By Kriti Bhuju

Learning is a prerequisite to growth. Both employers and employees need to enhance their knowledge, skill and ability for continuous organizational as well as professional development and growth in the present context. Learning is essential to keep in tune with trends and developments in our field.

 

It is essentially important to make learning a habit as most employees do not focus a great deal on reading and learning. Employees must have a self realization that enhancing their capacity helps upgrading their own knowledge. They must also have the habit of aligning themselves with others to find out their weaknesses. Some organizations have the practice of skill assessment which motivates the employees to learn new things and upgrade their skills.

 

It is crucial to develop learning culture so that learning becomes a trend in organizations for everybody to follow. It is not advisable to push people to learn; employers must provide learning environment and freedom to create culture. Employees must have the feeling that those who are always ready to learn are more successful in their careers. They are more productive and attentive towards quality than the employees who are not eager to learn. Learning habits come naturally for some. However, some others do not wish to learn until their bosses ask them to. People are bound to follow once a system of learning is initiated. This ultimately yields a positive outcome.

 

Learning is not a habit at the root level and that is where the problem lies. Organizations need to focus on having a library, learning zone and providing different trainings to create learning habit among their employees. The employees must also develop a tendency to learn from their subordinates. If a person is really interested in learning, s/he should shun superiority complex and be prepared to learn from juniors. However, this is a vital aspect of learning which we do not see in practice.

 

It helps the employer to create an atmosphere of learning within the organization if a person’s willingness to learn can be identified during the selection process itself. We can learn from any part of the world through e-learning and virtual learning as technology has made learning easier nowadays. Many INGOs have a rule for employees to do a course through e-learning which forces them to learn. They should share their learning and achievement with their co workers after taking certain trainings or completing a course.

 

An individual should understand the importance of learning and realize that it is for their own growth in terms of enhancing knowledge, skills and abilities. Learning habit should come from their heart and mind because it cannot be injected in an individual. Learning culture can be inculcated only if an individual is interested in it. Developing a learning culture ultimately helps employee retention and contributes towards employer branding overall.

 

(The write-up is based on an ‘HR Kurakani’ discussion on “Essentials of Employees’ Learning Habit” on 25 May 2011 conducted by Real solution Pvt Ltd. The participants at the discussion included representatives from commercial banks, INGOs, IT companies, industries, private organizations and freelancers. Shailendra Raj Giri, MD of Real Solutions acted as the moderator of the discussion while Nibha Shakya, HR Executive of the company was the coordinator of the event.)