Creating a Culture of Learning

What are the rules, boundaries, principles, and plans you need to focus on in order to succeed in IT education?

Transcript

1. Creating a Culture of Learning Benjamin Finkel @BenFinkel http://www.cbtnuggets.com
3. Who am I? Born and raised in tropical Buffalo, NY I’ve been an IT professional for over 20 years. Today I’m a trainer with CBT Nuggets, Inc. Who are you?
4. How much of your time do you spend learning and improving your personal skill-set?
5. All of it! You are never not learning. (You want to learn the right things though!) Tip Don’t worry, that’s why we’re here. We’ll *learn* some tips and tricks on how to learn… ...and how to get your employer to buy in :)
6. Learning is a (the?) Universal human endeavor! We succeed by engaging in learning activities that interest and inspire us to be the best version of ourselves we can be. -Michael Scott -Wayne Gretzky -Ben Finkel • Cooking Shows • Home improvement videos • Fixing your own automobile
7. Where do we end up without a plan? Why Learn? How to learn? What to learn? Tip Unstructured learning is called fun! Don’t ignore it, but do not rely on it either.
8. Chapter 1 - Why do we learn?
9. Career Progression Why Learn? Justify a promotion! Change employer… or career! Improve the quality of your workday Learning IS your job!
10. Personal Enrichment Why Learn? Learning is fun Seek new experiences Expand your horizon Confidence, ‘Self-Actualization’ (Maslow)
11. Deliver a better ‘product’ Why Learn? It’s okay to have pride in our work Meet the customer’s needs Impress our colleagues Efficiency in our workday
12. Chapter 2 - How to learn?
13. Create a learing ‘space’ How to Learn? Noise levels Food/Drink Comfort seating (...or standing!) Mix it up Learn on your terms
14. Commit to the time Exclude distractions Use technology Be Consistent Communicate to others Routine doesn’t need motivation How to Learn?
15. Don’t Learn Anything Once Review, review, then... review again Try multiple approaches Quiz yourself Routine doesn’t need motivation How to Learn?
16. Chapter 3 - What to learn?
17. Learn for the job What to learn? Identify your specific needs “Train upward” The cert is only a bonus Don’t learn anything learn something
18. Train for the future What to Learn? Learn something new Look ahead, not behind Discuss with colleagues Don’t be afraid to push
19. Train for yourself What to Learn? What you learn will always go with you What interests you? If it ain’t fun, you won’t learn it Engage!
20. In summary ➔ Learning is fun! ➔ It still requires a practiced and disciplined approach ➔ Set yourself up for success
21. Chapter 4 - Justify the costs
22. Improve Team Efficiency IT Moves Fast i.e. AWS 1 million active customers in 10 years 1 Training investment predicts success Measurable performance degradation of 25% over 4 years2 Improved productivity 10% >> in education led to 8.6% >> productivity 3
23. Training saves money Increased spending on training correlates directly to4 Increased gross profit margins Increased income per employee Increased price-to-book ratios
24. Training saves … more money Costs of external hires5 61% more likely to be fired Cost 18% more Take two years to ‘catch up’ Decline team performance
25. Training increases compliance In-compliance twice as often with6 - Regulatory document archival - IT policy virus and spyware - Server management and software policies
26. We like it! 30% of millennials consider comprehensive training a top benefit7 62% of new hires intend to stay at organizations that offer training...versus 21% for orgs that do not8 Employees who do not feel their career goals are achievable are 12x more likely to leave8
27. Chapter 5 - How to implement
28. Make it a priority Write a training policy Evaluate performance Set expectations Cover Expenses (short and long term) Release time
29. Motivate your team Lead by example Include training time in resource planning Make it rain! (Incentives) Money / Gift Cards Conferences, workshops Public Recognition Include team rewards Embrace Failure - Celebrate persistence
30. Diversify skills Focus on “soft skills” as well as technical Find the right places for depth Identify organizational needs Certifications are important, but skills are more so!
31. Choose success Be a coach - Encourage study plans, group efforts, cheerlead Set public goals Schedule the time Create a learning “space” (noise, distractions, food) Assess - Review exam scores, certifications, minutes spent
32. In summary ➔ Training is important ➔ Create a plan, make it a priority, stick to it, and hold each other accountable ➔ Set your organization up for success
34. 1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Web_Services#Customer_base 2 - https://certification.comptia.org/docs/default-source/downloadablefiles/impact-of-comptia-certifications-on-performance.pdf 3 - https://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/higherprod.htm 4 - https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/pages/0101wells.aspx 5 - https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2012/04/05/why-promoting-from-within-usually-beats-hiring-from-outside/#6a6f841b36ce 6 - http://eval.symantec.com/downloads/edu/Impact_of_Training_on_Organizational_Performance.pdf 7 - https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/financial-services/publications/assets/pwc-millenials-at-work.pdf 8 - https://www-03.ibm.com/services/learning/pdfs/IBMTraining-TheValueofTraining.pdf