Capitalize on Your Human Capital

If a learning program is required for upward mobility, and if employees see a direct link between learning and the advancement of their careers, they’ll be more likely to seek it. Also, if the program offers specific, tangible awards for completion, such as completion certificates or other noteworthy credentials, employees will be rewarded with a sense of achievement upon finishing their learning, and they will feel their hard work has set them apart among their peers. In addition, if the program also makes them more employable on the open market (just in case things don’t work out in their current role), they will literally rush to participate in the learning program.

Another important aspect to a program’s relevance is whether it can evolve with the organization’s changing goals — no company’s needs are static, so your learning program can’t be either.

This requires an ongoing review of your evolving needs, as well your being able to translate your changing demands into a comprehensive solution for your employees. To aid in this process, your performance improvement partner should be prepared to customize both the content and its delivery when necessary to address your requirements.

Creating Program Awareness
Too often, organizations do a commendable job designing a learning solution but then give short shrift to marketing that program internally. The result is that fewer participants than expected actually benefit from the program. One of your main goals when launching a learning program should be to ensure that ignorance of the program’s existence simply won’t be an excuse for poor attendance.

Further, you must abandon the “If we build it, they will come” approach to learning and engage in the active marketing of the program. This can be particularly challenging in larger and multinational companies, but regardless of your organization’s size, you can create awareness of and interest in your learning program through print materials, electronic communications and special companywide promotions.