A few years ago, the most significant trend in the world was related to cloud technology, and every company tried to react by speeding up its cloud tech integration. Nowadays, the big new trends are represented by artificial intelligence and machine learning.
If you are trying to run and maintain a business, you must encourage your employees never to stop learning. Any responsible employer will provide professional development incentives in order to foster a culture of flexibility and adaptability.
Innovation does not grow on trees, as it springs from a dynamic environment and rewards curiosity and continuous learning.
Why do we need to encourage and invest in continuous learning
There is no such thing as a free lunch. Every action in the world costs money, and companies are trying to save as much of their budget as possible. Some employers make the grave mistake of seeing employee growth rewards as a charity action for the employees themselves.
After all, you are paying to educate them, so they should be grateful. This mentality should stay back in the 19th and 20th centuries, as the new dynamic marketplace will heavily punish those who adopt that way of thinking. If a company is reactive and invests only in what is absolutely necessary, it will always play catch-up to current market trends, instead of dictating them.
Being complacent in the 21st century will not work out, as dynamic action requires investment. Of course, there are risks, especially if an employee you have invested decides to leave the company. Then, all of that training will be taken with him/her.
However, from a business standpoint, while the employee was with you, you benefited from that extra knowledge. In addition, you want to be known on the job market as an employer that offers and invests in these types of courses and certifications.
The necessity of implementing training programs and employee training rewards is beyond debate.
Measurable benefits
In theory, these ideas sound fine, but what are the actual, tangible benefits? In business, at the end of the day, only the deliverables matter.
As previously mentioned, the market heavily punishes companies that are not agile. If a new technology comes out tomorrow, your employees should at least have an idea of how to integrate it. This applies even more so to the tech field, where they sell themselves on a futuristic, smart, and innovative vibe.
The second measurable factor is how attractive you are to new talent. Nobody will pursue a career inside a company that is seen as stagnant, insular, and stingy with its training budget.
Skill development recognition programs will not only help you attract new people but also lower attrition and help you keep the ones that you already have. Otherwise, you risk attracting only the bottom-of-the-barrel employees who use essay sites to print an attractive CV, but their actual value and competence are low.
How to integrate learning into recognition programs
Now that we’ve established the added value and necessity of integrating learning into recognition programs, let’s see how to implement it.
Follow-up with what was learned
There is a reason why some companies see investments in employee learning as a money sink. The reason is that many of these programs are actually wasting money.
The following scenario is way too common: A manager wants to help an employee, so he assigns him to a course. The employee finishes the course, takes a test, and gets certified. However, since that knowledge is not immediately applicable to the employee’s direct role, time passes by, and the knowledge is not used.
Skills are highly perishable if they are not repeated and reinforced. This is why most training represents money thrown away. The company has the best inventions and pays for them but does not allow for an environment where those skills can be practiced and reinforced.
In order to prevent this loss due to the passage of time, a manager or company that assigns training must do follow-ups.
Workplace Learning Incentives should continue after the learning is done. Managers or supervisors should schedule 1:1 calls with the person who has received the training and make them summarize and discuss what was learned.
In addition, you can use their newly acquired knowledge to “seed” your team. Have the employee do presentations and show the rest of his team/department what he has learned. It is a win-win scenario.
The trained employee gets to practice, and you save money by not having to send every member to the same course.
Create the proper incentive structure
Every creature in the world responds to incentives, and people are no different. In fact, almost every job becomes easier if you understand the basic carrot and stick analysis.
So, in the case of training rewards, what is the carrot? What motivates your employees to spend extra effort learning things that are not immediately useful?
Of course, we all intellectually understand that learning is for our own good and an investment in our future. But practically, people like to be rewarded immediately, not in 4 years.
As a result, the most important step that you can take is to foster a culture where learning is integrated into employees' performance reviews. Just doing your job should be enough, but for extra credits and a higher score, that person should demonstrate that he/she learned something new.
Empowering employees through knowledge sharing and recognition
The second step, as we covered before, should involve the graduate of a training program, passing down what he/she learned to the entire team. For many, this can motivate them. Being in the center and attention and hosting presentations can motivate those who wish to stand out.
It can also recharge the batteries of those who are outgoing and social, who are starved of interaction due to remote work. Make them host workshops and knowledge-sharing sessions.
Keeping in line with this public recognition, employees can be designated as SMEs (subject matter experts) and featured in spotlight emails that go around the entire company. Finally, the best and most direct incentive is the financial one. If your budget can allow it, you can give paid accolades. Cash really helps with motivating employee education.
Final thoughts
Employee engagement in learning must be encouraged at all costs. It should not be seen as a bonus or perk but as essential as paying taxes or the electricity bill.
Integrating continuous learning into recognition programs will help your company project a powerful image on the market. It will show that you care to invest and empower employees, but also that your company is ready to switch and adapt to any new technology changes.
However, this approach should be integrated into every aspect of the company, from performance reviews to spotlights and team structures. Managers should be trained to leverage the new skills, once they are obtained.
