On 13th May 2024, organisations throughout the UK will be celebrating Learning at Work Week and the positive benefits of lifelong learning, co-ordinated by Campaign for Learning.
'Learning Power' is the 2024 theme, ‘Create The Future’ was last year's 2023 theme. You can plan events for your people to learn together as a whole organisation. Alternatively, you can choose to focus more on individual learning or bringing teams together.
People-Centric Learning within your organisation has the power to inspire your people and enable positive change that delivers results, both in terms of team performance but also for wellbeing at work too. As organisational development specialists we love to talk about culture, behaviours, challenges and opportunities.
We’ve rounded up several ideas to help you plan ahead for Learning at Work Week.
1. Plan sessions based on the behaviours and skills you want to see
Write a wishlist of the behavioural skills you want your people to develop, build these around the future goals of your organisation and then organise sessions during the week based around your wishlist led by topic experts.
These could be anything from overcoming imposter syndrome, creating good habits, dealing with crisis situations, or handling difficult conversations. Uncovering hidden skillsets within your team and growing behavioural and hard skills help generate a more successful future.
2. Book an internal conference to champion learning
Book a day to encourage different departments to share their knowledge. You can find creative ways to do this virtually, face-to-face or using panel sessions to spark debate and get people talking.
Team cohesion and interdepartmental interaction can help spark debate and grow collective knowledge. Peer-to-Peer learning can break down barriers to learning more than other techniques. It’s a great way to generate powerful ideas for the future and introduce positive cultural change.
3. Host a panel to motivate your leaders of the future
Get your senior team interacting with your junior team on a personal level, host a panel session and plan an agenda to discuss future topics including AI and multi-generational workforces so your junior team can contribute fresh ideas.
To add sustainability to your business you need to invest in your future leaders.
Inspiring your new hires is a great place to start. It’s a great way to get your team interacting at all levels. Remember that newcomers can be mentors as well as leaders as they provide fresh views on old topics and bring new skillsets to the organisation.
4. Book a motivational speaker
Book a face-to-face motivational speaker on a topic such as building resilience.
In a world of constant change we’re all experiencing more underlying stress. Hearing from speakers who have been through intense change or overcome adversity can be hugely empowering.
5. Run an internal survey for ideas on learning culture
Do an internal survey ahead of time to find out what your team want to learn about.
When people feel involved in their learning, they engage more with learning programmes.
You may uncover learning topics you hadn’t thought up. Ask your HR leaders for innovative ways to benchmark learning goals too.
6. Focus time on developing leaders
Organise a two-day event where your leaders can grow together.
Leaders who continuously grow their behavioural skillsets and engage with their people by working with them are more likely to drive positive cultural change through the business.
Get your leaders together to discuss company culture and ways in which you can grow your organisation over the next few years and set ambitious goals.
7. Announce positive change for the future
Gather everyone together for positive announcements.
You can use Learning at Work Week to launch new people-centric initiatives and share future goals of the organisation. It’s great to introduce positive cultural change during Learning at Work Week.
The benefits of Learning at Work Week
Learning at Work Week is a great way to recognise and discover skillsets within your people and introduce change in your organisation. By embracing continuous learning within your organisation you can create a more successful future for your company and your people.
We’ve designed 9 sessions especially for Learning at Work Week 2024.
