According to LinkedIn’s 2019 Workplace Learning Report, “today’s workforce cares deeply about learning and development opportunities from their employers, yet the biggest problem for talent developers is that employees don’t make the time.” While finding time for learning may be tough, data shows that taking more time to learn makes a significant difference in an employee’s experience at work. In fact, compared to employees who spend less than one hour per week learning, employees who spend over five hours per week learning are “74% more likely to know where they want to go in their career, 48% more likely to have found purpose in their work, and 47% less likely to be stressed at work.” That leads 94% of employees to say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development.

With positive data like this in mind, Daikin is adding talent from the learning and development discipline, modernizing how we reach our employees and Reps, redesigning our curriculum with today’s learning technology, and making it scalable to give participants accessibility and flexibility to get the training they need when they need it. At Daikin, we believe learning should be easily accessible – that’s why we invest in the Daikin Learning Institute (DLI). DLI offers educational programs for heating, ventilation and air conditioning professionals, owners, operators, contractors, service technicians, building and system engineers, designers, distributors, sales reps, and internal employees, believing that individual achievement is the foundation of corporate growth. With the goal to provide the product-specific education necessary to establish a high level of proficiency in selling, operating, and servicing Daikin products, Laura Masica, Daikin Learning Institute’s Senior Director, drives for performance outcomes by instilling her value of curiosity into the Daikin culture and learning approach. In honor of National Learning and Development Month, we interviewed Laura to capture her perspective and advice on the path of lifelong learning:

Laura Masica

Senior Director, Daikin Learning Institute

As a Learning and Development leader with 20+ years of business experience, Laura drives business results by creating innovative solutions in education through the integration of technology and unleashing the potential of each individual and their unique skills and capabilities.

Why is it important to continually learn and develop?

For me, learning is what feeds the mind and soul to stay active and relevant. No matter what age, the significance of learning is ever-powerful. In our youth we might be learning the pleasures of reading or riding a bike; we are learning to prepare ourselves for life ahead. As we mature, we might be learning the latest app on our phone or learning to appreciate the latest music trends; we are learning to stay relevant. In the HVAC industry, we might be looking for ways to constantly upscale our knowledge on refrigerants, systems, and processes. As the industry’s global leader in HVAC, Daikin is well-equipped to become the industry’s source for HVAC learning by solving customers’ needs with innovative, unique, and relevant solutions.

What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned on your path to your career?

Wow, it’s hard to identify the one most valuable thing that I’ve learned in my career, there are so very many! However, I think there is one that has bridged my career. The idea of staying cu­­rious. Curious to how something works, curious to how someone thinks, curious to how everything fits together. Curiosity has served my thirst for learning for many years. Curiosity opens up a way to look at something from a different angle, without judgment or critique. Curiosity creates solutions that we may not have thought possible. For example, in the Daikin Learning Institute, we are embracing technology in learning, from virtual instructor-led training and just-in-time micro-videos, to gamification and virtual reality. Executing on our curiosity is what transforms the learning modality.

How would you challenge people to take advantage of National Learning and Development Month?

I think many of us have a secret ‘I would love to learn how to’ area. If you are one of those, take the first step, figure out what you want to learn and what easy things you can do to get started. Don’t overcommit, just create a plan for what is doable and fun.

Thanks, Laura! That’s plenty of proof that learning is a great use of time! We encourage you to plan how you’re going to learn next month and commit to that plan! Learn more about Daikin Learning Institute by checking out the Daikin training web page.