or systems that require time, money, and commitment. In fact, 61% of L&D departments report that time constraints are the biggest barriers to upskilling.
So how do you solve this problem? Condense employee learning into short bursts – also known as microlearning.
Lessons in microlearning are as varied as conventional learning, and are made up of small learning units, or short-term activities. Lessons can be as short as 6 minutes long, and are aimed at teaching a small learning objective rather than an entire skill set.
The idea is to learn many small ideas that build on each other so that, after a period of time, you’ve learned as much as taking on a full-time course – better yet, microlearning is often done online. This means better information retention for the learner, and more flexibility for their busy schedules.
Microlearning is ideal for workers who cannot learn during business hours, and can only tackle learning in small amounts. These short bursts pack a big punch, and are a long-term investment that’s more effective than doing nothing.
Encouraging self-training sounds like a lazy approach to upskilling – but there are many ways managers and leaders can take active roles in self-training. One of these is to allocate paid training time each month, which gives workers the chance to devote time to upskilling without losing out on their salary. The lost work hours will be more than made up for with a workforce that’s current, skilled, and motivated to keep growing.
Moreover, allowing employees to attend training during work hours builds trust, fosters curiosity, and encourages loyalty to your business – minimizing the risk of losing your talent to competitors. Good leaders and managers are those who encourage active learning environments, and use them as an opportunity to provide constructive feedback and guidance. Think back on the benefits of learning agility, and you’ll notice the same benefits apply here. This is because encouraging training encourages a culture of learning.
Think of other upskilling techniques that are engaging, creative and work for your own needs as a business. Look into running case studies in particular – they can be very helpful because they use real scenarios your workers may have already encountered, and will help show them a solution. Case studies and simulations also allow your workers to practice their skills by applying them in a low-risk environment.
Overall, training and upskilling encourages innovation. You want your team to be a group of thinkers and innovators, rather than people who refuse to adapt to their surroundings. Fostering learning agility today will give your team that competitive advantage over other teams that are by the book, and help your business thrive in the long run.
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By Team Nas Academy
By Admin Nas Academy
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