Learning culture is a decisive factor in personnel development. But how can you promote learning culture in the company? An often underestimated factor is the influence of managers: Find out now, using examples, why learning culture begins at the management level and how you can promote learning culture "top down".
Without a learning culture, any further training will fail
Particularly now, the keyword learning culture is frequently mentioned in many HR departments. More working from home, more self-directed learning, more online learning. Of course, this has an impact on the learning culture within 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 ask themselves how employees can also use it for self-directed learning. Because even the best tool in the world is not a self-runner: The learning culture in the company has to be right!
That is why in this article we are dealing with the question of why the influence of the management floor is so enormously important – and explain, using examples, how you can influence this in human resources development. You can find more articles on the topic of learning culture here:
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The key to a successful learning culture in companies
Microlearning Challenges Part 4: Developing a new learning culture
Why learning culture starts from the top
Many human resource developers have now recognized that learning culture is important. But one mistake is often made: The assumption that learning culture is primarily the business of the employees – i.e. the learners themselves. And this sentence already contains a second mistake: It is not only employees who should learn! Further training affects the entire company and so managers should lead by example.
A survey by kursfinder.de has shown, on the one hand, that the learning culture in many companies has room for improvement: Only six out of ten surveyed companies would attribute a learning culture to their institution at all. In addition, managers are described as the biggest braking factors: Be it for reasons of austerity measures or because the management does not recognize the importance of further training.
Our tip therefore for human resource developers who want to promote learning culture in their company: Think "top down" instead of "bottom up"!
The following questions help to promote the learning culture "top down":
How well is the manager informed about further training in the company?
How does the manager assess your learning culture in the company?
To what extent does this assessment differ from the assessment of the employees?
How present is the manager for the learner during and before the training?
How does the manager continue their own training and thereby set a good example?
The 3 levels of learning culture
The following graphic shows the three most important levels of learning culture: Managers serve as role models and should be aware of this. Trainers and HR managers ensure touchpoints between the learners and technology that is fun.
And the employees themselves are indeed decisive for the learning culture, but have a rather 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 by blink.it: Managers positively influence the learning success of employees by being a role model and giving employees the feeling that learning is highly welcome in the company.
Examples: How managers can influence the learning culture
So much for the theory. But how can you, as an HR manager, influence managers so that they have an impact on the learning success of employees? Let's look at three examples of poor learning culture for this – and analyze how you can improve learning culture in each case:
1st Example: When learning culture remains unspoken
The example: Hans Niegall works in a young, dynamic company. He knows that learning is generally valued here. For a project, he would need better knowledge of a programming language. So he regularly uses some free time to watch YouTube videos about it. However, when his boss suddenly stands behind him unexpectedly, he is startled: What does the boss think now? That he is not working, but prefers to surf YouTube?
The analysis: Actually, in this example, the company seems to have a positive learning culture! Yet even in this case, the employee feels uncomfortable having been "caught" learning. The reason: Exactly what learning can look like was never a topic of discussion.
The solution: In this concrete case, a short conversation between the employee and the boss helps to resolve the situation. As an HR manager, you can act preventively here by conducting regular surveys on how employees on one hand and managers on the other understand learning. And you mediate wherever differences are seen.
2nd Example: When further training is not a priority for the boss
The example: Robert Karlson is a manager in a large company. He works far more than 40 hours per week. Although he generally thinks training is useful, he very rarely takes part in it himself: Unfortunately, he has no time and always has more important things to do.
The analysis: There are certainly plenty of such managers, and although there is no ill will or intention behind it, Robert Karlson's behavior affects the learning culture in the company: Employees align themselves with him and intuitively or consciously prioritize other tasks higher than training.
The solution: As an HR manager, you can draw the manager's attention in this case to how important their role model function is. Thus Robert Karlson recognizes that his own training is not only helpful to him personally, but has a positive effect on the overall learning culture of the company. The message to employees should be: Look here, training is important to all of us and we make time for it!
3rd Example: When the manager is invisible
The example: Laura Schneider takes part in an online course on conflict management and is very enthusiastic at first. She enjoys the online course and learns a lot that helps her in everyday life. As the weeks go by, her motivation decreases further and further. There is simply too much to do and by now she no longer knows why she actually started the training. At some point, she stops engaging with it altogether.
The analysis: What is missing in this example is external motivation: Although Laura Schneider is still motivated and has fun at the beginning, the course feels more like a hobby. The legitimacy is missing, at least subjectively, and thus soon the motivation to actually complete the course as well.
The solution: Here, as an HR manager, you can pull two levers at once to improve the learning culture: On the one hand, you can provide incentives to complete the e-learning – for example, in the form of rewards and certificates. On the other hand, you can ask the manager to provide external legitimacy: A short video has proven useful here. In it, the manager briefly explains what the course is about and why it is useful. You embed this video at the beginning of the online course and thus create high transparency with little effort.
Conclusion
Managers shape a company's learning culture decisively because their own behavior shows employees what significance learning and further training actually have in everyday work life.
A positive learning culture can therefore not be created solely through new training offers or digital learning platforms. Employees need the visible support of their managers and the security that learning is explicitly desired.
Personnel development can support this process in a targeted manner: Make expectations between employees and managers visible, legitimize learning times, and sensitize managers to their role model function. If training also becomes a matter of course at the management level, a sustainable learning culture can develop throughout the entire company.
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
Why does learning culture start with managers?
Through their behavior, managers shape the significance that further training has in the company. If they continue their own training and visibly support their employees' learning times, they convey that learning is explicitly desired.
How can managers promote a positive learning culture?
They can act as learning role models themselves, actively address training, give employees time to learn, and clearly communicate why learning is important for personal and corporate development.
What role does personnel development play in learning culture?
Personnel development can create suitable framework conditions, make different expectations visible, and sensitize managers to their role. It thus connects the company's strategic learning goals with the actual everyday learning of the employees.
Why is a learning platform not enough for a good learning culture?
A learning platform provides learning offers and technical options, but alone it does not create a learning culture. Employees must additionally experience that training is supported, made temporally possible, and taken seriously by managers themselves.
