Go1 is excited to announce that we have won the Partner of the Year award from Chart Learning Solutions Sweden AB. 

After consistently delivering high usage numbers with satisfied customers in Australia, US, Canada, India, Singapore, UK, and Malaysia, Go1 has successfully rolled out the Chart award-winning soft skills training in Leadership Development, Sales Excellence, Customer Service and Building Performance Teams. 

“We are proud to have a strong partnership with Chart Learning Solutions. We hear from many of our larger customers that they enjoy the consistent high quality of their courses and the range of soft skills content. The fact that each of Chart’s courses are prepared for blended learning is also attractive to many of our customers." 

Peter Hörwing, CEO of Chart Learning Solutions, said: 

“Our objective is to provide researched skills development in e.g. leadership development. As of today, there are 13 core competencies that every leader must master in order to be long-term successful. Building these assets in the early career foster the best global leaders. Go1 has developed great analysis tools for us to understand how we can continuously improve. We are happy to award “Partner of the Year” to Go1.” 

Chart Learning Solutions is a performance improvement company through online learning. They develop people in Leadership, Sales, Customer Service and Team Performance. They do this through their Assessments, Online learning with virtual coaching. 

CHART’s Performance Assurance System (PAS) provides you with a five-time award-winning learning process that has revolutionized how organizations can achieve exceptional engagement results from training initiatives. In their PAS process, your organization will build high-performance results with collaborative Learning Communities and live coaching.

Go1 makes it easy for organisations to learn, with the world’s most comprehensive online library of learning resources. Go1 pulls the world’s top online learning providers into one place, delivering all the learning an organisation needs in a single solution. With over 1.5 million learners – and growing – Go1 is a world leader in online learning. 

Go1.com has raised over US$80 million in total funding from investors including M12 – Microsoft’s venture fund, Madrona Venture Group, SEEK, Salesforce Ventures, Shark Tank investor Steve Baxter and Oxford University. 

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

False

Go1 is excited to announce that we have won the Partner of the Year award from Chart Learning Solutions Sweden AB.

Chart Learning Solutions announces Go1 as partner of the year 2020

The holidays are over and we are settling into 2021. Whether you are looking for new compliance courses or ways to upskill your employees, we have some great content for you to check out.  

Which content partner should you look into?

lawpilots joined the Go1 library in October, providing global compliance training in three languages - English, French, and Spanish (with more available upon request). Knowing that compliance training isn’t always fun, lawpilots has found ways to make their content engaging, ensuring longer knowledge retention. 

lawpilots works with large customers, like Konica Minolta and Aldi, and is available through the Go1 subscription. Courses available from lawpilots include Antitrust, Preventing of Money Laundering and Funding Terrorism, Export Control and Dealing with Embargoes, Equal Treatment Laws, Anti-Corruption, Compliance Basics, and CCPA for Employees.

This Dublin-based content partner offers eight of their best courses to Go1 customers covering soft skills, like communication and managing stress, along with cybersecurity and GDPR.

This US-based content partner offers over 500 courses on for today’s industrial craftsman in areas like electrical maintenance, plan science, power plants, industrial machining, and welding. 

Looking for new foreign language content?

Go1’s library has a wide variety of languages available from multiple partners. Below are a few of our recent updates to our library.

Mosaico (new partner) – Italian soft skill content

eLearn It (new partner) – Italian IT security and compliance content

Maestro – Spanish healthcare health and safety content

What’s new from our current content partners?

Our content partners are consistently updating our library – adding new content or updating existing content. Here are some highlights from the last few weeks:

The Expert Academy - new courses on sales and customer service

Channel 1 - updated memorable customer service courses

Learning Planet - goal setting and staying motivated

MicroLearn - digital and financial wellbeing

What’s Shannon’s favorite course right now?

I spend all day in our content library and love finding courses that really resonate. And Emotional Life Skills @ Work by Will Interactive is the top of my list right now!

Paying attention to our own emotions, along with those of our peers, is essential to emotional wellbeing. I love how interactive this course is and how the choose-your-own-adventure videos help demonstrate how our words and actions can impact those around us. This course will help you build a community of support, create healthy emotional wellbeing habits, and see signs of emotional suffering in others.

We hope you find something new and helpful from this month's round-up and can't wait to share more in our next Go1 Content Insider — March 2021 edition.

If you'd like to learn more about the variety of playlists and topics available in your region, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager or contact us directly today. 

Whether you are looking for new compliance courses or ways to upskill your employees, we have some great content for you to check out in this update!

The Go1 Content Insider — February 2021 edition

The Go1 Content Insider is your first stop for all things new in the Go1 Content Hub. In this February update, find out the latest and greatest in the world of content!

We're excited to announce that the Go1 Learning Content Hub has achieved SAP certification, integrating with cloud solutions from SAP. This integration helps organizations to access the Go1 Content Hub and export with one click into SAP SuccessFactors Open Content Network.

The Go1 Content Hub is the largest curated eLearning library from the world’s top training providers, available for a single subscription within your existing learning platform, or available on ours. 

Our Content Hub contains over 100,000 resources, delivered by the biggest names in eLearning, giving you access to a vast range of topics, including industry specific learning. 

With this, you’ll always have the right training courses to upskill, re-train, and retain your employees. And what's more - you'll no longer need to source and manage multiple content provider agreements. 

The SAP® Integration and Certification Center (SAP ICC) has certified that the Go1 Learning Content Hub integrates with cloud solutions from SAP using standard integration technologies, or that run as an add-on to one cloud solution from SAP. 

“We are delighted to announce that the Go1 Content Hub now has certified integration with SAP cloud solutions,” said Basem Emera, VP of Partnerships and Alliances at Go1.

"The certification gives SAP customers the confidence that our Content Hub, which consists of over 200 providers from around the world delivered in one single subscription, integrates smoothly with SAP SuccessFactors, giving customers complete confidence in their selection. We are excited for the journey ahead.”

SAP SuccessFactors is a world-leading provider of cloud human experience management (HXM) – the new people-focused term for HCM. Their HXM suite lets you provide employees with experiences that recognise their individual value and consistently motivate them to achieve peak performance levels. 

Go1 makes it easy for organizations to learn, with the world's most comprehensive online library of learning resources. Go1 pulls the world’s top online learning providers into one place, delivering all the learning an organisation needs in a single solution. With over 1.5 million learners - and growing - Go1 is a world leader in online learning.

Go1 has raised over US$80 million in total funding from investors including M12 - Microsoft’s venture fund, SEEK, Madrona Venture Group, Salesforce Ventures, Shark Tank investor Steve Baxter and Oxford University. To learn more about Go1, contact us today.

We're excited to announce that the Go1 Learning Content Hub has achieved SAP certification, integrating with cloud solutions from SAP. 

Go1 Content Hub achieves SAP-Certified integration with cloud solutions from SAP

True or false: goldfish only have three-second memories? Despite the common myth to the contrary, this is false. Some studies even estimate that their memories last up to five months, but that’s beside the point. The point is, you most likely grew up believing that goldfish have three-second memories, before later learning this is a myth, and unlearning this ‘fact’. Maybe you’re only just finding out it’s untrue now and unlearning on the fly. 

Either way, this is an example of unlearning. In the most basic terms, unlearning is the process of updating your knowledge when presented with new information. Out with the old, in with the new.  

We introduced the concept of unlearning in our recent blog on the learn, unlearn, relearn cycle. Now, we’re back for more. 

To help you get a grasp on unlearning, we’ll recap unlearning for L&D, before honing in on unlearning unconscious biases. We’ll ask what are unconscious biases, then move on to recognising unconscious biases, and how to unlearn unconscious biases for a more inclusive L&D. 

As strange as it sounds, unlearning is one of the hottest learning trends of 2021. We explain why in our recent blog on the learn, unlearn, relearn cycle, so, if you haven’t already, reading that is a great starting point. 

For those in need of a quick recap, we defined unlearning as “a healthy, natural, and necessary step in the learning process: being open to different perspectives, and willing to update your beliefs when presented with new information that challenges previously-held conceptions.” 

HR Technologist takes a similar view, defining unlearning as “part of a cycle where the learner refreshes the mind, lets go of old-fashioned notions, and embraces new concepts.” 

Letting go of old-fashioned notions is important because — as you have probably noticed — L&D is changing quickly. You might say that change is the only constant. For example, only 5% of L&D teams expect their strategy to revert to what it was pre-COVID. 

All of this change requires a high degree of adaptability by unlearning old ideas and relearning new ones, making unlearning an essential skill for L&D professionals. 

In the context of L&D, unlearning can manifest in many ways. In our recent eBook 5 new thinking habits for a smarter, stronger L&D, L&D experts Michelle Ockers, Shannon Tipton, and Laura Overton identify several engrained ‘thinking habits’ for L&D professionals to challenge — and even unlearn. They define thinking habits as “the persistent perspectives and settled tendencies that influence the way we think about our professional world of L&D work.” 

Often, these ‘settled tendencies’ go unnoticed, as we simply operate on autopilot. The mindset is: ‘this is just how we do things, why change?’ As a result, many L&D thinking habits go unexamined. Instead, we take them for granted. Unlearning means actively interrogating your thinking habits to ensure they are adding value. Another aspect of this is replacing outdated thinking habits when necessary.

For their complete expert insights, be sure to download the eBook 5 new thinking habits for a smarter, stronger L&D. However, two examples of thinking habits that L&D can challenge and potentially unlearn are Learning First (‘I solve learning problems’) vs. Business First (‘I solve business problems’), as well as Hold On (‘My approach is shaped by past success’) vs. Move On (‘My approach is shaped by a willingness to let go’). 

For many, a crucial aspect of the unlearning process is unlearning unconscious bias. To do this, you must first understand what unconscious bias is. 

The term unconscious bias — often referred to interchangeably as implicit bias — was coined by psychologists Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald in 1995. They argued that unconscious associations and judgments influence our social behaviours. Accordingly, they define unconscious bias as “attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious way, making them difficult to control.”

The Office of Diversity and Outreach echoes this, defining unconscious bias as “social stereotypes about certain groups of people that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness. Everyone holds unconscious beliefs about various social and identity groups, and these biases stem from one’s tendency to organise social worlds by categorising.”

At the risk of stating the obvious, unconscious biases differ from other biases in that they are unconscious. They form and manifest without us realising. As such, they are difficult to recognise and control. These biases can be based on numerous factors, such as societal or parental conditioning, stereotyping, media intake, past experiences, and our brains’ propensity to organise things into ‘neat’ categories. 

Often, unconscious biases show up when we are operating on autopilot. If you have a ‘gut feeling’ when making an important decision, that can be unconscious bias at play. That’s just how you have been conditioned to react to a given set of stimuli. For these reasons, actively interrogating, updating, and unlearning certain beliefs and assumptions is critical. 

Future Learn outlines many concrete examples of unconscious bias. For example, blonde women are paid 7% more than brunettes in the UK, while 40% of Americans associate a Southern accent with being uneducated. 

Additionally, one of the most common forms of unconscious bias occurs in the hiring process. Research shows that candidates who have stereotypically ‘foreign’ sounding names receive 50% fewer interview callbacks than other candidates. 

Impact Group offers wide-ranging examples of unconscious bias in the workplace, finding that, “48% of African American women and 47% of Latina women report being mistaken for administrative or custodial staff.”

Similarly, a study by Yale University found that male and female scientists, who were all trained to be objective, were more likely to hire men, consider men more competent than women, and pay men $4,000 more per year than women.

Unconscious bias doesn’t just manifest in factors like gender and race — even height is not exempt. In America, 15% of the male population are taller than 6 foot. Yet, 60% of corporate CEO’s are taller than 6 foot. 

Ultimately, these unconscious biases can have huge, business-wide ramifications. Impact Group estimates the cost of unconscious bias to be a massive $64 billion per year. Further, of those who have experienced unconscious workplace bias, just over a third say they feel alienated and reluctant to share ideas, while 80% say they would not refer others to work for their organisation. 

Unlearning unconscious bias for a more inclusive L&D 

Recognising when these biases occur is the hardest part of unlearning unconscious biases. As Future Learn says, “unconscious bias happens involuntarily without any awareness or intentional control.” So, how exactly do you recognise unconscious biases, and take steps to unlearn them? 

When it comes to recognising unconscious bias, the good news is that we’re all in this together. Literally. Everyone has unconscious biases. That’s just how human brains operate. The question is not, ‘do I have unconscious biases?’, but rather, ‘what are my unconscious biases?’ 

Thankfully, acknowledging that you have unconscious biases is a good first step to unlearning your unconscious biases. By being more aware of unconscious biases, you are more likely to catch them when they occur. 

Behavioural scientist Dr Pragya Agarwal explains this, saying, “the more we talk openly about our biases — individual, interpersonal, and systemic — the more it helps...as does having more conversations involving different communities.” 

Dr Agarwal, who recently wrote a book on unconscious bias, outlines other methods to recognise unconscious biases on a societal level. She explains, “we also need to have more conversations in different domains in an open and nonjudgmental way...this will involve looking at words and images that perpetuate and reinforce these stereotypes, and it will require the media to take more responsibility and be accountable.”

She also says bias training can be beneficial for recognising unconscious bias — provided that training is carried out in a meaningful way. According to Dr Agarwal, a day-long course or hour-long test is not enough to undo a lifetime of unconscious biases. Rather, unconscious bias training must be a rigorous and ongoing process, wherein participants continually and actively evaluate their unconscious biases. 

Ultimately, there is no catch-all solution for recognising or unlearning unconscious biases. Some will probably still pass you by. However, don’t let that discourage you. When attempting to unlearn a lifetime of unconscious biases, awareness and commitment are crucial.

Diversity & Inclusion thought leader and Chief Disruption Officer at Emberin, Maureen Frank, provides two excellent pieces of advice for unlearning unconscious bias in her recent guest blog for Go1. 

Firstly, she invites you to “bring your unconscious thoughts into your consciousness, challenge them, and ask yourself whether your thinking is based on factual information before you take action.”

Secondly, she reminds us that, “when dealing with bias, one key thing to remember is: you are not responsible for your first thought; you are responsible for your second thought and your first action.”  

Putting these two pieces of advice into practise can go a long way towards unlearning unconscious biases to create a more inclusive and accepting L&D. 

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

We’ll recap unlearning for L&D, before honing in on unlearning unconscious biases. We’ll ask what are unconscious biases and how can we unlearn unconscious biases for a more inclusive L&D. 

Unlearning unconscious biases in L&D

Written by guest blogger Maureen Frank, Chief Disruption Officer at Emberin, and Diversity & Inclusion thought leader. Maureen challenges leaders and organisations to get real about diversity and inclusion. She has mentored over 35,000 people worldwide and has a passion for women in leadership and inclusive career development. Her approach to diversity and inclusion is challenging and unique, yet simplifies a complex discussion.

Recently, I committed to having one hundred virtual coffees with leaders and diversity and inclusion experts from around the world. As a result, I have been having some interesting conversations. My main question is:

What will the pivot in diversity and inclusion look like post-COVID?

This article is the third in a series of thoughts, drawing from these conversations, my research, and hands-on experiences supporting leaders to be more inclusive during the lockdown.

If you haven’t already, be sure to read the first two articles in this series:

Taking the lessons of COVID forward to our new normal 

We're in this together, but we aren’t experiencing it in the same way

Inclusive leaders excel at building connections among their virtual teams. Leaders who prioritise inclusivity can engage team members and get people to collaborate effectively in difficult contexts, such as across physical distance and video screens.

Inclusive leadership can also hold together today’s disrupted, virtual workforces. With many companies mandating that employees work from home, our ways of working have been fundamentally changed for the foreseeable future — perhaps forever. 

Thanks to technology, we are often invited into people’s homes and personal lives in unexpected ways (kids in the background, casual clothes, unkempt hair, cats on keyboards). Our research shows that inclusive leaders — those who seek out and value individual perspectives, create a sense of belonging, and build deep alignment on a clear purpose — are the best at creating high-performing teams under normal circumstances. Today, they are also the best at building connections among their virtual teams. 

Inclusive leaders demonstrate compassion, kindness, and curiosity about their teams. Given global circumstances, now is the perfect time for leaders to learn more about the people who work for them and embrace their various worldviews and lifestyles.

Many people who are not in the dominant majority in their workplace have learned to keep their private lives private. As such, they might now feel a bit exposed. The best inclusive leaders will lean in with curiosity and empathy to embrace those people and all others on their teams. Getting people to listen to each other and be more aware of how each person’s perspective adds value to the collective matters a lot in today’s disrupted environment.

How do you maintain company culture during prolonged periods of remote working?

Creating a sense of belonging and community is fundamental to any workplace. A common way of doing this is by creating a culture where colleagues feel that they are part of something bigger. Inclusive leadership is at the centre of this policy. To achieve this, leaders must focus on inclusive remote workplace training to help everyone understand how to maintain an inclusive workplace while working remotely. 

Inclusive remote workplace training is necessary because, in most organisations, there are ‘in-groups’ and ‘out-groups.’ Those who feel closer to the centre, and others who don’t feel like they have a voice within the business. Shifting that paradigm to a virtual world can exacerbate this divide. People in the ‘in-group’ will still be texting and calling each other, and maintaining constant communication. However, unless colleagues are mindful of the extent of their communication, people in the 'out-group' can easily be forgotten – they are out of sight and, essentially, out of mind.

As a result, it won’t be long until members of the ‘out-group’ feel even less like they belong. It’s down to your leaders to think about how they structure communication and meetings to prioritise inclusivity and ensure everyone feels like they have a voice.

Since COVID-19 was first reported in Wuhan, China, the UK has seen a significant increase in discrimination, xenophobia, and violence towards people who appear to be members of East Asian communities. Businesses have suffered, people have avoided areas like Chinatown, and individuals have been verbally and physically assaulted for having an assumed association with the Coronavirus. 

These beliefs are not only unreasonable, they are also inaccurate, unjustified, and fuelled by harmful stereotypes. If we’re not careful, such beliefs can subconsciously influence our worldview, leading to bias against individuals or groups, as well as closed-minded, prejudicial, and unfair thinking. 

This is just one example of the damaging impact unconscious biases can have in society. Bias also exists for perceived age, religion, sexual orientation, gender, upbringing, seniority, ethnicity, education, marital status, physical ability, and any combinations of these factors.

When dealing with bias, one key thing to remember is: you are not responsible for your first thought; you are responsible for your second thought and your first action. So, before you walk past the Chinese supermarket, scroll past the Chinese options on your takeaway app, or reject an application from a candidate with an East Asian name, bring your unconscious thoughts into your consciousness, challenge them, and ask yourself whether your thinking is based on factual information before you take action.

There’s no doubt that COVID-19 has made our current reality a little scary. We have to believe it will pass, although we have no idea how long that could take. What we do know is that we have an opportunity to adapt and evolve. We have a chance to reflect, regroup, and reassess. And we face the very real prospect of creating a more equitable and empowered future for all.

The qualities of diverse and inclusive companies — notably innovation and resilience — are precisely what will be required during the post-pandemic recovery phase.

Some may argue that a global pandemic is not the time to discuss workplace diversity and inclusion as an imperative for organisations; that there are more pressing issues facing our world. But if you look at what organisations need most now, perhaps you would shift your view and contend that now is precisely the right time to recognise the importance of diversity.

Now is the perfect time for leaders to learn more about the people who work for them and embrace their various worldviews and lifestyles. In this article, the third in a series on D&I written by guest blogger Maureen Frank, we look at how you can seize this moment to embed inclusive leadership habits.

Diversity and inclusion  post-COVID: seize the moment to embed inclusive leadership habits

Now is the perfect time for leaders to learn more about the people who work for them and embrace their various worldviews and lifestyles. In this article, the third in a series on D&I written by guest blogger Maureen Frank, we look at how you can seize this moment to embed inclusive leadership habits. 

Go1 is excited to announce our partnership with the Egyptian Banking Institute (EBI), offering the Egyptian banking sector access to more than 80,000 courses through one centralised platform. 

EBI aims to support and develop the human capital of the banking sector to face the future, and for organisations to reach their full potential and strategic goals. 

Andrew Barnes, CEO, Go1 said, “Egypt has always been a strategic market that we were keen to establish our footprint in. We are pleased that we partnered with the pioneering Egyptian Banking Institute. This partnership will make it easy for banks in Egypt to quickly access our extensive library which offers much depth and breadth.”

Mr. Abdel Aziz Nossier, Executive Director of the Egyptian Banking Institute, stated: “The mandate set by the Central Bank of Egypt is to develop the skills of financial service professionals across Egypt’s banking sector. Go1’s comprehensive library has the breadth and depth to meet our banks’ diverse training needs, ranging from compliance and professional skills, to personal development and IT skills. We are very excited by our partnership with Go1 and Go1’s distributor in MENA region, Consultrics. We look forward to always offering our clients the cutting-edge of training.”

Dr. Hanan El Wagie, Managing Director of Consultrics, Go1’s distributor in MENA region said: “We’re very excited about this partnership. Egyptian banks will now be able to access Go1’s extensive eLearning library in a one-stop solution platform, while enjoying the exceptional support and guidance of the Egyptian Banking Institute. This will enable Egyptian banking professionals to quickly ramp up their knowledge and skills in par with global standards.”

EBI was established in 1991 by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), as its official training arm to apply the best international practices to develop the technical and managerial skills of the banking and financial sector professionals. EBI's vision is to become the financial knowledge hub for Egypt and the surrounding region through providing integrated knowledge services for the financial sector and spreading financial literacy. To learn more about EBI, visit www.ebi.gov.

Go1 makes it easy for organisations to learn, with the world's most comprehensive online library of learning resources. Go1 pulls the world’s top online learning providers into one place, delivering all the learning an organisation needs in a single solution. With over 1.5 million learners – and growing – Go1 is a world leader in online learning.

Go1.com has raised over US$80 million in total funding from investors including M12 - Microsoft’s venture fund, Madrona Venture Group, SEEK, Salesforce Ventures, Shark Tank investor Steve Baxter and Oxford University. To learn more about Go1, visit www.go1.com.

Go1 and Egyptian Banking Institute partner to empower financial service professionals through eLearning

Too often, L&D teams are seduced by short-term thinking. In fast-paced environments, it can be difficult to see past your immediate goals and plan for the long term. However, in a world where ‘sustainability’ is on the tip of everyone’s tongue, L&D must adapt. 

Whether it’s environmental sustainability, economic sustainability, or sustaining a healthy work-life balance, sustainability is now a critical consideration in most areas of life, and one from which L&D is not exempt. 

In fact, with the shelf life of skills shrinking and the cycle of unlearning and relearning in full swing, creating a sustainable learning culture should be a top priority for L&D teams. 

With this in mind, we’ll outline the importance of creating a sustainable learning culture, before asking what a sustainable learning culture looks like, and offering four practical tips to create a sustainable learning culture. 

Ready to put sustainability front and centre? Read on. 

The importance of creating a sustainable learning culture

If, like us, you’re a firm believer in lifelong learning, then the value of a sustainable learning culture is self-evident. However, to put it in more concrete terms, teams who create sustainable learning cultures also tend to be more successful in areas such as revenue, growth, and talent retention. 

Training Zone outlines the strategic importance of having a sustainable learning culture, saying, “Linking work-based training with an organisation's strategic goals and objectives can significantly improve business performance and, importantly, develop an organisational culture that nurtures innovation.” 

According to a recent report by Docebo, which surveyed 832 talent development leaders, just 31% believe that their organisation currently has a culture of learning to a ‘high’ or ‘very high’ extent. Only 6% of respondents said they didn’t have a learning culture at all, with the remaining respondents split between having a learning culture to a small or moderate extent.  

While most organisations recognise the importance of developing a sustainable learning culture, these findings show that doing so is an ongoing process, and there is usually room for improvement. 

Business benefits of sustainable learning

Organisations that cultivate a sustainable learning culture reap the rewards, with Docebo’s report finding that high-performing organisations are 5x more likely to have an extensive learning culture. Top performers are also twice as likely to say their learning functions help meet organisational business goals and 3x more likely to hold leaders accountable for demonstrating the importance of learning. 

Additionally, top-performing learning cultures are 6x more likely to “discuss an employer’s commitments to ongoing talent development during pre-hire interviews.” Such companies are also 3x more likely to leverage their learning culture in the recruitment process, showing that teams with entrenched learning cultures have a better chance of securing top talent.

Given these findings, building a sustainable learning culture is beneficial on multiple levels. Obviously, learning is its own reward, and the pursuit of knowledge is always a worthy goal. Yet, from a business-centric perspective, organisations with sustainable learning cultures tend to outperform their counterparts in many areas. As Docebo explains, “robust cultures of learning are distinct hallmarks of organisations that consistently produce the best business results — companies that lead the world’s markets in revenue growth, profitability, market share, and customer satisfaction.”

What does a sustainable learning culture look like?

Sustainability can mean different things to different L&D teams, whether it’s securing L&D’s position in the global marketplace, ensuring your team’s goals will be viable in 5 years, or upskilling employees to maintain relevant skills in a changing L&D landscape. Whatever sustainability means to your team, there are a few overarching traits of sustainable learning cultures. 

A study by the Association of Talent Development provides a useful definition of sustainable learning, highlighting several shared characteristics of successful learning cultures. They explain, “A culture of learning...is one in which employees continuously seek, share, and apply new knowledge and skills to improve individual and organisational performance. The importance of the pursuit and application of learning is expressed in organisational values and permeates all aspects of organisational life.”

A sustainable learning culture shares these characteristics, but with extra emphasis placed on long-term planning and repeatable, future-ready processes.

Characteristics of sustainable learning cultures

Deloitte’s 2021 Human Capital Trends report identifies several notable trends in sustainable workplace learning cultures, such as, “integrating workers’ physical, mental, financial, and social health into the design of work itself”, “creating teams and superteams that use technology to enhance natural human ways of working”, and “developing and acting on forward-looking insights using real-time data to harness workforce potential”.

Perhaps most importantly, they identify “capitalising on worker agency and choice as the means to drive learning, adaptability, and impact” as a key pillar of sustainable learning cultures. Unsurprisingly, when learners have agency over their professional development, results are more likely to be positive in the long term. 

According to interviews with talent development leaders, other characteristics of sustainable learning cultures include “closely aligned business and learning strategies, organisational values that affirm learning’s importance, and an atmosphere in which learning is so ingrained that it simply becomes a way of life.” 

Collaboration and personalisation lead the way

Deloitte's Human Capital Trends report lays out the top factors for sustainable workplace design. According to their research, 39% of respondents believe ‘introducing collaboration platforms’ is key to sustainable work, while 36% say ‘allowing for personal choice in determining how work gets done’ is vital to sustainable workplace design. 

Similarly, Docebo’s report identifies collaboration and open knowledge sharing as crucial factors in sustainable learning cultures, saying that in top-performing organisations “employees share knowledge with their colleagues at a rate four times greater than that of workers in lower-performing firms.” 

Likewise, the Association of Talent Development believes that ‘making time for learning’, ‘personalised development plans’, ‘creating accountability’, and ‘using culture to attract new talent’ are key contributors to sustainable workplace learning. 

While this may sound straightforward, simple things like learner collaboration, prioritising learning, and personalised learner development plans can go a long way to creating a sustainable learning culture. 

These findings paint a picture of modern sustainable learning cultures. It seems workplaces must take a holistic approach to employee wellbeing to reduce burnout and increase sustainability, while also removing barriers to allow open communication and knowledge sharing. 

Further, sustainable learning cultures tend to place employees in control of their learning, via initiatives such as personalised development plans, learning in the flow of work, and technologies that facilitate learning anywhere, any time. Over time, this can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, where learners actively seek out knowledge, and learning becomes a way of life. 

Four practical tips to create a sustainable learning culture

While creating a sustainable learning culture is likely a high priority for most L&D teams, achieving this goal isn’t easy. As we know, only 31% of organisations believe their learning culture currently performs to a high or very high extent, leaving the rest in a state of development. 

To help you take the next step towards a sustainable learning culture, here are four practical tips. 

Embedding a learning culture on an organisational level starts with your leaders. After all, why would employees take sustainable learning seriously if leaders don’t practice what they preach? 

Harnessing your leaders is good advice for any form of organisational change, with McKinsey finding that “good implementers were 1.4 times more likely than poor implementers to have change leaders who had personally led multiple change efforts.” 

In the context of sustainable learning cultures, high-performing organisations are 3x more likely to hold leaders accountable for demonstrating the importance of learning.

2. Put your learners in control with lifelong learning and learning in the flow 

As mentioned above, learners are more likely to succeed when they have autonomy over their learning. This just makes sense: would you rather someone tell you what you have to learn, or listen to your needs and help you develop a personalised learning plan? 

The stats back this up, with ‘allowing for personal choice in determining how work gets done’ ranking second among the most important factors for sustainable workplace design. 

For further insights on this topic, we analyse the importance of putting your learners in control in our recent blog post on making the shift from formal education to lifelong learning and our recent webinar on learning in the flow of work. 

3. Implement a growth mindset to develop a culture of knowledge sharing

Once again, it all comes back to mindset. As we discussed in our recent article on fixed mindsets vs growth mindsets, adopting a growth mindset opens up a world of possibilities for L&D teams — including embedding a sustainable learning culture. 

By doing this, you will remove communication barriers and develop a culture of knowledge sharing. As mentioned, high-performing learning cultures share knowledge 4x more than other organisations, so this should be a high priority.

The more you share knowledge among teams, the more you learn and grow, and the more sustainable your learning culture will become!

It’s fantastic to have a good learning culture now, but developing a sustainable learning culture is all about planning for the future. Having a future-ready learning culture has become more important for L&D teams, as the shelf-life of skills is shrinking, forcing a wave of reskilling and a shift from hard skills to soft skills. 

Put simply, L&D teams must focus on skills of the future to ensure their learning culture will be sustainable in the long run. 

Unsure what skills your team will need in the future? Don’t worry, we cover that in detail in our recent blog on closing the L&D skills gap.

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs. 

Sustainability is now a critical consideration in most areas of life, and one from which L&D is not exempt. As such, we look at how to create a sustainable learning culture.

How to create a sustainable learning culture

Now that right skilling is at the top of many business agendas, it’s never been more important for L&D to get the learning content right. Organisations that incorporate a diverse mix of training styles, formats and delivery methods are seeing impressive results in terms of performance and profitability. 

So what does it look like, and how you can do it, too? 

You need to offer your people a breadth of content as diverse as the performance challenges you’re trying to overcome. It’s a concept embraced by Stanford, no less. They’re strong advocates, saying that the flexibility to learn in a variety of ways means “you’ll learn more effectively”.

Rather than relying on any single method or learning tool, take full advantage of the abundance of technologies and training courses out there. Here are a few to consider.

For many organisations, gamification has become the glue that holds remote teams together, uniting them through shared content and common goals. Gen Z will have grown up with gamified educational tools, so this fun and immersive pattern of learning will be familiar to them, but it’s become equally popular with other age groups. 

Gamification keeps users engaged by introducing elements of competition and giving a sense of progression. Leaderboards and challenges tap into employees’ natural competitive drive, motivating them to complete the training modules and gain the skills that meet business goals.

The popularity of YouTube tutorials is a testament to the effectiveness of engagement with video-based learning. The ability to pause and repeat the content lets employees control the pace of learning.

According to a report by Wainhouse Research, 90% of employees surveyed found streaming video (both live and on-demand) to be effective for communicating work-related information. More specifically, workers believe that online video tools help improve learning, compared to traditional communication tools alone – making video an important part of the L&D content kit. 

Here content focuses on a specific objective, doing away with the flannel to cut straight to the ‘how to’. It’s delivered in short bursts via methods including podcasts and infographics. And as it’s usually designed for smartphones, it’s ideal for just-in-time learning and fast-paced, changeable business environments. 

Macrolearning also has its place. Areas such as leadership training or compliance can benefit from a macro approach – think experiential learning or online courses spread over hours or days. Learners are more immersed in the subject and gain an in-depth understanding of complex matters.

Right skilling needs smarter content curation

As an L&D professional tasked with right skilling your workforce, you owe it to your learners to embrace a wide range of content. But skill requirements change quickly, so how do you keep up?

Many organisations turn to an online learning content marketplace. These massive repositories can certainly make your life easier, offering access to a huge breadth of subject matter in a variety of styles, formats and delivery methods. 

A large library of content allows you to deliver new learning in days, not months. Go1 is the world’s most comprehensive online training library, gathering the top training providers such as Skillsoft, edX, and Thomson Reuters, into one place. With experts to help you curate the content, it’s a good choice for savvy L&D professionals keen to position their learning function as a strategic enabler within the business.

By calling on a wide range of content, L&D professionals can create a learning environment that leads to success and creates business impact. It’s the smarter way to approach right skilling and ensure learning has a seat at the table. 

Now that right skilling is top of many business agendas, it’s never been more important for L&D to get the learning content right. So what does it look like, and how you can do it, too? 

Why right skilling is easy with content breadth

Psst… want to know the biggest reason L&D budgets get cut? It’s because most senior L&D professionals don’t know how to operate L&D like a business within their company. 

In the recent webinar How to make L&D a strategic enabler, industry experts Lori Niles-Hofmann and Amanda Nolen joined Ollie Browning of Go1 to reveal the secrets that make L&D a more successful function. 

There were plenty of useful takeaways from the webinar; we’ve pulled out our top four. 

Next time a stakeholder comes to you with a request, resist the temptation to jump in and simply fulfil the order. Instead, ask one simple question: “What is the evidence of need?” 

If your stakeholder can’t come up with an answer, other departments in your organisation can. Speak to IT, internal communications and marketing. They are already tracking employee behaviour and offer rich seams of data that can provide you with evidence – such as the ‘help’ subjects people are searching on the company intranet, details of performance goals, and findings from employee engagement surveys. 

If the data shows evidence of need, your next step is to drill down to discover the strategic value of this intervention to the business. 

Now it's the time to find out what the stakeholder is truly trying to achieve. Is it to reduce risk, save money, improve performance, lower attrition rates? 

The request must be tied to a business goal. If you need help locating your organisation’s business goals, take a look at recent company reports, turn to the Project Management Office to see what areas of the business they’re investing in, or speak to HR and those looking at strategic workforce planning to see what skills gaps they’re facing. 

Don’t be afraid to ask. L&D must use all the information available to align itself with the desired business outcomes.

Once you’ve given your stakeholder’s request the green light, you want to make your training impactful. Developing senior-level champions for training is key. Managers are the link between L&D and your organisation’s business strategy, so you need to get them on board early. The more positive a manager is about training, the more likely it is that the programme will gain traction with employees. 

There is a lot of great content out there, so you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. But with companies clamouring for the latest skills to stay productive and competitive, L&D professionals are often unsure where to turn. 

In our recent webinar 'How to make L&D a strategic enabler', industry experts Lori Niles-Hofmann and Amanda Nolen joined Ollie Browning of Go1 to reveal the secrets that make L&D a more successful function. There were plenty of useful takeaways from the webinar; we’ve pulled out our top four.