Learning and growth culture at Bewsys

It is often said that we can never stop learning. Everyday is an opportunity to learn something new, a never-ending process. Learning is an important part of what it takes for individuals and businesses to grow and develop. A learning culture is one that values and encourages learning to develop employees’ potential and align members with the business’ goals. Developing a culture that supports learning is an investment, and it provides benefits for both the individuals and organization. 

A learning culture is essential because it impacts all areas of your business, ranging from employee development, retention, to increased productivity and growth.  For organizations without a learning culture, changing your workplace culture to one that supports learning requires dedication and perseverance. Change and the unknown makes people uncomfortable. However, there are actionable steps organizations  can take to move in the right direction so employees can embrace the change. 

As part of the transformation journey embarked on by Bewsys in the year 2019, it became necessary for the company to adopt a learning culture. Learning and growth in the organisation has been categorized into three different areas with each serving a purpose. Self-learning, SDG learning and a book club session are the different types of learning at Bewsys.

The organization encourages self-learning where staff are required to select courses to undertake over a period of time.  In doing this, staff are able to satisfy knowledge gaps and equip themselves with the right and relevant skills for their work. 

As an IT firm that truly understands sustainable development, Bewsys requires staff to understand the sustainable development goals and be aligned with the vision and mission of the organization hence the need for ‘SDG learning.’ Courses are reviewed and selected for staff to take over a period of time to create value and  keep them abreast of the sdgs.

The L&G culture at Bewsys also encourages job shadowing which is an on-the-job learning, career development, and leadership development program. This allows employees to understudy and learn from others in different fields in the  organization at their free will. This helps them develop in other job competencies and allows them to rise to the occasion in the absence of mentors.

A book club session dubbed  ‘Read2Lead’ is held at the end of the first two months of each quarter where staff meet and discuss key takeaways from books assigned to them to read. Books assigned usually focus on helping to boost leadership, work-life balance, performance and personal development of staff. This encourages staff bonding, creates value and promotes personal development and growth.

It is important to note that all courses are selected based on the company’s core values - smart work, quality, integrity and innovation. The learning and growth culture highly considers company culture, personal growth and development of staff, industry trends, challenges and how to address them as well as feedback.

When asked to describe the learning culture at Bewsys, the L&G executive, Anita Hammond said, “The L&G culture at Bewsys is positive, dynamic and flexible. It is a work in progress and thus, it is always undergoing review based on suggestions and feedback from staff to keep them inspired because people who are inspired are people who are competent.”

Anita went on to say that, “Learning is not optional at Bewsys because the leadership is interested in staff growth and development. The work environment is a fast paced one and  we want to ensure staff are up to date with  the world as it is evolving so they remain relevant and  excel at what they do.” 

Bewsys creates an enabling environment for learning and development by supporting staff and providing staff with adequate time in their working hours for learning. Staff in the core team are entitled to 20 hours and support staff are entitled to 25 hours of learning in a month.  This is to help to build SDG awareness, help staff be inspired to work towards the 17 sdgs, keep them abreast of industry trends and promote personal growth and development amongst many other benefits.

Any institution that is geared towards success should invest in the learning and growth activities of employees to help build competencies to achieve ROI. Training aims at addressing all skill gap in order to boost employee efficiency and overall productivity. Employees need continuous training in order to keep evolving and understand the latest practices, technology, and cutting-edge tools to perfect their craft. This is key to what makes a brand sustain itself through the constant changes in the market