Building a Learning Culture - Step 1: Training Managers about Employee Development
Intro | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5
Last week we discussed the importance of building a learning culture and five steps you can take without necessarily having the support of your organization. Step 1 is creating training about how to properly support employee development.
What level is the learning culture at your organization?
Before we dive into this step, take a minute to pinpoint the level of the learning culture at your organization. We’ve outlined these levels based on the most common situations we see.
Level 1: Employees are trained only on the essential skills to do their current job. During performance conversations, individual learning and development is discussed when remedial learning is needed or there is an unusual learning need. The manager typically drives the process and implements a specific learning solution. There may be a culture of promoting from within, but suggesting exploratory development for this purpose is not a regular part of the performance process.
Level 2: In addition to essential skills training, training is also planned and budgeted to build the skills of teams on a regular basis. Promotion from within is common and training is arranged to upskill individuals being promoted to new roles. During performance conversations, individual learning and development is discussed for remedial learning and may be explored for individuals interested in new roles. The manager typically drives this process.
Level 3: Learning is discussed and encouraged openly by leaders. Budget is allocated for individual development and the individual has a say about the topic and even the format. Learning is discussed during performance conversations. The manager may suggest learning activities, or the employee may be expected to drive the process and develop their own learning plan.
Regardless of the level of your organization’s learning culture, it’s clear that an understanding of how development works and what’s available to employees is essential to the process. We’ve encountered Level 1 organizations where employees could have received training but managers didn’t know the process or what was available. We’ve seen Level 2 organizations where employees didn’t know they would receive training upon promotion and therefore did not explore different available roles. And, we’ve seen Level 3 organizations where employees didn’t realize they could ask for budget for individual development to support their goals.
In all cases, the managers in your organization need to know how to properly support their employees’ development. That’s why training your managers is the first step to building a learning culture. They may be new in role and lacking experience, they may be not wanting to overstep by recommending training for a team member, and they may be very work-focused and not aware of how important individual development is or what the organization’s stance is.
How should you approach the process of training managers?
We recommend taking these steps:
Make sure there’s alignment about how learning and development works in your organization. It may have never been discussed or agreed upon. Perhaps there’s resulting inconsistency that causes issues across functions or creates unfair advantages for some teams over others. Explaining that you’d like to train managers on the process can be a good way to initiate these critical alignment conversations.
Identify common training needs employees may have in your organization and outline the process managers should follow. List the specific training courses or resources available for each of the common needs. If there isn’t a performance conversation guide related to learning recommendations, work with HR to create one for new managers. If you belong to a Level 2 organization, outline the process for managers or leaders who want to upskill their teams — how they can implement a solution they’ve identified or work with you to assess the need and pinpoint a solution.
Create a resource for managers in your LMS or another internal platform that managers can easily access. It doesn’t need to be a formal course — a simple job aid can be very effective. The key is to communicate that the new resource exists. Work with the appropriate partners in your organization to send the message to managers in a way that will resonate and get their attention. Coordinate the timing with your performance cycle so they can immediately implement what they’ve learned in their upcoming performance conversations.
We’d love to hear about your successes in this area, techniques that you’ve found effective, and of course any questions you may have. Leave a comment below!