We are excited to announce a global partnership with Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning aimed at helping organizations develop future leaders with high-quality, world-class leadership solutions. 

“Leadership and learning matter more than ever as we strive to remain agile, collaborative, and productive in today's environment. Today’s leaders want learning that builds skills for the future, and our partnership with Go1 will help address specific business challenges across any industry,” Ian Fanton, Harvard Business Publishing Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Learning, said.   

With this announcement, Go1 users* can now access Harvard ManageMentor to build skills in leadership and management that reflect the most timely and timeless ideas. Leveraging this impactful and engaging experience, learners can unlock their leadership potential through important topics such as global collaboration, strategic thinking, change management, finance essentials, digital intelligence, innovation, and more. 

“We’re proud to partner with Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning, a globally trusted and respected brand in business and lifelong education. The courses are continuously updated to keep up with the pace of change, which means learners will always receive materials with real-life, positive impact and have access to on-demand resources featuring industry experts,” Basem Emera, Go1 Vice President of Partnerships and Alliances, said. 

Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning has had over 25 years of success in delivering their learning to the world's biggest brands. Each learning experience leverages the remarkable depth and breadth of Harvard Business School and Harvard Business Review resources, industry experts, technology-enabled and user-friendly solutions, and a creative, collaborative mindset to help learners discover something new. 

Get in touch if you would like to learn more about this partnership.

*Smaller organizations using Go1, with some geographic restrictions, can access Harvard ManageMentor as part of their premium subscription to the Go1 Content Hub. 

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

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We are excited to announce a partnership with Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning helping develop leaders with high-quality leadership solutions.

Partnering with Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning to develop future leaders

Partnering with Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning to help future leaders develop their skills through high-quality leadership solutions.

I've been thinking about this non-stop as I keep hearing it repeated around the Learning and Development world. It's a catchy idea and a cool buzzword, but what does it really mean and how do we actually foster such a thing to grow? 

Culture isn't something that just happens. Sure, it's influenced by our hiring decisions, but it takes more than that to create a curious community that shares ideas openly and celebrates diverse thinking. 

The organizations that do it well proactively tackle it from 3 levels.

Level 1: What an open door policy really means

In the 2019 film, Ford vs. Ferrari, Henry Ford II threatens to fire an entire factory floor but offers that whoever comes to him with an idea to sell more cars could keep their job. This eventually led to the idea of building the legendary GT40 that went on to crush all competition in the 24 hours of Le Mans race. While this Hollywood telling is fictionalized, a bit extreme, and I think Mr Ford sounds like a jerk, there are some key takeaways that led to Ford's incredible success in that 1966 race. 

Leadership needs help. Even though Henry Ford II seemed like the kind of man who wouldn't admit it outright, he knew he needed ideas from the people most passionate about Ford vehicles, the employees lovingly crafting them every day. In the film, he accomplishes getting ideas from them by offering them an evil ultimatum but that leads right into the second takeaway.

Idea sharing almost always needs rewards. When first changing culture towards one of open curiosity and idea-sharing, rewards are a fundamental part of letting everyone know that ideas are not only welcome, they're encouraged. Without this critical offering, fear of rejection will keep most of us from sharing ideas upwards. 

Be quick to action when ideas have merit. Leadership needs to be ready to implement new ideas that flow upwards. Once an idea is shared and vetted, quick implementation is the surest way that more ideas will flow after. Everyone knows what it feels like to have an idea shot down and fear of rejection will kill a culture of learning quicker than sugar in a Ferrari gas tank. 

While the first level is all about executive leadership, managers are the bread and butter of creating a culture of learning. They're the ones who will create the work schedule to dedicate time to learning, the ones who will advocate sharing ideas, and the ones who will be encouraging social learning in their departments. 

Managers need psychological safety first. No one who doesn't feel safe in their position is going to encourage their teams to think outside the box and challenge the status quo. It's just that simple. Creating psychological safety in the workplace is a topic well covered by others, for an intro I recommend checking out the eLearning course 'Building Psychological Safety' by Symmetra in the Go1 Content Hub. 

Once we have a safe space, we can really dive into encouraging department leaders to make time for learning. A few ideas that I've seen: 

A weekly rotating course the whole department takes before each team meeting, with time built into the meeting to discuss learnings and how to incorporate them into our lives, both personal and professional. Some managers choose these courses themselves while others encourage their teams to bring ideas forward for courses they want to learn together. 

Scheduled time to learn weekly put on everyone's calendars. We've seen this sent out as a one-size-fits-all invite for a Friday afternoon and we've seen this encouraged on a personal level to have employees create a recurring calendar invite for themselves at a time that works for them. Encourage 30-60 minutes a week, maybe 30 one week and 60 another if time is at a  premium, I promise the learning will increase productivity, buy-in, and efficiency. 

A fresh take on goal-setting, with a focus on whole-person development

Creating a culture of learning is about meeting the whole-person, not just the person who shows up for the job you hired them for. As such, goal-setting with our staff needs to reflect that. Around 10 years ago, I started doing goal-setting with my staff the way I always wanted it done for me and saw immediate improvements in retention, community, and relationships.  Here is the outline for the 3 goals I created with my employees:

Personally Professional: The first goal is something they can contribute to the organization as a whole. This is likely related to their KPI's or their personal targets and projects. 

Professionally Personal: The second goal is something that makes them better at their job. What do they want to learn? What role do they want to start working towards next? How can I, and the company, support them in that pursuit?

Personally Personal: And the third goal can have nothing to do with work. What's a  totally personal goal that they want to accomplish this quarter/year?  How can I, and the company, help support them in accomplishing that? 

Changing our ideas of what success looks like for our staff changes the way we think about learning. When we focus solely on performance indicators,  it's easy to lose sight of the development that needs to happen to make those indicators grow. Taking a step back and focusing on the whole person helps our management team realign on what's really important, our people. 

Level 3: Culture of learning starts before onboarding

Very few companies are doing onboarding right and it's killing their culture before it has a chance to grow. Like any good culture (I love cottage cheese), a Culture of Learning needs an incubator and that incubator is onboarding. 

When we start a new hire off with their mandatory compliance training and then shove them into a learning path designed to get them to OTJ training without addressing them as an individual,  we've set ourselves back in creating a space where truly fresh ideas can be heard.  

What if we tried a different approach and instead,  after they sign the offer letter, we sent them a form asking them what they are most excited to learn. A Culture of Learning starts before Day  1, it starts with asking questions and encouraging out-of-the-box responses that let them know they're safe to grow with us and we were here to support them in that.  

What skills are they worried they need to upskill to excel in their new role? What personal passions are they wanting to improve on? Photography? Wine tasting? Creative writing?  

Can you imagine getting that email before you started a new job?  Even before your first day, your new company is asking you how they can invest in your future? 

In a recent Gallup poll, 41% of employees are actively looking for new jobs. That's nearly half of our workforce! 

But there is hope. LinkedIn's 2019 Workforce Learning report found that 94% of leaving employees said they would have stayed longer if the company invested in helping them learn. 

Creating a Culture of Learning isn't just a nice to have, it's not just something that makes a nice recommendation on Glassdoor, it is quickly becoming the most critical component of employee retention, preventing knowledge hoarding, and creating a dynamic and explosive growth company that employees are excited to contribute to. 

It's not easy to steer a company culture towards one of creativity and curiosity, but implementing even a few of these ideas should get things started and once it catches on, strap in tight, you're racing in Le Mans now. 

Jake Via is a Senior Partner Success Manager at Go1 and is passionate about eLearning, innovation, and motivation. Connect with Jake here.

Creating a culture of learning is as challenging as it is rewarding. Here are three suggestions to take your learning culture to the next level.

Culture of learning. Ok, sure, but how?

Creating a culture of learning is as challenging as it is rewarding. Here are three suggestions to take your learning culture to the next level. 

At any one point, a third of working-aged Australians are either struggling with a mental illness, or symptoms of mental illness. Leaders are considering not only how this affects their business, but how the organisation itself is impacting the wellbeing of their employees.  

Some estimates see workplace stress causing as much as 50% of voluntary employee turnover and 60% of absenteeism. An understanding of contributing factors towards workplace stress, known as psychosocial hazards, is something Dan Hunt, and the team at Mental Health Movement, are passionate about addressing. 

Why is mental health education in workplaces important? 

Why is Mental Health education in workplaces important?

Though some psychosocial hazards might be seen as a common aspect to a role, such as the emotional toll on first responders in an emergency, they still require risk-management and mitigation within the organisation.  

Less obvious but common psychosocial hazards in the workplace include under-utilisation of employee skills, low role clarity, high noise levels and a lack of training to support job performance. Understanding your organisation’s psychosocial hazards is a crucial step towards developing an effective mental health strategy.  

Mental Health Movement surveyed 5,700 working Australians to gain a better understanding of the factors leading to poor mental health, the barriers to seeking support and the general state of mental health understanding and stigma. From this they developed their Mental Health Blueprint, covering four stages of Awareness, Education, Training and Resources.    

Through their work with over 100 Australian companies, Mental Health Movement have noticed the power that personal story has on employees’ attitudes towards mental health and seeking support. When leaders share their own vulnerabilities, it gives employees permission to show theirs, influencing a more connected work culture with reduced stigma.  

So when developing your organisation’s mental health framework, don't undervalue the impact leadership will have on its success. A supportive workplace environment will not only empower and assist staff, but will also positively impact productivity and company goals. 

Dan also shared some amazing insight and advice with us on continuing your own mental health education.  

Dan offers some takeaway advice

In partnership with Mental Health Movement, we have curated a Talking About Mental Health playlist specifically to showcase content that will assist you in developing the mental health blueprint in your organisation.  

The playlist includes learning content from Mental Health Movement, as well as other mental health providers. If you are already a Go1 customer, you can recreate this playlist in your own LMS or Go1 Platform. If you are not yet a customer but are interested in the Go1 Content Hub for your organisation's wellbeing and L&D goals, please get in touch with the team today. 

We chat with Dan Hunt, from the Mental Health Movement, about psychosocial hazards, best practice, and the power of personal story.

Why is mental health education in workplaces important?

L&D has long been important on both a personal and an organisational level. The reasons for this are self-evident: of course ongoing learning, development, and growth are important. However, in recent years, L&D has evolved beyond merely being important. These days, L&D is essential. 

Gone are the days where having an L&D strategy was an optional extra. Instead, a strong L&D team is now fundamental to sustained organisational success. In other words, L&D has gone from a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘need to have’. 

We’ve decided to track this evolution, detailing why L&D has gone from a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘need to have’. From improving ROI to closing the skills gap, we’ll look at four reasons why L&D is now essential. 

Let’s start with the bottom line first: ROI. While a pure love of learning is wonderful, ultimately, a successful L&D strategy must prove its value via ROI. Luckily, investing in L&D is one of the most surefire ways for businesses to increase their ROI and overall profitability. 

In most cases, the more you invest in your L&D program, the more you are likely to be rewarded. For example, companies that provide comprehensive training programs have a 218% higher income per employee. Likewise, companies that invest in L&D have a 24% higher profit margin than those that spend less on training. 

That’s not all, as 42% of companies enjoy an increase in profits after investing in digital learning. IBM puts this into perspective, finding that every dollar invested in online learning results in $30 worth of productivity. IBM’s study also found that well-trained employees increase their productivity by 10%.

Further, Gallup found that L&D strategies that focus on strengths-based intervention can increase profits by 14%-29%, on average. 

Accordingly, it should come as little surprise that 72% of organisations say they gain a competitive advantage by investing in digital learning. 

Given these numbers, it’s easy to see why L&D has gone from ‘nice to have’ to ‘need to have’ among the most profitable organisations.

In a highly competitive professional marketplace, an engaging L&D strategy is essential to attract and retain the best talent. In fact, 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development. 

Not only that, but many employees say that learning and development opportunities are a more decisive factor for remaining in a job than receiving a raise. According to Forbes, 56% of employees say that career growth and opportunity is more important than salary.

In addition, 87% of millennials value learning and development in the workplace, while a further 59% claim development opportunities are extremely important when deciding whether to apply for a position.

Perhaps most decisively, 76% of employees say a company would be more appealing if it offered additional skills training. 

These statistics are notable on several levels. Firstly, the majority of prospective employees value learning and development highly. As such, it is vital to have a strong L&D plan to attract the best talent. 

Secondly, L&D is essential for talent retention. Work Institute's 2018 Retention Report found that nearly one-third of all turnover was due to either unsupportive management or a lack of development opportunities. Work Institute also found that 77% of that turnover is preventable. Given the costly nature of turnover, offering learning and development opportunities to support staff is a far preferable option. 

Finally, L&D can have a major impact on employee engagement. 74% of employees aren’t reaching their full potential due to a lack of learning and development opportunities. Given this, Rapt Media finds that $500 billion is lost annually because of employee disengagement.

On the other hand, 42% of workplaces where employees are engaged with L&D also say their employees are highly engaged overall. Companies with more engaged employees outperform those with disengaged employees by up to 202%.

A strong learning culture is also essential to promote a diverse and inclusive workplace. As we detailed in our recent article on supporting neurodiversity in digital learning, L&D teams play a vital role in promoting neurodiverse workplaces. 

Estimates find that about 18% of the population have neurodiverse learning needs. Thus, it is critical to support neurodiversity in the workplace to ensure a secure, accessible learning environment for everyone. 

When L&D teams actively support neurodiversity, the results can be incredible. For example, one study by SAP found that “teams who have colleagues with autism report a rise in patent applications, innovations in products, and an increase in management skills and empathy.”

Additionally, companies with robust D&I programs are 22% more likely to be seen as industry leaders with high-calibre talent. Likewise, high-impact learning cultures (the top 10% of organisations) are 2.4x more likely to embed the principles of diversity and inclusion into their daily work than ‘average’ L&D teams. 

As these figures demonstrate, a well-developed D&I program can take your L&D team to the next level. As such, L&D is not only essential on a strategic level but also on an interpersonal level. By supporting neurodiversity, businesses can cultivate more understanding, innovative, and inclusive learning environments that encompass the spectrum of human experiences and perspectives. 

Finally, L&D has become an essential tool to help businesses close the skills gap. As we have emphasised in previous articles, the global skills gap is widening. As always, L&D teams have a central role to play. 

According to PwC Australia, 75% of Australian CEOs are concerned about the availability of key skills, a sharp increase from 58% the previous year. 

Similarly, a new study by RMIT Australia found that one in four Australians don’t have the skills they need to complete their day-to-day job — let alone the skills necessary for jobs of the future. Further estimates find that 54% of the global workforce will require extensive upskilling or reskilling by 2022.

RMIT’s report also found that the average Australian needs 18 unique skills to meet their employer’s requirements. However, on average, people are missing two of these skills.

Currently, RMIT finds that the biggest skills gap in Australia is in data analysis. Of those that need data analysis for their job, 30% say their skills are outdated or not at the level required. 

So, where do L&D teams come in? As RMIT’s study finds, L&D will be a crucial factor in closing the skills gap. According to their report, Australians are eager to learn and close the skills gap —  they just need access to the right learning and development opportunities. 

To demonstrate this, 38% of Australians would prefer paid study leave over a promotion, while 52% value a learning culture over a fun culture at work. Perhaps most staggeringly, nearly one quarter (24%) would rather have $1,000 to spend on training every year than $50 of extra pay each week.

The message is clear: Australians want access to learning and development tools to help close the skills gap. Unfortunately, 66% say they face at least one barrier to learning at work, with the most common barriers being ‘learning isn’t available in times or ways that suit me’ (23%) and ‘I don’t know where to start in terms of learning’ (17%). 

Ultimately, L&D teams that can remove these barriers to learning will play a vital role in closing the skills gap. 

Is L&D essential to your team? Go1 can help. Sign up for a free trial today to access dedicated courses on Employee engagement essentials, Understanding mental health in neurodiverse learners, and many more. 

For more insights, be sure to read our article on what sets high-impact L&D teams apart, and also subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today.

A strong L&D team is fundamental to sustained success. From improving ROI to closing the skills gap, we’ll look at four reasons why L&D is now essential. 

Why L&D has gone from a 'nice to have' to a 'need to have'

Every L&D team wants to make an impact. After all, there are few greater joys than watching your learners succeed. However, as with any walk of life, some teams will inevitably be more impactful than others. This success is attributable to many factors, such as organisational alignment, resources, strategy, and adaptability. Whatever the specific reasons, the rest of us strive to catch up and emulate these standard-setting teams. 

With this in mind, we have decided to dig a little deeper and ask: what sets high-impact L&D teams apart? We’ll start by detailing common characteristics of high-impact L&D teams, before analysing the skills that set these teams apart. 

Ready to boost your team’s impact? Start here. 

Common characteristics of high-impact L&D teams

Before we can analyse what sets high-impact L&D teams apart, it is necessary to understand what a high-impact L&D team looks like. Thankfully, when trying to define high-impact L&D teams, a few common characteristics emerge. 

Emerald Works 2020 Back to the Future Report closely observed high-impact learning cultures (HILCs). Following a comprehensive survey of 1,123 organisations, Emerald Works identified the top 112 organisations (10%) as having HILCs. According to their criteria, HILCs are “the top performing 10% of our data sample, These organisations’ learning strategies consistently achieve excellent results in terms of organisational growth, transformation, profitability and productivity.” 

In a similar survey of 60 CEOs and more than 250 L&D professionals worldwide, MIT Sloan identified seven core principles that set learning organisations apart (more on those to come). More importantly, their research discerned the factors that defined these high-performing teams were a willingness to invest in learning and development with a long-term, strategic perspective while also being prepared to adapt over time.

Finally, in an interview with the Advantage Performance Group, Lucretia Hall from Software One was asked to identify the essential components of a high-performing L&D team. From her perspective, two things stood out. Firstly, she emphasised that every team member must work to their strengths. To achieve this, Ms Hall recommends using the Gallup Strengths Finder to help identify different strengths within your organisation.

Secondly, she added that trust is vital, saying, “the other is building trust. This is the foundation of building a high performing team. It's something that all of our leaders are learning and doing. How do you build trust from the get-go with your team?”

As such, becoming a high-impact L&D team requires consistent excellence, paired with a strategic, long-term vision and clear alignment between both individual team members and discreet business functions.

For more insights on high-impact learning cultures, be sure to read our article on creating a sustainable learning culture.

According to Emerald Works, high-impact L&D teams stand out from their competitors in several pivotal areas. However, some of the most significant discrepancies emerge in the categories of alignment, communication, and clarity. 

For example, 94% of HILCs say their L&D activity is fully aligned with their organisation’s strategic goals. By comparison, only 48% of other L&D teams say the same. This represents a massive discrepancy, revealing that more than half of ‘average’ L&D teams are either not supporting or, in some cases, actively undermining their businesses’ wider objectives. 

Similarly, 84% of HILCs say they regularly communicate performance impacts to senior management, compared to just 18% of other L&D teams. Finally, in terms of clarity, 91% of HILCs say their L&D team has an agreed plan for how they will meet business metrics. In contrast, just 30% of other L&D teams say the same. If L&D teams are uncertain about the key metrics they are working towards, it is nearly impossible to maximise their impact.

Collectively, these statistics show that clarity of purpose, alignment on both an individual and a team-wide level, and clear communication are essential to becoming a high-impact L&D team. In other words, you can have the fanciest learning technologies and most engaging learning content, but without these fundamental communication tools, they will not be as impactful. 

Emerald Works’ report reveals a few more trends that set high-impact L&D teams apart. For starters, top-performing L&D teams dedicate 7% more of their budget to learning technologies (28% vs 21%) and create 12% more of their learning content in-house (61% vs 49%).  These teams also use analytics to improve the learner experience at a 5.5x higher rate than the average L&D team. 

Lastly, high-impact L&D teams are far more prepared to be agile. More than one-third of L&D teams (35%) say they encounter reluctance from senior management to encourage new ways of working and learning. Unsurprisingly, this plummets to just 6% among HILCs. 

Ultimately, Emerald Works summarises the skills that set HILCs apart, explaining, “HILCs are just that: more ambitious and better at learning and performing at scale...learning leaders with HILCs are 10 times more likely to outperform others in regard to the four critical levers of business: growth, transformation, productivity and profitability.”

Additionally, MIT Sloan’s research uncovered seven core principles that set high-impact learning organisations apart. These are: identifying a north star to guide L&D decisions, establishing a skills baseline, aligning L&D efforts with strategic priorities, ensuring that the L&D team has the right skills and resources, designing learning to accommodate evolving conditions, creating individualised learning pathways, and staying agile and adaptable over time.

Notably, many of these findings align with Emerald Works’ research, thereby providing an actionable checklist to start upskilling your L&D team. It seems that alignment, agility, and establishing a skills baseline are all excellent places to start if you want to increase your L&D team’s impact. 

Summary: 4 fundamental skills to create a high-impact L&D culture

Ready to increase your team’s impact? Go1 can help. Sign up for a free trial today to access dedicated courses on High-impact communication, Creating a culture of excellence, and many more. 

Every L&D team wants to make an impact. So, we have decided to dig a little deeper and ask: what sets high-impact L&D teams apart?

What sets high-impact L&D teams apart?

As our lives increasingly rotate around digital innovation and change, the ability to adapt for the future depends on developing the next generation of skills.  In recognition of this need we are excited to announce our latest content partnership with Simplielearn, a global leader in digital skills training.  

Simplilearn is on a mission to help companies ride the digital wave by creating learning experiences that help re-skill and up-skill teams across cutting-edge technologies. 

“Through our partnership with Simplilearn, we look forward to offering additional certification benefits to learners and providing Go1 customers with the best content to support the development of digital skills across their businesses.” Basem Emera, Go1 Vice-President of Partnerships and Alliances.   

Go1 Content Hub customers have the opportunity to add these 50 Simplilearn digital skills courses covering 11 topics to their subscription. Talk to your Go1 Customer Success Manager about this add on. Courses include:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML) 

Simplilearn’s high-quality courses are developed by industry experts and feature top industry practitioners, sought-after trainers, and global leaders. 

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help your organization adapt to an even more digital future and develop the next generation of skills.

As our lives increasingly rotate around digital innovation and change, the ability to adapt for the future depends on developing the next generation of skills.  In recognition of this need we are excited to announce our latest content partnership with Simplielearn, a global leader in digital skills training. 

Introducing Simplilearn - Digital skills training for the future 

As our lives increasingly rotate around digital innovation and change, the ability to adapt for the future depends on developing the next generation of skills.

While Australians are feeling the mental and emotional toll of lockdowns, isolation and uncertainty, workplaces are emerging as instrumental in supporting and empowering their team’s mental health.

Organisations that prioritise mental health awareness can have a crucial effect on not only their employees' ability to recognise signs of mental illness, but also for supporting those who need that extra support and treatment.

A special message from Dan Hunt

A 2021 Allianz study has shown that while workplace mental health injuries are increasing, there remains a lack of mental health related discussions in the workplace. Organisations have an opportunity to not only support those who are struggling with their mental health but also create an educated and empowered environment that proactively increases the mental resilience of their entire teams.  

We spoke to Dan Hunt, Founding Director of Mental Health Movement for this year's R U OK? Day, about building a mental health blueprint for workplaces that not only reduces stigma associated with mental health and illness, but also establishes pathways for stronger overall wellbeing.  

Tell us about a conversation or moment when someone asked you ‘R U OK?’  

Tell us about a conversation or moment when someone asked  R U OK?

When going through a stage of heightened or prolonged struggle, it can be difficult to recognise the signs of dips in our mental health. As Dan experienced, having supportive managers and family who genuinely asked him, ‘are you ok?’ meant he was able to take that first step backwards to recognise his struggle.  

The act of checking in on someone has the potential to powerfully alter someone’s path and change a life. Initiatives such as R U OK? Day are an informative way to cultivate that ideal work environment where everyone feels confident and safe to ask such a simple yet impactful question.  

A workplace that has not addressed mental health stigma sufficiently can be a significant barrier to employees accessing treatment. For each genuine conversation around mental health within a workplace or team, an environment is encouraged that helps people take proactive steps towards support. 

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. 

Why do you start workplaces with awareness and stigma reduction?  

Why do you start workplaces with awareness and stigma reduction?

Actively working to decrease mental health stigma in the workplace can be seen as the foundation of building a mentally healthy workplace.

Stigma reduction not only improves knowledge and supportive behaviours within the entire team, but also increases preventative efforts from struggling employees during the early stages of mental illness. 

When looking at the sustainability of a workplace’s mental health framework, awareness is only the first, foundational step. Building on top of this, organisation’s have the opportunity to develop mentally supportive environments through ongoing education, application and training.

What is the importance of ongoing education for people at work?

There’s no doubt employees are feeling the added pressures of working during a pandemic, with 40% feeling the pressure to work longer hours and a staggering 77% clocking that overtime to complete their tasks.  

Within the context of social isolation and uncertainty, it is no surprise that more Australians are reaching out for support than ever before.  

Considering this widespread struggle, it is concerning to note that 69% of Australian employees have not had a discussion with their employers regarding mental health since the pandemic began.  

Dan Hunt and the team at Mental Health Movement have focused on discovering these pressure points, as well as psychosocial hazards, to create a proactive blueprint for mentally healthy workplaces.

Partnering with Mental Health Movement over the years has included developing high quality wellbeing resources for the Go1 Content Hub. 

This R U OK? Day, we have curated a Talking About Mental Health playlist specifically to showcase content that will assist you in developing the mental health blueprint for your organisation. The playlist includes learning content from Mental Health Movement, as well as other mental health providers. 

If you are already a Go1 customer, you can recreate this playlist in your own LMS or Go1 Platform.  

If you are not yet a customer but interested in the Go1 Content Hub for your organisation's wellbeing and L&D goals, please get in touch with the team today. 

We speak to Dan Hunt, Founding Director of Mental Health Movement, about implementing a stronger wellbeing framework in the workplace.

How do we make 'R U OK?' last in the workplace?

We speak to Dan Hunt, Founding Director of Mental Health Movement, about implementing a stronger wellbeing framework in the workplace. 

Diversity and inclusion is a fundamental part of any successful workplace. L&D professionals have known this for a long time, and thankfully, more and more organisations are embracing the principles of diversity and inclusion in 2021. 

According to LinkedIn’s 2021 Workplace Learning Report, 64% of L&D professionals say their executive team has made D&I a top priority this year. Given this, companies with robust D&I programs are 22% more likely to be seen as industry leaders with high-calibre talent. 

Additionally, Emerald Works finds that 58% of high-impact learning cultures (defined as the top 10% of surveyed organisations) embed the principles of diversity and inclusion into their daily work, compared to just 34% of other L&D teams. These figures show that a well-developed D&I program can take your L&D team to the next level.

Supporting neurodiversity is vital to any successful D&I program. Estimates show that about 18% of the population have neurodiverse learning needs. Therefore, it is vital to support neurodiversity in the workplace to ensure a safe, accessible environment. As ever, L&D teams have a central role to play.

With this in mind, we’ve decided to ask: how can organisations support neurodiversity in digital learning?  We’ll start by explaining what neurodiversity is, before diving into the benefits of a neurodiverse workplace. Finally, we'll analyse how L&D professionals can ensure their programs support neurodiverse learning needs.

The term neurodiversity was coined in the 1990s by Australian sociologist Judy Singer. According to Ms Singer, neurodiversity refers to “the virtually infinite neuro-cognitive variability within Earth’s human population. It points to the fact that every human has a unique nervous system with a unique combination of abilities and needs.”

Ms Singer adds that just as biodiversity is important for a rich and healthy ecosystem and a variety of species is vital to a functioning animal kingdom, so too is neurodiversity essential to provide the full spectrum of human experiences and perspectives. 

As such, there is no single, encompassing definition of neurodiversity. The term can mean different things to different people based on their unique lived experiences. The Autistic Self Advocacy Network explains that the term generally refers to “neurocognitive differences such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, Tourette’s syndrome, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, intellectual disability, and schizophrenia.” 

Similarly, the Autism Awareness Centre explains that “neurodiversity is the concept that humans don’t come in a one-size-fits-all neurologically ‘normal’ package. Instead, it recognises that all variations of human neurological function need to be respected as just another way of being, and that neurological differences like autism and ADHD are the result of normal/natural variations in the human genome.”

Put simply, supporting neurodiversity in digital learning means creating an environment that is equally accessible to all, regardless of their unique abilities or needs. 

On a human level, the benefits of a neurodiverse workplace should be apparent. Not only is supporting neurodiversity the right thing to do, but it also leads to a greater diversity of experiences, ideas, and perspectives. Unfortunately, this has rarely been the case.

According to Neurodiversity Hub, 78% of neurodiverse people experience difficulty at their place of learning, with the main challenges being fitting in socially (60%), learning difficulties (55%), and communication difficulties (51%). Further, ​​Autism Spectrum Australia estimates that about 1 in 70 Australians is on the autism spectrum. However, only 40% are employed. 

Many of these biases are evident from an early age, with Neurodiversity Celebration Week finding that 33% of educators believe learning and thinking challenges are sometimes an excuse for laziness, while one-third of parents say they wouldn’t want others to know if their child has a neurological difference. 

These problems are far too common. Yet, when workplaces do embrace neurodiversity, the results can be staggering. For example, James Mahoney, the former head of JP Morgan’s Autism at Work program, told Fortune Magazine, “Our autistic employees achieve, on average, 48% to 140% more work than their typical colleagues, depending on the roles.”

It is worth emphasising that neurodiverse people should not have to overachieve to such a degree just to be afforded the same basic respect and inclusion as their neurotypical colleagues. However, these results are incredibly impressive, providing just one example of the power of a neurodiverse workforce. 

Similarly, a 2019 report by EY found that people with dyslexia often display the most in-demand skills for the workforce of the future – leadership, creativity, and initiative. 

Another study by German software company SAP found that “teams who have colleagues with autism report a rise in patent applications, innovations in products, and an increase in management skills and empathy.” 

Finally, Professor Rob Austin recently completed a study on the best practices of companies with neurodiversity employment programs. Mr Austin explains that teams who embrace neurodiversity in their recruitment process “are claiming an innovation benefit with these employees, because they think differently, ask different sorts of questions and tend to trigger changes in the way companies do things."

While neurodiversity has often been stigmatised and underrepresented in the workplace, teams that embrace neurodiversity tend to achieve incredible results. Not only is this the right thing to do from a diversity and inclusion perspective, but it can also lead to new perspectives, new skills, and greater levels of innovation.

For more information, be sure to read our articles on unlearning unconscious biases, as well as our D&I blog series from guest expert Maureen Frank. 

How can organisations support neurodiversity in digital learning?

With these findings in mind, the question becomes, how can organisations support neurodiversity in digital learning? 

In an interview with Digits, Amanda Kirby, co-author of Neurodiversity at Work and a Professor in the field of neurodiversity, explains how L&D teams should best approach this question. 

“You really need to be starting with the first principles of universal design – so how do you suit the learning preferences of everybody?” 

“It isn’t about doing this for autistic people or this for dyslexic people. It’s about how do you ensure that the way you deliver learning and development is inclusive and fits with strengths and minimises challenges. This has to include people who are visually or hearing impaired.

“Where you can, you should be person-centred. So, in the same way that the best conversations are those when you understand the person you’re talking to, that’s exactly what neurodiversity is all about. Ask your neurodivergent employees what they want. 

“Don’t be afraid of asking and don’t pigeonhole people,” she said. 

As such, a holistic approach is vital. By taking this approach, you can fulfil everyone’s learning needs, rather than viewing neurodiverse learners as an entirely separate category. 

Additionally, Matrix recommends a learner needs assessment can be helpful to support neurodiversity in digital learning. They explain, “it’s important to know the objective of the learning intervention so you can thoroughly investigate the gaps that it will need to fill. A pre-assessment can be immensely helpful in determining a learner’s understanding of the training content. Starting from this information, you can then focus on the content areas most lacking or difficult to comprehend.” 

Finally, Training Magazine recommends taking a learner-centric approach to course design, saying, “making an organisation more inclusive for neurodiverse individuals requires an appreciation of each person within his or her work context and a focus on getting to know employees individually and leading people on a situational basis.” 

If you're ready to start supporting neurodiverse learners in your workplace, Go1 can help. Sign up for a free trial today to access courses on Understanding mental health in neurodiverse learners and Positive Assessments, featuring Nancy Doyle, an Occupational Psychologist who specialises in neurodiversity. 

It is vital to support neurodiversity in the workplace to ensure a safe, accessible environment. As ever, L&D teams have a central role to play. With this in mind, we’ve decided to ask: how can organisations support neurodiversity in digital learning?

With millions of Australians facing extended lockdowns and restrictions, the isolation has made it harder to not only check in with the people in our world, but also to recognise the early signs of someone struggling. 

As we approach R U OK? Day on Thursday 9th September, we are encouraged to genuinely focus on checking in on one another and asking, ‘are they really ok?’  

At any one point, 1 in 6 working-age Australians will be suffering from a diagnosed mental illness, and a further 1 in 6 will be struggling with symptoms of poor mental health, such as fatigue, worry and sleep issues. With the added pressures of the past two years, many employees are showing up to work carrying the weight of struggling mental health. 

Within a workplace, it’s important to develop a culture where everyone can feel confident asking and answering the simple yet impactful question, ‘R U OK?’ Besides the legal responsibility of providing a safe and healthy workplace, regardless of whether in an office or remote, these conversations can make a real difference to anyone going through a challenging time. 

So how can we empower our team to comfortably check in on each other?  

Knowledge is particularly powerful when creating a mentally healthy workplace. By including mental health awareness training as a part of your organisation’s ongoing L&D program, you can empower not only those struggling but their peers as well to recognise the early signs of low mental health. 

Mental health issues can affect anyone, regardless of background, age, gender or income, and symptoms often look different from person to person. Providing education to your teams around not only the normalcy of mental health struggles, but the simple signs to look out for in each other, has the potential to change someone’s life.  

Make it as easy as possible for employees to reach out for extra support when needed. Consider this pathway as crucial as your team knowing where the fire exits are in an office building. Knowing the pathway to support can make an impactful difference, particularly when someone is in a crisis situation. 

Employee EAP and Mental Health Counselling programs are an amazing way to provide wellbeing support to employees. If not available, ensure you have implemented clear promotion for and education around accessible community support options such as those listed below.

Lifeline 13 11 14 
Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 
The Suicide Callback Service 1300 659 467 
MensLine 1300 78 99 78 
Kids Help Line 1800 55 1800  

With a solid foundation of mental health education, and clear pathways to extra support for anyone struggling, you have already made beneficial steps to creating a mentally healthy workplace. As the year goes on, make time to remind and refresh your teams. Days like R U OK? Day are purposefully developed to help foster an environment within your workplace for conversations around mental health, suicide and suicide prevention.  

In partnership with Go1, R U OK? have masterfully developed the online course below, helping your teams learn when and how to ask 'R U OK?' at work. The course is free and accessible, ready to be integrated into your R U OK? Day plans.  

With the added pressures of the past two years, many employees are showing up to work carrying the weight of struggling mental health. So how can we empower our team to comfortably check in on each other?