How can you keep learning in a micro agency? When you’re deliberately small and encouragingly busy?
My thirst for self-development remains unabated, even after
nearly 30 years in this field. I’m always eager to learn new things, to explore
different angles on the employer-employee relationship, to build my knowledge
of emerging techniques. It enables me to keep growing and helps me strengthen my
support for (and sharing of new tools with) the clients and partners I work
with.
However, it’s not always easy to get to in-person learning
events or attend day-long conferences. It can be difficult to commit in
advance, given that client needs can change rapidly. And as a consultant, you are
sometimes excluded anyway (I did register for one event, but was rejected the
next day and told I was not welcome. In those exact terms!).
So kudos to the organisations hosting webinars to which everyone
is invited. Some are sponsored by service providers, others are not. Some have
an entrance fee, others are free. Many are available afterwards on-demand. The
range of such opportunities is expanding and I’m setting aside a couple of
hours every week for sessions directly related, or providing wider context, to
my field of internal communication and employee engagement. Over the last
month, for example, this has involved events from the IOD, IABC and CIPD.
Online learning will never replace in-person interaction,
and I am hoping to get to more such events and meet more people in 2024. But
there is an ever-growing range of online options in the meantime…
