Help your Bottom Line: Become a Learning Organization

1. Help your Bottom Line: Become a Learning Organization Thursday, November 26, 2009 8:30-11:30 pm. Robin Millar Carol Hawkins

2. Centre for Education and Work • Incorporated in 2001 in affiliation with the University of Winnipeg • CEW is a not-for-profit organization • CEW is board-governed • Research and development projects to connect adults to learning • in workplace learning; • adult literacy; • essential skills and • prior learning assessment and recognition

3. Funding Human Resources Social Development Canada Office of Literacy and Essential Skills

4. What is a learning organization? “…organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and Expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together” Peter Senge

5. According to Jeffrey K. Liker and David P. Meier authors of Toyota Talent (2007) “becoming a learning organization is viewed as the highest level of organizational effectiveness” (7)

6. WESLAT: Workplace Essential Skills Learning Assessment Tool....a tool that enables workplace to assess their learning culture to identify strengths and gaps in their organization. This free and easy to use tool is available at www.weslat.com

7. Why would organizations want to use a learning assessment tool?

8. Why assess learning? Provides data on continuous improvement, sustainability and retention issues Identifies needs of all levels and departments Validates learning strengths and gaps Provides a baseline to measure against Measures success as the organization moves forward Identifies corporate direction for training and learning through the analysis

9. The Expert Panel Egon Thauberger ~ CWD Windows Rejean LeBlanc ~ Olivier Soaps Pinky Bilugan & Ian Seunarine ~ Duha Color Group Darek Mikita ~ Carte International

10. What does the WESLAT measure? • Continuous Learning • Communication • Working with Others • Critical Thinking • Workplace Culture • Organizational Planning

11. Sample Questions in the WESLAT

12. What does a learning organization look like? • Management understands and supports a range of learning initiatives • Validates importance of employee contributions • Encourages leadership development across the organization

13. What does a learning organization look like? • All employees feel respected • Flexible and willing to adapt/change • Learning an integral part of daily operations; learning is as important as production

14. Role Play • Scenarios are located in the middle of your table. Select one role play scenario • Work in pairs or a group of three to recreate real life situations arising from the research • Think about the motivations of the players. Why does the supervisor, the employer, the employee think the way they do?

15. Centre for Education and Work www.cewca.org rmillar@cewca.org chawkins@cewca.org (204)885-2957