Employee Engagement: I Just Don’t Have Time for ThatMost of us are busy at work. We have too much work for the allotted time. Yet, if an unexpected meeting, call, etc. occurs, we somehow find the time to devote to it. We evaluate its importance and act accordingly. Less important activities fall to the wayside.

 

Increasingly, based on my experience, learning opportunities (growth and development) are among these less important activities.  The reason? “I Just Don’t Have Time for That.”

 

 

The Importance of Learning

In the previous post, The Fifth Way to Better Engagement in the Workplace, the benefits and necessity of continuous learning were discussed:

 

“Knowledge is the primary source of value in our world today. Your ability to expand your mind and devote yourself to lifelong learning is the key to breaking any success barriers that may be in front of you.”1

 

“‘Learning opportunities are among the largest drivers of employee engagement and strong workplace culture – they are part of the entire employee value proposition, not merely a way to build skills’. – Deloitte”2

 

“The more we’re able to know and the more skills we acquire, the more value we can offer to our employers, friends and families. And that places us in an upward spiral of growing income and emotional well being. Well-known business author and change agent Tom Peters calls it cultivating “towering competence” — becoming the very best at what you do, by continuing to learn and hone your skills and capabilities to the point where they become highly regarded and sought after by your coworkers and professional peers.

 

Continuous learning means we’re keeping the “raw material pile” of our brain freshly stocked, which enables us to come up with more and better ideas and innovations — which every business needs today. New ideas and solutions are a primary way you can add value to your job, and therefore increase your success.”3

 

 

The Economics of Attention

Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen employees squandering learning opportunities. Many of them have told me, “I just don’t have time for that.”

 

Hearing that same sentiment again, and again, caused me to recall Herbert Simon and his research on the economics of attention. “Regarding the topic of attention, Herbert Simon first observed the simple but fundamental connection between information and attention:

 

What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its consumers. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.4

 

Retrospectively, Simon’s contribution regarding attention may be characterized by a dual emphasis on cognition (limited attention capacity) and structure (how organization shapes individual’s attention).”5

 

If our employees are too busy, i.e., overloaded with things that require their attention, they will focus on what’s on their plate currently and forego those opportunities which they consider less important. Also, as Mr. Simon notes, the organization plays a role. Companies that aren’t structured, i.e., managers aren’t tasked, to help employees understand the importance of learning opportunities and that, by not participating, there is an impact in terms of career development and company growth.

 

 

Elevate the Conversation

From an employee and manager perspective, there are questions will elevate the conversation and ensure that learning opportunities will be viewed as not only important but essential to growth and development of every employee and the company as a whole.

  1. How could this learning opportunity benefit me?
  2. In what ways could I incorporate this learning opportunity into my role/career plans?
  3. How have others benefited from similar learning opportunities?
  4. How could the company benefit from this learning opportunity?
  5. How could the company help employees incorporate this learning opportunity into their role/career plans?

 

 

Learning is a driver of employee engagement. It is vital to individual development, career progression, and company success. Elevating the importance of learning activities from both an individual and company standpoint will change the conversation and have employees saying, “I Just Don’t Have Time for That” less and less.

 

 

How can you better identify and take advantage of learning opportunities? What learning opportunities have played the biggest role in your success? Your company’s success?

 

 

 

1 Tracy, Brian. “Discover the Importance of Lifelong Learning.” Brian Tracy. Brian Tracy International, 2016. Web. 30 June 2016.
2 Greany, Kirstie. “Seven Ways That Learning and Development Can Foster Employee Engagement – Engage Employee.” Engage Employee. Engage Business Media, 22 Apr. 2016. Web. 30 June 2016.
3 “Continuous Learning: An Essential Strategy for Your Personal Success | Innovation Management.” Innovation Management. InnovationManagement.se, n.d. Web. 30 June 2016.
4 Simon, Herbert A. 1971. Designing organizations for an information-rich world. In Martin Greenberger (ed.), Computers, Communication, and the Public Interest. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins Press, 40.
5 Ibid., pgs 37-72.

 

 

 

Let’s Engage!

I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Gregory F Simpson.

Employee engagement is a critical mission. I hope I can count on your help! Subscribe to the RSS Feed to receive the latest intelligence/insights and/or register to make entries in the comments log.

Photo of Gregory F SimpsonYou can follow me @agtinengagement.
Email me at g…@a…t.com.
Connect via LinkedIn at LinkedIn.com/in/GregoryFSimpson.
Learn more about me at gregoryfsimpson.com.

 

P.S.  First contact? Welcome to the Agent In Engagement community. Explore and join fellow employee engagement operatives in targeting a known thief – alias: Disengagement. Together we can bring this thief to justice and make the world a better place for all companies and their employees.

Other recent Agent in Engagement data/reports by Agent Gregory F Simpson: