If you're passionate about your industry, the learning never stops. Mastery of your craft is an ongoing process that involves diligent note-taking, a voracious consumption of content, and an application of that knowledge to real-life situations.
But what happens when you're pressed for time? We all have lives outside of our work that require constant upkeep. How are we supposed to keep up with the tsunami of information and new developments in our industry?
That's where the lunch and learn program comes in.
What is Lunch and Learn?
A lunch and learn program is an informal training session during a lunch hour. This session brings the organization great benefits such as improving employee morale and creating awareness of organizational issues. Employees will be enticed to attend a learning module if they know they will get some delicious treats.
What Can You Teach?
Since these lunch and learn programs would ideally be voluntary attendance based, these sessions can provide additional resources that make your employees happy to learn. Some of the typical lunch and learn programs include:
- Skills training
- Product training
- Professional development
- Personal development
- Life skills
Things to Avoid During Lunch and Learn
Lunch and learn meetings are great time-saving and time-efficient sessions that help employees retain information about both business and personal skills. In order to reap the full rewards of this program it is best to hold these sessions in a noise-free conference room. Also, these should not be replacements for mandatory legal training. Try to stay off serious subjects like ethics and harassment training. Employees do not want to spend their lunch breaks being warned about things they know they shouldn't do. Try to stay within the allotted time frame given for lunch breaks. If you're lunches are 1 hour long, don't go past 30-45 minutes. People need time to settle in, relax, eat, and take in all of the information.
The Benefits of a Lunch and Learn Program
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Makes excellent use of time constraints
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Informal setting leads to a low-pressure learning environment
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Group training builds a stronger work culture
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Gives employees a chance to teach their hobbies
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Improves employee morale
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Creates awareness of organizational issues
How to Make Your Lunch and Learn Program a Success
If possible, assign one person to order the food, schedule the presentations, and remind employees about the program every week. Keep a consistent schedule and structure to the program so that employees learn to expect it on a certain day. Getting a consensus on a favorite restaurant will entice even more employees to attend. Lunch and learn programs facilitate employee growth without breaking the bank. Give it a try!
Read our blog, 4 Reasons for Having an Open Office Environment for other ways to boost moral and productivity in the workplace.
