Top 10 Tips for creating a learning strategy for your business

At Beyond Theory we believe that having a learning culture is a key factor to differentiate your business from your competition. Learning and the ability to apply learning will make sure that you , your team and your business will continually evolve and develop. It is often said that to stand still is to move backwards.

Encouraging learning to be part of your company's culture is a recognised way of keeping your employees engaged and increasing levels of employee engagement. Having a learning strategy in place is therefore very important.

So what makes a learning strategy effective? How can you make sure that you and your team obtain the maximum value and return on your training investment? Our advice is to create your learning strategy based on the ratio of 70:20:10 i.e.:

• 70% learning on the job.
• 20% learning from being coached.
• 10% learning from structured learning e.g. attending courses, conferences and undertaking e-learning.

Here are our top 10 tips to help you create a learning strategy for your business:

1. Set clear expectations of what your team members are expected to achieve and the standards that apply.
2. Create an appetite for learning by rewarding your team for learning and then applying new knowledge and skills.
3. Make sure your performance review and appraisal processes include discussion of learning and how it's been applied in your team members’ role.
4. Explain to your team members that their career is theirs to own and that you will help them realise their aspirations through genuine development opportunities.
5. Encourage your team members to have and own their personal development plans and regularly review these with them.
6. Help sustain motivation by making sure that your team recognises when learning happens and that they log their progress to map their development.
7. Provide tools and resources that your team members can use to collaborate to learn and share new skills and knowledge e.g. FAQs, knowledge centres, access to relevant websites.
8. Up-skill your managers and team members on how to coach and be coached effectively - use practical training that can be applied in both formal coaching meetings and 'in the moment' coaching situations.
9. Recognise and reward your managers for coaching others so that coaching becomes a way of life in your business.
10. Select your courses, workshops and conferences very carefully by having clear outcomes and ways to measure your return on investment for all those taking part. If the return on investment is not obviously clear, then reframe this to become a return on expectation.

As a business manager you will know that every penny counts and that you need to get the most from your training investment. Creating a learning strategy that fits with your business and within your budget is therefore essential. We believe that the 70:20:10 approach provides a useful stratgey to encourage and reward learning in a way that is both sustainable and results focused.

Paul Beesley, senior consultant, Beyond Theory