Employers that are strongly committed to employee learning and development tend to experience better organizational performance than their competitors, according to a new report by the Conference Board of Canada.
The report, which surveyed 350 organizations, found only 34 per cent report a strong learning environment while 51 per cent describe their learning environment as moderate and 16 per cent describe it as weak.
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“Canadian organizations have room to improve when it comes to making workplace learning a priority,” said Donna Burnett-Vachon, director of leadership and organizational development research at the Conference Board of Canada.
“The key to doing so is for organizations to regularly evaluate the effectiveness of their learning practices and programs. Only then can they identify strengths and opportunities for improvement.”
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The board used a proprietary assessment framework, the Learning Performance Index, to evaluate a sampling of organizations. It found employers with strong scores tended to have:
- Lower voluntary employee turnover rates;
- Enhanced employee performance and engagement;
- More effective organizational leadership;
- Effective succession management strategies; and
- Alignment of their employee development and HR strategies.