Commended: getAbstract Impact Award for Inspiring a Lifelong Learning Culture
After recognising a demand for more development opportunities, Polygon Group used Learning at Work Week to increase colleagues’ awareness and engagement with learning on offer, and promote lifelong learning by demonstrating the organisation’s commitment to all types of learning. They also provided colleagues with the chance to collaborate and build networks and communities across their business units in 16 countries.
To plan their Learning at Work Week, the Polygon Group digital L&D team worked with Learning Advocates from participating countries. Learning advocates were free to develop initiatives that suited their audience with support and resources from the team. The team also partnered with external stakeholders including the providers of their LMS and eAuthoring systems so they could use these effectively to achieve the objectives for the week.
Polygon Group led their Learning at Work Week with a campaign called #LearningHour; every colleague got a dedicated hour that they could use for learning. The digital L&D team felt it was important that they created fun learning environments which differed from their everyday learning culture. This meant stepping out of compliance learning and into unexpected areas such as a virtual escape room and yoga sessions. This move away from the ordinary helped to pique colleagues’ interest and see that learning is for everyone - no matter what stage of their career.
Colleagues were encouraged to self-direct their learning and were offered "Anywhere, Anytime” activities. There was an option to take part in live sessions or use “on-demand” opportunities via the LMS. They had the freedom to choose their learning activity to suit their own needs.
To promote Learning at Work Week a unique and eye-catching brand was created for all materials. Learning Advocates were key to communicating and promoting Learning at Work Week. As a global organisation, it was important that each local country and business area identified their own activities so they were relevant for the local audience. The digital L&D team created a guide for support, advice, ideas, branded templates and resources that Learning Advocates in each country could adapt or translate.
The team also released teasers via internal platforms and social media, and released daily updates and “What’s on?” promotions which included videos and testimonials from different countries. LinkedIn formed a key part of the communication strategy, promoting lifelong learning inside and outside of Polygon Group. To spark interest and gain attention they also used stop-motion animation and GIFs.
As a result of their Learning at Work Week activity, Polygon Group colleagues commented that they enjoyed connecting with each other again and trying out new skills. They saw a 12% increase in LMS logins compared to the week prior and a 29% increase from the same week the previous year.
One participant in a yoga workshop said, “I’ve never tried yoga before but now I want to go home and practice and make it a weekly thing with my team!”. Another colleague commented, “The virtual escape room helped to bring colleagues together from all business areas, while having fun and learning about Polygon.” #LearningHour helped colleagues to realise that an hour is a small achievable commitment that can have a big impact.