Learning Activities for Work Engagement

Gallup surveys frequently show low levels of engagement at work. The surprising truth about the workforce gap is that the soft skills needed for success are not often taught. Setting work goals not only develops skills, but also contributes to work engagement.

Keys to Engagement at Work:

1. Purpose
2. Feedback
3. Recognition

• Purpose, Feedback, and a Balance of challenge and skill are essential for flow.
• Purpose, Autonomy, and Mastery are key to motivation.
• Relevance, Results, Recognition are antidotes to job misery and setting work goals goes a long way towards achieving these.

Learn Work Skills

To create an individual development plan, first identify needed skills, then identify learning activities that will increase them. A learning organization encourages learning with a system that allows advancement with approved learning activities. Individuals are responsible for their own development, and document progress with a plan for learning.

Individual Development Plan

An Individual Development Plan is a tool to grow professionally. Individual Development Planning from Yale and Development Plans Are Not Just For Work.

1. Review job description (or an O*Net description) and list competencies or skills needed for the job.
2. Target skills to develop.
3. Determine your learning style.
4. Select a learning activity to develop the skill.
5. Determine a target date.
6. Identify the support/authorization you need from others – supervisors, employers, coach, substitute.
7. Transfer training to the workplace by identifying how you will apply it. Share what you learned with co-workers.

Learning activities:

• Workshops
• In-house courses
• Formal courses
• Online courses
• Reading books/journals that focus on a need or problem
• Giving presentations
• Participating in special projects
• Writing for publication
• Coach/tutoring
• Job exchange, visiting another workplace to study a procedure

Recognize Accomplishments

Recognition and appreciation is the number one thing employees want. Provide Rewards for learning accomplishments.

Additional Reading on Engagement at Work and Learning Organizations

• The Top 10 Skills & Qualities Employers Want
• Top 10 Things Employees Want
• The Learning Organization at Wikipedia
• Book: “The Learning Edge” by Cal Wick

Feedback

The Art and Science of Giving and Receiving Criticism at Work from Fastcompany

Reviews: how often?

• Basics of Effective One-on-Ones from Manager-Tools.com- weekly or bi-weekly.
• “First Break All the Rules”-Ask how often they’d like to meet. If it’s once every three months, make a note of that preference, today’s date, the date three months in the future for the next review, and schedule that date in your calendar. Do this each time, and you’ll have done quarterly reviews.

More questions to consider:

• What things have made your job more difficult, and what needs to be done in the next year to increase productivity? –Performance Management
• Brand Autopsy-Always Measure Your Comparable Job Performance

See also: Set Work Goals | Develop Work Skills | Development Plans are not just for Work | Work Skills Toolkit | Work Engagement Board at Pinterest

About dailyplanit

I seek to create order from the chaos of complex information. Join me at the Daily PlanIt to gain insights, inspiration, and information to increase skills for a better life. I unlock the power of teaching reading with phonics in the pursuit of literacy at www.phonicspow.com. In my spare time I explore books and movies, often choosing titles available on both screen and page.