How to create a learning culture in your teams

You might have designed it carefully, spending years on every little detail. You might have simply watched it develop along its own path. But whether you think about it or not, your recruitment firm has a culture – and influencing that culture has the potential to deliver big benefits.

In the world of recruiter training, you’ll read a lot about the idea of a ‘learning culture’. But what does that really mean? What benefits can you expect? Why is this any better than simply making training mandatory? And – crucially – what you can do to start building your own learning culture?

Why does a learning culture even matter?

Whether you’re nurturing the raw talent of new hires or helping your top recruiters grow, it’s tempting to think that providing training and professional development is key. But we’re all familiar with the reality: that people don’t engage with training, don’t pick up any new skills, and nothing changes.

Developing a learning culture is something that runs deeper – not surface-level learning and development, but fostering the right ethos, attitudes, and beliefs in your teams. When you get your culture right, you don’t need to strong-arm learning and development into the daily routine. The appetite to learn becomes something your recruiters naturally feel.

The benefits are numerous but, according to the CIPD, major outcomes include:

• Increased growth, individually and as a business
• Increased profitability as people adopt smarter, more efficient ways of working
• Greater job satisfaction and appeal to new recruits
• More flexible, agile teams that can adapt to change

The secret to a successful learning culture: synergy

By definition, a culture is something made by multiple people. If one person starts wearing gloves on their feet, that’s deeply worrying. If an entire nation of people do it, it’s just part of the culture.

With that in mind, developing a learning culture is impossible when HR teams and other L&D champions are siloed off from the rest of the business. Training isn’t something that happens every now and then. It must be woven into everything you do as a team.

From a strategic perspective, embedding structured training is important. With Recruitment Juice, we’ve seen clients achieve the best results when the platform is there every step of the way – from earliest induction and probation to regular appraisals and goal setting.

Group learning and group workshops can also be effective. If a culture is defined as a shared set of values and priorities, it’s obvious that a culture can only flourish when people have opportunities to share their learning. This could be a blend of group training on the Juice platform and manager-led sessions where people can unpack and reflect on their professional development.

The role of your managers

Of course, your managers can also influence your culture every day. They’re on the frontlines of the business and have regular opportunities to amplify the presence and importance of L&D.

As a baseline, managers can set consumption targets, review progress, and reward those who keep learning. Crucially, managers can also help guide recruiters to the most useful – and impactful – content. This ensures people get valuable, relevant skills from their training, creating a cycle of positive reinforcement.

Your learning culture isn’t something you build overnight, or something any one team can do alone. But, when everyone comes together, a self-sustaining culture keeps your people learning – and motivated – for years to come.

See how Juice helps recruiters thrive – watch our 6-minute demo video