DMA Insight: The Culture of Learning

Our latest analysis of insights of the DMA’s Business Skills Census 2019 has revealed how the culture of learning can have a significant impact on an organisation’s long-term success.

Marketers that took part in the survey seem allocated evenly into two groups:

• Empowered - 47% : Strongly believe their organisation invests well in skills and training of staff and have a culture that encourages development, while also having provided their team training in the last 12 months
• Disenfranchised - 53% : Tend to believe they don’t have a culture of development or the investment from the business to facilitate learning, as well as not having received any training in the last year

Empowered vs Disenfranchised

Senior marketers are significantly more likely to fall into the ‘Empowered’ group, while marketers covering mid-level roles appear to feel that something is missing in their opportunity to develop.

‘Disenfranchised’ marketers are much more likely to feel their company is not increasing its investment in training or may not even be aware of an annual budget for training.

What does this mean?

The potential impact of this cultural difference is visible in the skills marketers report as important for their business current and future success.

Those in an ‘Empowered’ culture report being more adept with a range of skills key to their business today, while those in the ‘Disenfranchised‘ culture clearly show concerns about the future of their businesses and whether they will be able to develop the required core skills.

What can be done?

Beyond budgets and training availability, what should business do to foster a more positive culture of learning?

Data shows that the simple act of discussing and reviewing development can make a huge difference, something that happens significantly more often in ‘Empowered’ organisations.

In addition, encouraging staff to take part in Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programmes can offer individuals the impetus they need to seek out development and learning opportunities themselves.

To find out more about the range of development and learning available from the DMA’s Institute for Data & Marketing (IDM), take a look at the latest courses, events and qualifications.