How to develop a learning organisation
- IncludeHR Your People Partner
- Jul 23, 2024
- 1 min read
“A learning organisation is an organisation which facilitates the learning of all its members and constantly transforms itself.” Pedler, Burgoyne, J and Boydell, T 1991 The Learning Organisation.
The five characteristics of a learning organisation are:
strategy
structures
learning opportunities
looking in
looking out.
These characteristics provide a guide to action, in developing a learning organisation.
Strategy
The organisation needs to ensure that it has a learning approach to strategy and policy development, encouraging the broadest possible participation in research, strategy-setting and development.
Structures
The organisation’s structures need to be enabling – to afford opportunities for learning, movement, changes in roles, etc. The organisation should probably have a flatter, less hierarchical structure, certainly a flexible one.
Learning opportunities
The organisation should offer plenty of learning and development opportunities for everyone. More than that, it should foster a climate where questioning, reflection, experimenting and freedom to make mistakes are all encouraged.
Looking in
The importance of this introspection is that all parts of the organisation need to communicate and collaborate, to ensure an interchange of ideas and experiences. The way the organisation offers incentives and other rewards needs to reflect this.
Looking out
Outward-facing staff need to gather information about the external world, including customers, suppliers and competitors, and feed it back into the organisation. And external networks need to be developed to draw on good practice elsewhere.
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