Written by guest blogger Anna Stacie Myrtle. Anna has worked in human resources for nearly a decade. After working for a firm, she now does consulting work with small businesses who are in need of help in the HR department. Other than her work, Anna is dedicated to outdoor photography and her two mutts.
Continuous learning gives individual workers added edge that improves their productivity and motivation.
Not only does continuous learning increase an employee's contribution to the company but it also significantly helps them in their own career path. In a digital age that demands progress and is throttling faster than ever into the 4th Industrial Revolution, it is becoming more of a necessity to expand out of comfort zones and reach peak performance. After all, manufacturing is seeing a shift to automation, and workers need to be trained alongside it.
The notion of learning simultaneously with work is attractive for businesses, especially for manufacturing companies who need a workforce that's productive, safe, and innovative. There are ways to make it appealing and equitably accessible for employees.
Promoting the Culture Through a culture of continuous learning, you have a better rate of engagement. With highly engaged employees, you will see more efficient work and less turnover. In fact, LinkedIn's 2019 Workforce Learning Report revealed that 94% of employees claim that they would choose to stay with a company if it invested in their learning and training. The opportunity for development is one that builds company loyalty, a factor that most businesses are sorely lacking in the modern age. HR managers can build that connection between the company’s higher-ups and its employees. They can bridge the gap by establishing mentorship and peer-to-peer coaching programs. Since HR is in a position that allows them to see each individual's strengths and potential in roles, they have the perspective to properly pair up employees and leaders in workable schedules. Providing Resources More than simply encouraging up-skilling and re-skilling, a company should consider investing in actually providing training and development resources to their employees. It makes it that much easier for employees to take it on as an opportunity. According to SHRM, HR leaders can move this along by moving to skills-based talent architecture and making use of a multi-pronged approach. Simply providing access to eLearning platforms, in-person and online seminars, hands-on workshops, and talks with industry experts can do a lot. By providing different elements and approaches, it casts a wider net of options for employees and covers the different sectors in the company that need more development. As it becomes a core part of the business plan, properly allocated time and finances can turn into significant returns of investment. Employee skills are able to grow and they can improve their confidence in the field. In turn, the company is able to keep up with a market that is increasingly digitized and continuously evolving. This rings especially true for the manufacturing industry, where employees and employers need to embrace continuous training. Creating Avenues for Shared Experience A skills gap can also create a divide in sentiment. Encouraging workers into accepting new practices and methods of production can be a tough hurdle to overcome if there is no sense of shared investment. If each person feels valued and they are aware everyone has skin in the game, it can serve as a motivator. This factor should work hand in hand with an environment that stands as a support system too. When workers feel ill-equipped and unsupported, they will be less likely to accept new introductions and will see it as a threat or reason to leave. Even in your implementation of continuous learning practices, you'll want to hone in on shared experiences like group workshops and paired activities. This has been noted by HR Dive as a key for building strong teams. With a space to collaborate, strengths and weaknesses are revealed and the learning process is streamlined. It can largely be attributed to the fact that these interactions allow them to also learn from each other while still maintaining their own autonomy. Experts note that this method, on average, already shows a return of investment in less than half a year. Skill development of employees is especially important in industries like manufacturing, where skills and effectiveness can draw the line between successful projects and major failures that risk both financial losses for employers and safety and health hazards for employees. By recognizing that continuous learning is a pathway to excellence and making it an integral part of your company's business structure, you will develop a strong, committed workforce while recruiting the best talent available.
Peak Performance can train your employees with our online, self-paced, and instructor-led training courses. In addition to providing interactive course content, the PEAK Workforce Training Center gives managers robust team activity reporting that will eliminate the need for creating manual training reports and is a valuable time-saving tool to ensure compliance requirements are met.
Subscription plans include access to a variety of safety courses with the option to purchase other online or instructor-led training programs. Check out the full features and benefits of the PEAK Workforce Training Center in the demo video below.
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