The Secret to Successful Learning Transfer: Why Fast Learning Organizations Outpace the Rest

Why Fast Learning Organizations Outpace the Rest

It’s a costly cycle: spending a lot of money on training and leadership programs, but as soon as employees get back to their desk, they just return to their old habits. The daily rush takes over. All that new knowledge is quickly forgotten. It’s a waste of time and investment that many companies simply accept as a given.

But it doesn’t have to be. According to Camiel Gielkens, CEO of Schouten Company (the parent company of Relevance), the problem at the heart of this issue is usually not within the training itself, but rather how the learning culture of the organization is structured.

Beyond the training: developing a learning culture

At Relevance, we see a learning culture as an environment where development is simply part of how you work every day. Learning new skills and knowledge shouldn’t be about mandatory modules that you click through once a year to get a certificate. It should be about creating an atmosphere where being curious is encouraged and where keeping your skills up to date is considered a normal and integral part of your job.
“A learning culture is essentially about learning how to learn,” Camiel says. “If you know how to ask the right questions and remain critical of the status quo, you will always find a way to stay ahead.”

Why fast learners rule the market

The data is impossible to ignore. Organizations with a strong learning culture are twice as likely to innovate and significantly more likely to hit their financial targets, a Deloitte study showed. While the world is rapidly changing because of technology such as AI, being able to learn quickly is the only way to stay ahead of the competition.

Camiel notes that this agility is as much personal as it is organizational. “In my 26 year career, I have had to reinvent myself at least five times,” he says. “The linear career path is dead. Today, the only constant is the necessity to reinvent yourself.”

Bridging the gap: head, heart, and hands

To turn theory into actual behavior, you must connect three essential layers:

• The Head: Intellectual alignment. Do people understand the ‘what’ and the strategy behind it?

• The Heart: Emotional urgency. Do they feel the ‘why’? Without a personal connection to change, people stay put.

• The Hands: Practical execution. Do they have the tools to carry out what they learned, and the psychological safety to try and fail?

When these three align, employees can really start applying their newfound skills and knowledge. Learning stops being an interruption of work, it becomes the work itself.

Organizing for success: leadership is the key

A learning culture should not be outsourced to HR, it needs to come from the top. Camiel emphasizes that executives must explicitly validate learning as a productive activity. “Leaders must create the mental space for growth,” Camiel says. “This means confirming that thirty minutes spent on reflection is just as valuable as thirty minutes spent on email.” 

Integrating learning into your core strategy is the only way to ensure your organization does not just survive the future, but defines it.

Ready to stop training and start learning?

Download our full whitepaper “Stop Training, Start Learning” and discover the seven crucial factors for cultivating a powerful learning culture that lasts.

About Relevance

Relevance is the in company training partner of Schouten Company and has been a specialist in leadership and talent development for over forty years. With an international network of more than nine hundred facilitators and over one hundred thousand participants each year, Relevance helps organizations make leadership tangible, applicable, and future-ready. Always personal, always adaptive, and always evidence-based.