How to engage employees in learning: Practical steps for HR & L&D teams

HR and L&D teams often ask how to engage employees in learning when workloads feel overwhelming.  

Whilst it is understood that motivating employees to learn provides a strategic and competitive advantage for businesses, many organisations still struggle to foster a learning culture.  

Barriers such as budget constraints and low participation from employees, means that efforts to engage employees in learning often dwindle, or feel out of reach altogether.  

So, what’s the solution?  

All answers relating to this topic will be covered in this article; think of this as your ultimate playbook for engaging employees in workplace learning.  

We’ll cover:  

• The importance of employee engagement in learning  

• How to engage employees in learning: one step at a time

• How to communicate the value of workplace learning

• How to motivate employees for online learning

• Examples of employee learning engagement  

• How to overcome obstacles related to learning  

Keep reading for the full story, featuring insights from a wide range of thought leaders in the space of learning and development!

Why engaging employees in learning matters

Here are three compelling reasons why motivating employees to learn is important:

Improved retention (& decreased turnover rates)

When an organisation invests time, resources, and money into learning initiatives, it’s a strong positive signal for employees.  

It indicates that said organisation has a vested interest in their workforce’s professional and personal development.  

This creates a culture of trust, which in turn motivates employees to stay and develop in their role, versus seeking out new opportunities.  

Indeed, retention remains to be a profound problem for many HR and L&D leaders.  

For example, LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report 2025 cited that 88% of organisations are concerned about employee retention.  

Furthermore, in this same research it was noted that providing learning opportunities was the number one important strategy for solving low retention.

Renewed purpose at work

Lack of opportunities around learning is contributing to the culture of ‘quiet quitting’.  

In other words, employees are doing the bare minimum in their roles, as they do not feel confident that the organisation is investing in their development.  

Research from Gallup revealed that global employee engagement has dropped to 21% in 2024; those who are disengaged are approaching work with apathy.  

In this same report, Gallup also shared that engaging employees in workplace learning leads to 18% higher productivity.  

The takeaway?  

Learning opportunities leads to engaged employees, a stronger sense of workplace belonging, and improved productivity.

Closes skills gaps

Encouraging continuous learning closes skills gaps.  

Organisations can ensure their employees are developing themselves and can respond to the changing needs of their role with more flexibility and agility.  

And let’s not forget about the strong business advantage that comes from this.  

The World Economic Forum has reported that if organisations strive towards investment in upskilling, global GDP could be boosted by $6.5 trillion by 2030.

Annabelle Vultee, CEO of GoodHabitz, also echoed the importance of closing the skills gaps; read more on her take in the post below:  

How to engage employees in learning (step by step)

Now we’ve established the importance of fostering a learning culture, let’s talk about the practicalities.  

AKA - how does engaging employees in workplace learning work, in practice?  

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Align learning with personal goals

‘What’s in it for me?’

This is a very helpful starter question to get in the right mindset, for engaging employees to learn.  

If employees can better understand how learning certain skills will help them in their career, the chances of engagement will be higher.  

A practical way you can implement this from a strategic perspective, is skills mapping. David James, Chief Learning Officer at 360 Learning, said:  

“Skills maps present you with data but in a format that creates career paths for your employees.”

“And the impact is that you’re able to truly activate the self-directed learner. Employees can better understand, based on their current skillset, where they are in the organisation and where they could go.”  

2. Align learning with company goals

Holistic overview can help in motivating employees to learn.

Iris Cremers, GoodHabitz’s Chief HR Officer, shared her insights:

“Make learning contextual, and link to company strategy and initiatives, so individuals understand their role in the bigger picture.”  

She added:

“Ensure everyone understands the company-level ‘what’, and ‘why’. Then, once this is aligned, give employees autonomy over the ‘how’, enabling meaningful conversations between managers and employees about their role, development needs, and the human and technical skills required to grow.”  

3. Give autonomy and choice

Let employees have a say in their development plans.  

This approach means they’ll be more likely to feel invested in the outcomes.  

Allow employees to set their own learning goals and choose development paths – this can build intrinsic motivation and engagement around learning.  

A practical way to do this is to give your employees the freedom to learn what they want; in whatever format they want to. Is it a podcast or an article, for instance?

4. Make time visible

‘I don’t have time to learn.’

This is the number one reason why employees push back against learning.  

With never-ending to-do lists and impending deadlines, it often feels impossible for individuals to sit down and factor out time for learning.  

This is where leadership can really step up and make a difference; they can encourage their teams to dedicate time during work hours, solely for learning.  

Furthermore, we’ve all heard of the phrase ‘learning on the job’. Leverage this mindset, as Iris explained below:

“Focus less on classroom training, more on learning through interactions, feedback, and real work.”  

Practical applications in daily situations can also help learning to stick more effectively for employes.  

5. Recognise and celebrate progress

Habit-formation is a core foundation for motivating employees to learn.  

And successful habit formation stems from positive responses.  

And for Amy-Jane Gielen, Political Scientist and Tiny Habits Coach, celebration is key. And for reference – it's not the same as reward.  

She said:

“Celebration is about that instant, happy feeling of success – that releases dopamine and programmes the new behaviour or habit into your brain.”

Curious to learn more on habit-forming in learning? Tune in and watch the full Moving Forward podcast with Amy-Jane below. She shares her take on how long it takes to form habits, as well as reframing what we mean by ‘motivation’ in learning.  

6. Encourage peer learning

When employees learn from and with each other, they develop stronger connections and a deeper commitment towards collective success.  

Here are some practical ways to implement this:

• Create a learning ecosystem: promote a space purely for knowledge sharing where individuals can learn from one another. A learning ecosystem acts as a platform to help facilitate the exchange of ideas, resources, and even best practices.  

• Leverage key team moments: regular team meetings for instance, to regularly encourage individuals to share their insights with one another.  

• Invest in learning influencers: peers who can help make learning relatable, practical, and inspiring.  

7. Support with leadership nudges

Commitment from leaders is core in ensuring learning stays on employees’ agendas.  

And we get it - for many L&D teams, turning this vision into a reality can be a challenge.  

Leaders are faced with a never-ending to-do list, so might not have the time to actively ensure that learning stays top of mind for their employees.  

This is where having a dedicated support system can help, and at GoodHabitz takes the form of a Coach.  

From offering tailored advice to embedding learning into workflows, they empower and help managers to build a learning culture that sticks.  

8. Blend formats

Remember: engaging employees in workplace learning will only be a success if it feels tangible and accessible.  

It’s also noteworthy that not everyone learns in the same way; some prefer to listen, others want to read or watch something.  

This is why blended learning is super important; when approaching your learning and development initiatives, make sure flexibility is at the heart of it.  

Combine online courses with workshops and informal learning, for instance.  

We appreciate that this has been a lot of information to take in, so here’s a summary of your step-by-step process on how to engage employees in learning:

Quick Checklist: How to Engage Employees in Learning

✅ Align learning with personal goals – show employees how training connects to their career path.

✅ Give autonomy and choice – allow people to pick learning formats and topics.

✅ Make time visible – dedicate time during working hours for learning.

✅ Recognise and celebrate progress – not just completion, but effort and application.

✅ Encourage peer learning – team challenges, shared reflections, learning buddies.

✅ Support with leadership nudges – use GoodHabitz Coach to guide managers in keeping learning on the agenda.

✅ Blend formats – combine online modules, workshops, and informal sharing.

How to encourage learning in the workplace (with a GoodHabitz Coach)

Let’s look a little closer into how you can encourage employees to engage in workplace learning.  

We’ve touched on this already, but having a dedicated individual to help can be extremely valuable. And The GoodHabitz Coach is a clear example of this.  

Because creating a thriving learning culture isn’t just about offering courses and hoping for the best.  

It’s about connecting learning to your organisation’s goals, inspiring employees to grow daily, and drive meaningful business impact.  

Easy, right?  

Of course not!  

With this in mind, let’s dive into seven ways how a GoodHabitz Coach can empower participation around workplace learning:

1. Create alignment between learning and company goals

The GoodHabitz Coach helps connect learning initiatives to what truly matters:

• Company values

• Key competencies

• Long-term objectives  

Here are a couple of examples on what this looks like in practice:

• Suggest ways to connect learning content directly to core values, such as innovation or customer-centricity.  

• Guide the creation of tailored training paths that hone critical skills such as leadership development.  

2. Embed learning into business processes

When learning becomes part of your organisation’s daily workflow and processes, that’s when the real impact happens.  

Here are two examples of how the coach facilitates this:

• Suggest ways to embed learning into performance reviews, arming managers with curated learnings to discuss during development plans.  

• Offer practical ideas for blending learning into onboarding programmes, ensuring newcomers pick up essential skills from day one.  

3. Create collaboration across departments

Engaging employees in workplace learning doesn’t happen in isolation - they’re shaped through partnerships across other key areas of the organisation.

Here’s how the coach helps in practice:

• Partner with HR or wellness departments to bundle training on topics like mental health, resilience, and stress management.  

• Develop strategies to position learning as a core part of the overall employee experience.  

4. Drive engagement through campaigns

Learner marketing ensures engagement around workplace learning doesn’t falter.  

The coach works in lockstep with L&D and HR managers to design campaigns and strategies, that make learning more engaging and impactful.  

For example:  

• Create learning campaigns or challenges designed to spark collaborative learning experiences.

• Use the GoodHabitz Promo Studio: an online platform offering readymade campaigns and custom promotional materials, to put learning front and centre.  

5. Optimising learning ecosystems

How do you know what’s working? Data! Coupled with feedback, these elements provide a compass for continuously improving your learning initiatives.  

A GoodHabitz Coach provides a soundboard for analysing the data, providing observations on what can be optimised.  

For instance:

• Advising on how to interpret LMS usage data and employee feedback.

• Recommending adjustments to make learning paths more accessible and relevant.

6. Demonstrating tangible business impact

How do you keep learning at the heart of an organisation's investment?  

The answer is a solid business case.

Because once you’ve done this, you’re on the road to employee engagement; in fact, it’s what ends up driving ongoing support and resources.  

A GoodHabitz Coach makes this happen by:  

• Helping you select key metrics e.g. retention rate.  

• Offering tips on how to craft the narrative around the return on learning.

7. Implement ‘The ITO Model’

Engaging employees in workplace learning is a strategy that needs to filter across the entire organisation.  

This is where the Individual-Teams-Organisation (ITO) model comes into play.  

It’s a method designed to help deliver relevance and weave learning into every layer of the business.  

Here’s how the coach helps apply the model:

Individuals: ensure each person understands

• What they can learn

• How they can learn

• When they can learn  

Teams: empower team leaders to act as role models and inspire learning.  

Organisation: connect learning programmes directly to the company’s goals, to reinforce relevance and purpose.  

How to encourage online learning

Let’s pivot towards how you can encourage employees to engage in online learning.  

Here are some tips to consider:

• Gamification: for example, incentivise with special competitions or leaderboards. After all, if it’s worked so well for Duolingo – it can work wonders for you too!

• Blended learning: consider online learning can work in parallel with face-to-face, such as team workshops.  

• Make it interactive: online learning doesn’t have to be isolating. Consider regular moments where you can get teams together to share progress.  

Practical examples of employee learning engagement

Here are some real-world examples for approaching employee engagement in learning.

Sky: ‘Growth and Development Week’

The tactic: Sky ran a ‘Growth and Development’ week, which was a festival of live learning events.  

This was one of the core pillars of Sky’s journey towards building a self-directed learning culture.  

This initiative offered both internal and external speakers, panel discussions, and workshops, to provide employees with a broad catalogue of choices.  

Christine Munk, Former Senior Learning and Development Manager at Sky, said:

“We wanted to make learning exciting and relevant. ‘Growth and Development Week’ not only showcased a variety of learning opportunities, but also highlighted the connection for employees, to personal and professional growth.”  

Why it works: learning events inject energy and visibility into your L&D initiatives. They serve as a launchpad to introduce new tools, highlight key themes, or address emerging skills gaps.  

Puma: The ‘Hum, Sing, and Shout’ learner marketing strategy

The tactic: Puma realised that keeping learning and development top of mind can be a challenge.  

So, in response they developed ‘Hum, Sing, and Shout’ - a learner marketing initiative to keep offerings front and centre for employees.  

• The ‘hum’ phase: subtle and steady awareness. It’s about ensuring employees aren’t overwhelmed with persistent communication.  

• The ‘sing’ phase: amplified messaging. The goal here is to highlight the success of training intiaitives and create a buzz that encourages engagement.

• The ‘shout’ phase: bold and direct promotion. For instance, a large-scale campaign or a company-wide challenge.  

Why it works: Puma created a dynamic approach that kept their learning and development programmes consistently visible and engaging. It drove ongoing interest and participation.  

Want to hear Puma’s full story?  

Tune into this Moving Forward podcast episode below, with guest Polly Ivanova, former Manager of People Development and Organisational Learning at Puma. She dove deeper into the strategy around learner marketing.  

‘The Learning Zone’: An Approach from OpenUp

The tactic: Gijs Coppens, Founder and CEO of mental wellbeing platform OpenUp, shared that ‘The Learning Zone’ is a model to promote learning.  

It consists of a 2 x 2 matrix, with accountability on one axis, and psychological safety on the other.  

Why it works: In ‘The Learning Zone’, employees experience continuous support from their peers.  

They feel comfortable speaking up and taking risks because they don’t fear negative repercussions. Mistakes are seen as opportunities for improvement, rather than as failures.

This helps in fostering a learning culture, because employees feel motivated to:

• Explore new possibilities

• Challenge the status quo

• Engage in open and constructive discussions

Overcoming common barriers to learning  

We get it.  

Every initiative presents its own challenges or barriers. And when it comes to motivating employees to learn, things won’t be any different.  

With that being said, nothing needs to feel impossible or out of reach.  

Here are some common hurdles you might face, as well as actions you can take to overcome them.

Lack of time  

Employees will not be engaged in learning, if they do not feel as though they have the time.  

It’s the responsibility of the team lead or the manager to empower their workforce to learn.  

Instead of saying “make the time outside of work”, encourage employees to block out time during their working day.  

Lack of motivation  

Employees won’t be motivated if they aren’t in the driver’s seat.  

Give them the freedom to learn what they want however they want.

Enablement is key here. Consider factors such as different topics or different formats

Lack of relevance

Learning content isn’t one-size-fits all.  

If you provide rigid ways around learning, your employees will not be engaged.  

Provide a personalised experience; an example of this is localisation. Learning content doesn’t need to be just translated – consider contextualising key points with local cultural examples.  

Conclusion & next steps

To summarise, engaging employees in learning is not just a nice-to-have, but a necessity for thriving organisations.  

Here’s a reminder of the key steps to take:

• Align learning with personal and company goals

• Create a culture of autonomy

• Provide time blocked in the working day for learning

• Celebrate progress including practical applications of skills learned

• Encourage peer learning

• Enable and empower leadership to put learning at the forefront of the organisation’s day-to-day business.

• Blend learning in the form of online versus in the workplace, as well as different formats to create a personalised experience.

Remember, the key to how to engage employees in learning lies in creating a relevant, accessible, and rewarding experience.  

This subsequently empowers individuals to develop their skills, contribute to the company's success, and ultimately, find greater purpose in their work.