Josh Bersin wrote in the Harvard Business Review that “the main driving force influencing business is the strength of an organization’s learning culture. “Of course, almost any and all learning and progression professionals would agree with this statement. EN: How do you create a culture of learning?
To find out, I reached out to HealthEdge’s VP of Talent & Learning, Wendi Ellis. With more than 1,600 employees, HealthEdge has a “culture of learning,” as its employees describe it. HealthEdge is a SaaS company that connects fitness plans, providers, and patients with comprehensive responses to help new business models, reduce administrative costs, and reduce fitness outcomes.
At HealthEdge, workers take pride in their culture of continuous learning.
“There’s help at the executive point for continuous learning,” Ellis explained. “There’s also a focus on continuous improvement. We provide the tools, the attitude, and the environment. This attitude also trickles down to HealthEdge customers. “As a tech-savvy company, we’re also looking at tactics to make things better for our customers, which then impacts their customers. “
One of the methods of influencing culture and making it thrive is to design it from the most sensible point of view. At HealthEdge, senior managers design a culture of learning. “Our CEO, Steve Krupa, is a lifelong learner. It is very supportive of recommendations, books, and any system that we need to implement.
When it comes to measuring functionality, superior control also incorporates continuous learning (and other culturally critical behaviors) into the process. “We measure functionality in a way that defines behavioral expectations,” Ellis said.
Given that studies correlate 70% of worker engagement with manager engagement, the way a company trains its leaders can be incredibly indicative of its culture.
At HealthEdge, being a manager is considered a duty and a privilege. “We call 2022 the year of the manager,” Ellis said. In terms of our culture of continuous learning, we’ve done a lot to create a non-stop feedback environment. “
Ellis and his team provide managers with the equipment and frameworks they need to provide highly effective feedback. Feedback, especially when it’s more constructive, can be difficult to provide. Some managers refrain from doing so because of considerations such as the Great Resignation. We design feedback as a verbal exchange rather than a conflict, equipping our managers with teams to help them give transparent feedback. “
HealthEdge also fosters its culture of learning by replacing semi-annual functionality reviews with semi-annual check-ins. The recordings emphasize how workers progress toward their progression purposes and do not tie them to a grade. “We have asked 100 percent of our workers to set a progression purpose for 2023. This technique makes the mid-year verbal exchange less threatening and more empowering for workers,” Ellis said.
To measure this success, Ellis paid attention to a few key areas:
With all those projects and the positive feedback we’re getting, it can be tricky to decide what to do next. Here’s how Ellis makes a decision about what his next action should be: “Our continuous improvement mindset is ingrained in everything. “We do. After each initiative, we free up focused teams to collect data on what worked well, what didn’t, and what adjustments other people would like to see. They’ve been so successful at this point that the biggest challenge is figuring out how to scale so they can have an effect on more people within the organization.
The core of any culture is a set of habits. The habits you want to replace dictate your culture. The habit Ellis primarily wants his workers to expand now is to “create a connection in a remote environment. “She said, “I now have a team of nine other people and it takes a lot of effort from all of us to stay hooked. “every day, whether it’s through meetings, team messages, or words of encouragement. Managers are rarely busy in their day-to-day lives. They work on a daily basis, and there are other people who want and crave that connection and commitment. of them. If I may wave a magic wand, I would give each and every leader the skills, energy, and skill to do well.
All of the HR managers I interview are voracious readers and learners. When asked what books he’d recommend hiring professionals read, Ellis 11 secrets a success that other people know about goal setting. She said: “I keep thinking that if I had started earlier, would my life be different than it is now?I even think a lot about what I have left of my career and where I need to go.
Kevin Kruse is the founder and CEO of LEADx, which develops and sustains leadership behaviors with behavioral stimuli, microlearning, and live cohort-based workshops. Kevin is also the New York Times bestseller of Great Leaders Have No Rules, 15 Secrets Successful People Know. Time Management & Employee Engagement 2. 0.