How to engage public servants with learning opportunities

This article is written by Nikki Isaac, Thel Simpson, Kendra Ferris and Nadine Lacelle at the Ontario Public Service, Canada

• The problem: With so many competing priorities, training is often seen as a nice to do, rather than being part of expected job duties.
• Why it matters: Organisations that have developed strong learning cultures report having more engaged staff, being more agile and better prepared for future changes and technological developments.
• The solution: Creating cultures of trust and respect for professional expertise, experience and perspective. This will encourage people to share when they feel they need to build capacity in a skill area, and they will be more open to learning from peers. In a world where governments always strive to ‘do more with less' and where everything seems to be a priority, it’s easy to see how building public servants’ skills is barely a blip on government radars.

A team of us within the Ontario Public Service (OPS) have been spending the past few months trying to hack a system where learning seems to have been removed from the organisation's overall culture. We understand from speaking with other jurisdictions that this is a shared experience with other public sectors and jurisdictions.

At first, we positioned our approach as building a learning culture within the OPS. But in the discovery phase, we attended a lunch and learn in which the presenter reframed our thinking. When asked how to start building a culture of learning, she (Kinga Petrovai) suggested that we should start by building a learning organisation, then build great learning experiences. This, Petrovai explained, would result in a strong learning culture.

So then, what does a learning organisation and great learning look like?

The anatomy of a learning organisation

1. A common language around learning

Officially, the OPS defines learning as “the process of acquiring knowledge, skills or abilities” and we acknowledge that this can happen in both formal and informal ways. Part of the work we want to do is to talk openly about the limits and opportunities of learning and what role training has in the equation.

Much of the information and content we’re obliged to share internally comes as “training” — information delivered to learners in virtual or in-person classrooms. For example, via eLearning or through self-paced microlearning. It’s pushed to the learners, and then the interaction stops. We don’t do a great job of encouraging learning through practice and applying that content to work in projects of practice.

We want to make space for conversations around terms like Learning, Training and Development to make sure that people understand their experiences through a common language.

2. Prioritise and value learning

It removes blockers to learners' ability to participate in learning activities. It may mean removing red tape, such as multilevel approvals that can stand in the way of learners receiving funding for training or other experiences, like new resources, tools or information. It can also mean including learning as a way to rate performance, or incentivise learning in other ways. Learning that’s accessible supports organisational goals around efficiency and productivity while also supporting people through their career growth and curiosity.

3. Consider learning as part of the job

This may mean carving out time in calendars and protecting this as time dedicated to learning. It means getting rid of lunch’n’learns, which puts the onus on the learners to prioritise their learning over their mental health and energy (not allowing public servants space to step away from their workplace).

4. Share what you’re learning

In a learning organisation, learners are provided with the opportunity to share their learning. Opportunities to talk about learning can be included in staff meetings, ‘book clubs’, show and tells and report backs for example.

5. Understand that training and learning come in many forms

Pre-pandemic, we had a limited view as to what training and learning experiences looked like. It was generally in the form of all-day workshops that were limited in attendance to people residing in the capital city, or who had been able to work their way through the approval process and be granted travel expenses.

The pandemic forced us to recognise how inclusive online content delivery and sharing can be, while also understanding that learning can take many forms.

Mentorships, communities of practice, book clubs, and job shadowing can all be valuable in helping public servants build capacity.

6. Learn from learners

As our team moved through the discovery phase, we hosted drop-in sessions to raise awareness of what we wanted to build, help identify blockers to learning and to solicit feedback.

We recognised a number of public servants consistently attending these sessions. One even told us that, ironically, she had missed another formal learning session to attend the drop-in and contribute.

This told us two things - learners are looking for spaces to learn in a community, and learners who attended multiple sessions could become learning champions who could host community learning groups in the future.

We also heard that not everyone feels that they have access to learning and that equity of access across identities and experiences was critical to feeling as though learning was and is valued. So, regardless of where people live and work, they want to be able to access learning. Regardless of their career or life stage and regardless of their lived experience, everyone wants access to information and resources to enrich their experiences at work.

7. Offer high-quality learning

Good learning is learning that is developed using Learning Experience Design - a methodology that puts the learners at the centre of the design process. Learning is designed based on the how, when, where, what and why learners want to learn.

Good learning is developed with an understanding that it is not a one-size-fits-all all approach. It meets learners where they are and offers good value for time invested.

Adults learn best by doing (experiential learning) and learning becomes solidified when we can talk about it or teach others.

We still have a lot to learn on how to develop a great learning organisation. But so far, we know we want to incorporate the following concepts:

• Develop a learning Code of Practice or Learning Standards showing a commitment to developing good, learner-focused learning
• Socialise learning through learning communities led by learning champions
• Ritualise learning by dedicating uninterrupted time to it on a weekly basis
• Provide support to managers on how to hire for, or develop, a growth-mindsets in staff. Also, teach managers to empower teams to participate in learning opportunities

Building a learning organisation needs to be an intentional act. Doing it right once doesn’t mean your work is done. It needs an ongoing and thoughtful process, with ongoing evaluation and commitment to progress.

By sharing our own learnings, we hope that this article will inspire you to bring some of these practices into your own department and create a stronger learning culture.

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(Image Credit: Unsplash)