Attracting candidates is only the first step in the talent management life cycle. Once you have high-caliber employees, how do you keep them? Empowering employees to be the best versions of themselves, by offering multiple learning and development options, will not only ensure your top talent stays, but it will encourage referrals and attract other go-getters. This genuine approach will start a cycle of innovation in your company that will make you an employer of choice.

It Starts WIth Hiring

At their core, some people are perpetual learners. And they should be on your candidate shortlist. As employees, they are flexible and often eager to take on new tasks and adapt with a growing company. To find out if candidates are motivated to learn on their own, try asking questions during the interview process like, “When was the last time you tackled learning a new skill, and how did you do it?” or “What is an acquired skill that you’re most proud to possess?” These questions will lend insight into whether their learning was a professional requirement or a genuine interest they pursued. Their answers will also show you whether they prefer structured learning, like a certificate program in a classroom setting, or something more self-guided, like online video tutorials from industry experts.

Through employment branding and during the hiring process, include information about your multiple corporate learning opportunities. If you show candidates that you’re committed to their development, those who share the same values will be clamoring to work for you. Make sure they know that you encourage employees to work individually with their manager to build development plans that are unique to them. Understanding there are multiple career paths and that you provide support to get them where they want to go, will let them see they’re in control. And being flexible about your employees’ growth can bring about diversity of thought and innovation in your company.

Inspire self-learning

Executives may think that unless training courses are part of a formal development plan or mapped career path, employees won’t want to learn. But this couldn’t be further from the truth, especially when it comes to millennials. The way to get employees inspired to learn on their own is to let them have options in terms of the content and methods. Today, people are constantly improving their personal brand and acquiring new skills is one of the ways do it. Your employees will be excited that you are not only supporting development but encouraging it.

A solution for inspiring self-directed learning is a learning management system (LMS) that enables employees to log on for specific trainings as time allows and at their own pace. Don’t restrict employees from certain trainings; you might be surprised what they’re interested in. Create learning paths with multiple courses within the LMS to perpetuate more learning and give employees goals to strive for. Rewards, even if they’re informal, like learning certificates or quarterly company recognitions, further demonstrates you value your employees’ continued development and may move them to participate.

Create a committee

Do you have a robust learning and development program in place but there’s still lackluster interest? Draft a committee comprised of a diverse group of employees who will provide you with some insight into what could be improved. They may have ideas on how the learning and development content and materials could be refreshed or how the additional learning methods would be helpful – or maybe it’s just a matter of brainstorming how to promote learning within the organization.

If so, leverage this committee to serve as evangelists and ambassadors for learning and development within the company. Better than managers telling their employees to check out the LMS are peers who lead by example and share their wisdom. It’s effective to hear from coworkers which trainings were most helpful or surprisingly interesting. Members of the committee who are interested in pursuing a learning and development career path or furthering their career in their own area of expertise may even be interested in hosting a training session or putting together a study guide for other employees. This will make them a go-to resource within the company and open lines of communication among employees.

The focus of your learning and development program should be to create an environment where employees WANT to learn. This holistic approach will foster a sense of excitement for self-improvement and support employees’ desire for boosting their personal brands. Knowledge-building needs to be engrained in your company culture, not a requirement for company compliance.