During the week, companies throughout the UK put on a range of training events for their employees including, workshops, talks and activities. The theme this year is ‘Networked for learning’ and it’s all about being connected, making connections and using networking technology to aid & support education.
What are the benefits of taking part?
Companies who take part in the learning week report a huge number of benefits. Many see the week as an opportunity to bring about change, using it as an introduction to a refreshed learning & development department and improved learning strategy. The idea is that the week will kick-start an enriched learning ethos which lasts long after the week has finished and well into the year ahead.
Here are just some of the benefits you might see in your employees from taking part:
- Changing sentiments towards learning and work.
- Improved attitudes.
- An uplift in motivation and productivity.
- Greater awareness of training opportunities.
- Increased employee engagement.
- Improved communication and understanding.
- Increased confidence in learning & development efforts.
- Opportunities for employees from different parts of the business to work together.
- Increased employee participation in learning opportunities.
- Increased collaboration and better working relationships.
- Improved employee morale.
Learning & development teams will also see the following benefits:
- Opportunities to gather and collate ideas, feedback and perspectives that inform future learning & development planning.
- Informed and enhanced learning & development strategies.
- A chance to find and recognise in-house talent.
- An occasion and a platform from which to communicate business priorities, direction agendas and information.
- An opportunity to address specific business issues and knowledge gaps.
10 ways your company can get involved in learning at work week:
There are so many ways to get involved, here’s some inspiration to get you started:
1. Book a motivational speaker to inspire your people:
A motivational and energetic talk can be a very powerful way to deliver a message to a large group of people within your organisation. This is a great option for large organisations who want to get a lot of people involved in learning at work week. We have some excellent keynote speakers available and a range of themes to choose from.
2. Run a workshop to train your people in something new:
Classroom workshops are still one of the most effective methods of training as they are highly interactive and engaging. Create your own workshop style session or choose a training provider which caters to your business requirements. Our face to face trainer-led workshops focus on communication and interpersonal skills incorporating both individual and collaborative exercises to allow delegates to put new skills into practise.
3. Plan an activity to get your people practising a specific skill:
Think outside the box and get creative with this one. It could be a brainstorming session, a quiz, a competition, a debate, anything that gets your people thinking, learning and developing professional skills that relate to issues in your business.
4. Encourage independent learning with access to elearning:
Sometimes getting everyone together for a talk or workshop can be an unrealistic expectation but that doesn’t mean you can’t get people involved. eLearning is a great option if you want to provide the entire organisation with an opportunity to learn. Our eLearning for business solution specialises in online communications skills courses and delivers short bite sized videos on how to communicate more effectively in and out of the workplace.
5. Organise a skill swap session:
This is a great idea for companies who don’t have much budget to play with as they just need the input from their employees. Get each department to do a show & tell on skills they have which could be useful to others. It’s a great way to get people working together also resulting in improved communication and understanding between teams.
6. Learning is for all levels – provide management with 1:1 coaching:
When it comes to events like learning at work week it will often be senior management and executives who are forgotten about. But learning really is for all levels and should include everyone. 1:1 coaching is about developing talent and unlocking potential, improving personal performance, developing better leadership skills and building confidence.
7. Design an away day with a mix of learning methods:
An away day is a great way to prioritise learning, get everyone out of the office and away from their day to day responsibilities. There are many different types of learner so a day dedicated to learning, incorporating a range of learning methods means that everyone is catered for and everyone will be able to take something away.
8. Organise a team building event to get your people working together:
Whether this takes the form of blindfolds and trusting your colleagues, a difficult building task or just doing something fun together team building is a huge part of working effectively and a fun way to encourage better working relationships.
9. Recognise internal talent with an awards ceremony:
Learning at work week is the perfect opportunity to find and recognise the talent you have. An awards ceremony can be a fun way to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of your staff and incentivise future efforts.
10. Arrange a survey to ask for feedback & ideas:
Learning and Development teams should also be able to take away a lot from the week, make sure that you ask for feedback, ideas and opinions to inform your future learning and development planning and deliver better learning solutions to your people.
If you’re looking for ways to get involved and want to discuss any of the options listed above, get in touch to see how we can work with your business to provide a unique training plan for you.
