This week is Learning at Work Week 2022, an annual event centred around building learning cultures into the workplace. It aims to bring a spotlight onto the importance and benefits of providing continuous learning to your employees and supporting them with development.
This year’s theme is ‘Learning Uncovered’ which focuses on deepening our understanding, knowledge, and engagement in long-term learning.
We work towards supporting both our clients and employees in providing a positive learning culture through effective techniques.
With learning you cannot take a “one solution fits all” approach and we reflect this on our own team’s individual development. In line with this event we spoke to Rob, our Lead Graphic Designer, about his learning and development since joining olano seven years ago…
What does your job role entail?
“It’s quite varied, but the basic part of my role is similar to the rest of the team. We receive content or requests from a client which could be an animation, eLearning, explainer video, or other types of training material.
“This could be conceptual content that we are starting from scratch, a redesign or update. It’s my job to develop these projects effectively and take charge as our Lead Designer.”
“With this I oversee more projects and am tasked with keeping the standards high and maintaining quality. Clients may be happy with what we are currently doing, but in a few years’ time, if we are still doing the same thing we’re doing now, we aren’t moving forward. So, I’m driving to keep moving forward and to push boundaries further.”
How have olano supported your learning at work?
“My manager Kris has been great. We have always had frequent progression meetings, but this year there has the option to have these more regularly, which has been really helpful!
“I started as a Junior Graphic Designer and didn’t have all the experience; I’ve since worked my way up the different levels to where I am now. The reviews have helped me understand and take steps to develop further in my role which led to me becoming olano’s Lead Graphic Designer.”
“Even now we’re still looking at how I can keep progressing further within the team and they’ve been very helpful in supporting me. Even when my options were not always clear, Kris has always supported and communicated really well.”
What is one thing you have learnt from another colleague?
“Kris said something to me early on when I started which I still often use today.
“Sleep on it!”
“So, sometimes I’ll be trying to find an idea for a piece of work, and I’ll go back and forth thinking, potentially wasting too much time. Or thinking too much about a concept that I knew didn’t feel right, but I’d still be trying to tweak it. Move it here, move it there, which caused frustration.
“Kris would just say ‘sleep on it, come back with a fresh head tomorrow’. Sure enough, it worked. There are many times, and still are times I do that, just draw a line under some work that’s not working that day and pick it up the next day.”
What advice would you give to an employee for learning at work?
“Always take pride in what you do and don’t be afraid to challenge where appropriate.
“When I started my role, I played it too safe and focused on doing what was asked of me rather than seeking new ways to improve our service.
“My progression became obvious once I started to back my creativity by offering alternative solutions, especially if I thought something wasn’t 100% and needed addtional options to consider.”
Support is key for any employee to be able to learn throughout their career. It’s important to ensure employees are present and engaged, provided with the relevant training and being encouraged to complete this.
If your business is looking for more support in helping employees learn while in the workplace, olano can work to meet your business needs. Our bespoke offering matches to what your business and employees need to get the most out of the training and development process. Find out more about the services we can provide for your business here!
