Creating Learning Opportunities to Increase Employee Retention and Engagement
One of the reasons that employees decide to leave organizations is if they feel they do not have the opportunity to learn and grow. Even if they are not looking to climb the “corporate ladder”, most individuals are still seeking the opportunity to continue to develop personally and professionally. Right now, with recruitment as challenging as it is, it is critical to retain the talent that you have already within your organization. Internal talent also provides the opportunity to explore and see how you may be able to grow and develop them for engagement, as well as to enhance your organizational capabilities.
Depending on the size of your organization, learning and development may look very different. Large organizations have the capacity to have internal talent development staff and programs and likely the funds to work with external consultants and training programs as well. Small to mid-size organizations may be more constrained with what is feasible for learning and development, however the smaller size also allows for greater customization and individually impactful opportunities. There are great learning and development opportunities that can be created simply by devoting time and awareness to the efforts.
Methods for developing learning opportunities may begin with exploring the distinctions of training, mentoring, and coaching and determining how these approaches may fit and be beneficial within your organization.
Training
The Trainer possesses the skills or information that the learner needs to develop.
The Trainer utilizes the primary method of transmission of information.
The relationship between trainer and learner is generally a very narrow focus and short-term in nature.
Mentoring
The Mentor has seniority and experience and conveys wisdom and organizational cultural experiences.
The Mentor has already completed the journey that the learner/mentee is seeking to follow.
The Mentor provides connections, references, and advice.
Coaching
The Coach could be a superior, subordinate, peer, or external coach.
The Coach does not necessarily have the same background or experiences.
The Coach enables the individual to work through and solve their own problems through coaching questions and techniques.
Training, mentoring, and coaching are all learning opportunities that can be developed and utilized internally within your organization. They all provide the opportunity for both the individual who is leading or facilitating the learning, as well as the learner. Each of these methods does not require the individual’s manager to be the one who is providing the learning. This alone provides the opportunity for individuals to get a broader lens of learning within the organization, where they do not have to solely rely on their own manager or within their own department or team for the learning and development opportunities to occur.
How do you get started? I recommend asking your employees what they are seeking. It can be done via one-on-one conversations, or the information can also be gathered through surveys. I recommend you choose the method that fits your organization.
Questions to consider:
How do you feel the onboarding process prepared you for success in your role?
How would you rate your level of satisfaction with the career advancement opportunities that are available to you? Comments.
How would you rate the job-related training you have received? How could it be improved?
Do you have the opportunity to enhance your skills? What has been effective? What is missing?
What is the most challenging aspect of your current role?
What suggestions for improvement do you have?
Do you have the tools, training, and equipment needed to perform your role? If not, what is needed?
What are your aspirations?
These questions are two-fold as you learn what individuals are seeking and you also learn who may have the skills, interests, and ability to serve as a trainer, mentor, or coach. Serving as a trainer, mentor or coach provides a great opportunity for an individual contributor to gain leadership skills that will help prepare them to step into leadership in the future. You could include it as specific question to gauge individual interest in training, mentoring, or coaching, or you can provide that as a next step in the process of developing the opportunity.
Learning opportunities and paths do not have to be vertical. Enabling staff to gain knowledge in other roles or departments helps expand their depth and breadth of knowledge of your organization. And it also provides individuals with the opportunity to explore other career paths and possibilities for their individual future. Additionally, this provides a greater depth of expertise throughout your organization that will enhance teamwork and collaboration. It also enables your organization to have other individuals who may be willing and able to fill in for someone who may be on a leave of absence or who resigns. You have now built additional capabilities within your organization to make you stronger in times of transition as well as provided continuous learning opportunities to retain and develop employees.