A Journey, Not A Destination

Was the first thought that came to your mind travel?

Nice try, but what I’m talking about today is learning.

Beyond professional development.

Continuous learning programs need to be embedded into company culture.

According to Korn Ferry, continuous learning is a top priority for job seekers and a key factor in retention.

• In Brazil, 92% of respondents to the Korn Ferry Workforce 2025 Survey said learning opportunities are a reason they stay with their organization.

• India, the US, and the UK follow, with 87%, 78%, and 74%, respectively.

Keeping talent isn’t the initial benefit that pops up with career development, but it’s a result of it.

How often do organizations invest in recruiting, interviewing and onboarding, yet overlook leadership development? 

Back when startups used to entice candidates with perks - it was always a short-term strategy aka a band aid.

Creating a learning culture equips your people to problem solve and keeps them motivated internally.

The difference between that and external rewards is the carrot-and-stick analogy.

Rewards and punishment don’t last.

Take for instance manager training programs (mine are right here).

One-off talks or workshops are helpful, but continuous learning tracks feedback and accountability that produces change.

• Training doesn’t have to happen weekly, but it should be available monthly to teach new skills and stay current on trends.

• Learning cultures are a proactive way to attract top talent while weeding out complacent workers naturally.

You want self-motivated, upskilling partners working for you.

• When learning is a journey - it never stops.

• When learning is a destination - it becomes like a degree. Once you obtain it, the learning stops.

If they argument is: monthly training is too expensive then my counter is turnover costs more.

Doesn’t it makes more sense to retain someone you value versus spend resources on a new hire that you’re just getting to know?

In my opinion, corporations have their strategy backwards.

Similar to how entrepreneurs prioritize retaining old/current customers because lifetime value beats new customers all the time.

Now if you agree with these sentiments, understand it’s harder to unlearn bad habits rather than learning new ones.

There are parts of the workplace culture that are broken.

Call it tradition, the-way-we-always-do-it or lazy…

Innovation is a buzz word, but you can’t really have that without a learning culture.

Other practical ways to implement growth is through coaching.

Just like professional athletes hire coaches to improve performance, organizations benefit from having a set of external eyes and ears to provide fresh perspective.

I hesitate to calling continuous learning a “trend,” because it will always be valuable (like soft skills)!

So if you’re ready to stop the turnover bleeding and keep your top talent happy, contact me.

God Bless,

Scott

P.S. If you found this helpful and you’re looking to improve your soft skills as a leader, here are ways to work with me directly:

• 🗣 Hire me to speak at your company or next event (watch my speaking reel here)

• 🎤 Invite me to lead an interactive training workshop, remotely or in-person (depending on location)

• 🤝 Start 1:1 coaching with me as a new manager, current leader or executive (I once managed 30 people 1:1 weekly❗️)

Also, you can help me out by forwarding this to friends whom would benefit from it! Thank you!