Learning culture is a crucial factor in personnel development. But how can you promote learning culture in the company? An often underestimated factor is the influence of leaders: Find out now with examples why learning culture starts at the top and how you can promote learning culture "top down"!

Without learning culture, any training will fail

Especially now, the term learning culture is frequently mentioned in many HR departments. More remote work, more self-directed learning, more online learning. This naturally affects the learning culture in the company. We at blink.it see this every day in Customer Success: Our corporate clients want to introduce a new tool for training and wonder how employees can also learn in a self-directed manner. Because even the best tool in the world won’t run itself: The learning culture in the company must be right!

Therefore, in this article, we address the question of why the influence of top management is so incredibly important – and explain with examples how you can influence this in personnel development. You can find more articles on the topic of learning culture here:

• How is learning culture made visible in companies?

• The key to successful learning culture in companies

• Microlearning Challenges Part 4: Developing a New Learning Culture

Why learning culture starts from the top

Many personnel developers have now recognized that learning culture is important. However, a common mistake is made: the assumption that learning culture mainly concerns the employees – that is, the learners themselves. And already in this assumption lies a second mistake: Not only employees should learn! Training affects the entire company, and leaders should set a good example.

A survey from kursfinder.de showed that, on one hand, the learning culture in many companies is expandable: Only six out of ten surveyed companies would even attribute a learning culture to their organization. Furthermore, leaders are cited as the biggest brake factors: Be it due to budget cuts or because top management does not recognize the importance of training.

Our tip for personnel developers who want to promote learning culture in their company: Think "top down" instead of "bottom up"!

The following questions help to promote learning culture "top down":

• How well is the leader informed about training in the company?

• How does the leader assess your learning culture in the company?

• To what extent does this assessment differ from the assessment of the employees?

• How present is the leader for the learner during and before the training?

• How does the leader further educate themselves and thus sets a good example?

The 3 levels of learning culture

The following graphic shows the three most important levels of learning culture: Leaders serve as role models and should be aware of this. Trainers and HR managers create touchpoints between learners and engaging technology.

And the employees themselves are crucial for the learning culture, but they tend to have a more passive influence on it: If they perceive learning as a personal benefit, this is a very positive indicator of a good learning culture in the company.

Diagram from blink.it: Leaders positively influence the learning success of employees by being role models and giving employees the feeling that learning is highly desired in the company.

Examples: How leaders can influence learning culture

So much for the theory. But how can you, as an HR manager, influence the leaders so that they can influence the learning success of the employees? Let’s look at three examples of deficient learning culture – and analyze how you can improve learning culture in each case:

1. Example: When learning culture remains unspoken

The example: Hans Niegall works in a young, dynamic company. He knows that learning is generally appreciated here. For a project, he needs better knowledge of a programming language. So, he takes some free time to watch YouTube videos about it. But when his boss unexpectedly stands behind him, he is startled: What does the boss think now? That he is not working but rather surfing YouTube?

The analysis: In this example, the company actually appears to have a positive learning culture! But even in this case, the employee feels uncomfortable being "caught" learning. The reason: How learning can look was never discussed.

The solution: In this specific case, a short conversation between the employee and the boss helps to resolve the situation. As an HR manager, you can act preventively by conducting regular surveys on how both employees and leaders understand learning. And convey wherever discrepancies are seen.

2. Example: When training is not a priority for leaders

The example: Robert Karlson is a leader in a large company. He works far more than 40 hours a week. Although he generally considers training to be sensible, he rarely participates himself: Unfortunately, he has no time and always has more important things to do.

The analysis: Such leaders certainly exist in abundance, and although there is no malicious intent behind it, Robert Karlson’s behavior affects the learning culture in the company: Employees orient themselves to him and intuitively or consciously prioritize other tasks higher than training.

The solution: As an HR manager, you can inform the leader in this case about how important their role model function is. This way, Robert Karlson recognizes that his own training is not only helpful to him personally but also positively impacts the entire learning culture of the company. The message to the employees should be: Look, training is important to all of us, and we make time for it!

3. Example: When the leader is invisible

The example: Laura Schneider participates in an online course on conflict management and is initially very excited. The online course is fun for her, and she learns a lot that helps her in everyday life. Weeks go by, and her motivation continues to decrease. There is simply too much to do, and she no longer knows why she started the training in the first place. Eventually, she stops thinking about it altogether.

The analysis: What is missing in this example is external motivation: Although Laura Schneider is still motivated and enjoying herself at first, the course feels more like a hobby. The legitimacy is felt as missing, and soon the motivation to complete the course also fades.

The solution: Here you can pull two levers as an HR manager to improve the learning culture: On the one hand, you can create incentives to complete the e-learning – for example, in the form of rewards and recognition. On the other hand, you can ask the leader to provide external legitimacy: A short video has proven effective here. The leader briefly explains what the course is about and why it is meaningful. You embed this video at the beginning of the online course, creating significant transparency with little effort.

How can you promote the learning culture in your company? Take the quick check now and answer the following question: In what three areas can leaders influence the learning success of employees? Note what comes to your mind first and then think about how you can actively improve these points!