Learning should be baked in, not an afterthought

For World Productivity Day today (20 Jun) Alexia Pedersen, UK Country Manager @OReillyMedia discusses the importance of providing individuals the chance to learn online, on-demand and interactively: 

2020 has shone a whole new light on the idea of productivity. Kids, partners, parents and even solitude have impacted how productive whole countries can be as we all adapted to remote working. While flexibility is normally touted as the key to productivity, it is also fair to admit that the forces that have caused mass home working are anything but normal.

However, a new era of working is now being ushered in. One where big tech firms move completely to remote working and remote hiring practices. The forced global experiment has shone a light on the long debated requirements of an office. But with this move, depending on colleagues for advice and guidance is much more difficult, watercooler moments are over. Helping employees find alternative ways to solve problems and continue to learn what they need, when they need it must be the cornerstone of programmes moving forward. 

Online, on-demand, interactive, validated. That is what we need to ensure our employees have access to. Putting experts in their homes and at their fingertips so they can quickly learn that new coding technique, get help with a specific element of data analysis or tweak their product roadmap, and then get back to their day. As we navigate how to be productive in this new world, learning should be baked in, not an afterthought.

Alexia Pedersen, UK Country Manager at O’Reilly