The Growth-Focused Workplace: How to Make a Culture Where Employees Improve

July 7, 2025

Whether we realize it or not, each of us desires to get better. Thankfully, personal development can help us realize our dreams and improve our quality of life.

The best leaders take advantage of this by fostering workplaces where their team members are encouraged and enabled to grow.

Why Personal Development Keeps Employees Happy and Fulfilled

Learning can increase motivation, improve confidence, boost creativity, and help provide a sense of direction. It brings incredibly positive outcomes for both the employee and employer.

In fact, a recent study found that learning opportunities and training programs have a very positive impact on employees. Nearly a third of those who took part in the study reported feeling "truly enlightened and invigorated" and "highly valued and empowered" by their employers when they were given specific opportunities to grow in the workplace.

“Better results come from being a better person,” leadership expert Jim Rohn once said. “The big challenge is to become all that you have the possibility of becoming. You cannot believe what it does to the human spirit to maximize your human potential and stretch yourself to the limit.”

Providing Growth Opportunities is a Key to Employee Retention

Your organization may be very positive and supportive, but if you don’t have an environment that allows team members to experience genuine growth, you’ll still struggle to retain the best talent.

In my experience, this is especially true with young employees. Younger people seem especially interested in learning and growth.

A study by Deloitte Global in 2025 found that Gen Z prioritizes learning and development as a top priority when choosing employers. Only six percent prioritize climbing the corporate ladder, showing that Gen Z often shows preference for skill-building over traditional career advancement. They seek mentorship and opportunities to develop both technical and soft skills.

How an Award-Winning Company Culture Provides Growth Opportunities

At Blue Compass, we’re big believers in continual growth, both for our team members and our company. In fact, one of our five value statements is: “We grow our expertise.”

Here are a few ways we promote learning in our workplace:

Team Meetings

At the beginning of each of our monthly team meetings, we hold a learning session. I usually lead these sessions, but often we’ll be joined by a guest speaker, or we’ll watch a video together.

Over the past few months, we’ve covered topics like positivity, failure, stress, responsibility, and happiness. Our team members always seem to appreciate these sessions. A few years ago, I led a session on the value of assuming the best in every situation. It made a significant impact, and still today team members will occasionally remind each other to “assume the best.”

Airbnb uses a similar tactic with regular “Fireside Chats” to help its team grow and learn. These internal events feature external speakers who share their insights on a certain topic. Airbnb says, “From CEOs to musicians, these leaders always have something invaluable to teach us.”

Webinars

As a digital marketing agency, we always need to stay ahead of the curve. Google's latest algorithm changes, LinkedIn's newest feature, etc. - our team must be knowledgeable on everything. 

Webinars are a great tool we use to stay apprised of the changes in our industry. These tech giants often host webinars and post useful YouTube videos, as do many other industry players. We'll occasionally schedule a 30-minute webinar session for a department so they can keep up with the latest industry-relevant info.

Lunch and Learns

At these occasional lunches, we choose a topic relevant to everyone, provide a meal, and have a team member or two teach the group. The food and setting keep everything casual and lead to great questions. It’s an effective way to get your entire team or department in the learning spirit together. 

Etsy implements a similar learning program called “Etsy School” to allow employees to both teach and learn in classes on topics like navigating difficult conversations. The Etsy Learning and Development team helps people find a focus for their career development.

Book Clubs

“Blue Compass Book Clubs,” one of my favorite ways to learn, are always fantastic experiences. We select a good book and schedule regular meetings to discuss a chapter or two at a time. This can be good for a department to read together, just an employee and a manager, or even an entire company.

Weekly Recap Email

At the end of each week, one of the members of our Digital Marketing Department sends a weekly recap email that shares what’s happened in the world of SEO, Google, online ads, etc.

This is a fantastic value to our team members, and it allows all of us to get caught up on what’s going on in our industry in a short amount of time. Consider assigning a different team member each week to spend a half-hour researching what’s new and relevant in your industry and sharing it internally via email.

Online Classes

Occasionally, there’s a specific subject that requires in-depth research and study. In these cases, we may sign a team member up for an online class. This is especially common with some of the programming and security that affect our development team.

Conferences

While they can be expensive and take your team members away from work for several days, in-person conferences can be one of the best learning opportunities available. We’ve received fantastic value from these over the years. When sending your team members to a conference, schedule time for them to assemble their notes afterward and teach their department the essential takeaways. 

The Most Effective Leaders Emphasize Personal Growth Within Their Team

Great companies focus on regular learning opportunities for their team members. This is a growing trend for many organizations. 

Your company doesn’t need to adopt high-profile speakers or extensive classes to help your employees develop.

Learning should be a company-wide value. Embrace a culture of growth and your team will thank you for it.