Learning and Development (L&D) is an essential part of corporate culture, which brings a lot of perks. It has been shown that a company’s learning culture effectively improves employee retention and productivity. Aside from this, equipping employees with new skills is a good investment that can make a company more agile and prepared for sudden changes in the future. Corporate training can also strengthen relations between employees who take part in the process.

Nevertheless, for some, corporate learning culture may not have a big appeal. Boaz Amidor from E-Learning Industry specifically noted four pitfalls of learning culture: The one-size-fits-all approach, passive learning, cramming, and bad gamification. Simply put, if learning culture is not well-managed, it may be a waste of time for everyone else who design and participate in the L&D process. To make an efficient L&D, especially during remote working, here are 6 things that you should consider.

1. Crystal Clear Values

Everyone’s busy. And when your company is struggling to get back on its feet after the setback caused by 2020, everyone’s busier. When everybody has to focus on their work with generally higher pace, why should they care about learning? This is why L&D planners should set clear values about learning culture itself by emphasizing L&D values and benefits for not only the company, but also the employees who are involved in the learning process. 

2. Contextual Content

Aside from values, the content distributed in your company’s learning culture must have a clear and contextual goal as well. In general, the learning culture in your company must prepare your team for current and future challenges. After the Industrial Revolution 4.0 and the pandemic, the need for technology and human connection is definitely increasing. Therefore, the learning culture of today has to prepare employees for two things: technological savviness and empathy.

3. Flexible Learning Schedule

With remote working, there might be new dynamics and changes in how we manage our time. Working remotely might allow some to have more time to allocate for learning, but being at home might require some others to take double responsibility such as doing chores and taking care of children. This is why time flexibility must accompany the relatively new evolution of corporate learning culture. Communicate with team members to find out when is most suitable for them to learn.

4. Appropriate Learning Model

Updates on your office working policy will affect whether learning should be done online, offline, or a little bit of both. Post-COVID learning culture trends will require L&D to incorporate specific skills and methods. Learning culture is a very generic and abstract topic, which implies that there’s a lot of models available out there. L&D planners, therefore, must be considerate enough in designing a learning culture that is appropriate for the company and its employees’ needs in 2021.

5. Sufficient Amount of Support 

Any learning culture, before or after the remote working trend, can only thrive with sufficient support from all parties involved. The management has to make sure that the learning process is rewarding. L&D planners must dedicate enough time and energy to design and execute a good learning culture, including the best learning experience for users of the prepared learning tools. Without enough support from everyone, learning culture and initiatives could fail.

6. Careful Consideration for Tech-oriented Learning

Let’s admit it – using the latest technology for learning culture is cool as heck. But some tech-oriented methods of learning can actually obstruct the learning process. Heavy use of tech language, for instance, may be more understandable for the IT department. The use of social media such as TikTok, on the other hand, might be more appropriate for younger employees. To create a proper learning culture, make sure that your learning culture is inclusive for all team members involved.