Pedler’s 11 Dimensions of a Learning Organisation (What They Are and Why They Matter)

In today’s fast-changing world of work, organisations must go beyond one-off training events and embrace learning as a continuous, organisation-wide capability. But what does that look like in practice?

More than three decades ago, Pedler, Burgoyne, and Boydell introduced a framework of 11 interconnected dimensions to characterise a learning organisation (or what they called a learning company). Despite its age, this model remains highly relevant for organisations today striving for resilience, innovation, and long-term sustainability.

In this article, we unpack these 11 dimensions, explore why they still matter, and offer reflection points for HR, L&D, and transformation leaders seeking to build more adaptive, learning-focused workplaces.

1. A Learning Approach to Strategy

In learning organisations, strategy is not a fixed five-year plan. It is an ongoing, adaptive process that embraces feedback, reflection, and learning from the environment. Leaders engage with uncertainty not as a threat but as fuel for organisational renewal.

Why it matters: Static strategies quickly become obsolete. A learning-based approach helps your organisation stay responsive rather than reactive.

Reflection prompt: Is your strategic planning process open to learning, adaptation, and input from across the organisation, or is it locked in a top-down cycle?

2. Participative Policy Making

People across all levels – not just senior management – are invited to shape policy. This includes employees, partners, and sometimes even customers and suppliers.

Why it matters: When people are involved in decision-making, they become more invested in implementation. This cultivates ownership, trust, and alignment.

Reflection prompt: Who has a voice in shaping key policies in your organisation? How might broader participation improve decision quality and buy-in?

3. Informating

Information systems are not just administrative tools. They are used to promote transparency, shared understanding, and learning across the organisation.

Why it matters: When information is democratised, everyone can make better decisions, identify patterns, and contribute to improvement.

Reflection prompt: Does your current use of technology promote openness and shared insight, or is valuable information locked within silos or systems?

4. Formative Accounting and Control

Instead of using accounting purely for compliance or performance monitoring, learning organisations leverage financial and non-financial data as feedback tools for learning.

Why it matters: Dashboards and reports become tools for development – not just performance tracking.

Reflection prompt: How do you use data and reporting in your organisation? Is it used strictly for control or also for learning and improvement?

5. Internal Exchange

Departments treat each other as internal customers and suppliers. They actively exchange knowledge, feedback, and support.

Why it matters: Breaking down silos promotes collaboration, builds mutual respect, and encourages cross-functional learning.

Reflection prompt: To what extent do your teams see themselves as collaborators rather than competitors? Where could internal exchange be strengthened?

6. Reward Flexibility

Rewards extend beyond financial compensation to include recognition, autonomy, and development opportunities. Importantly, the reward system itself is open to discussion and redesign.

Why it matters: Flexible and transparent rewards encourage learning behaviour and support meaningful cultural change.

Reflection prompt: Do your current reward systems reinforce learning, experimentation, and growth? Who gets recognised, and for what?

7. Enabling Structures

Hierarchies, roles, and processes should not stifle innovation. Instead, they should be designed to enable collaboration, experimentation, and adaptability.

Why it matters: Rigid structures inhibit progress. Learning organisations evolve their systems to support new ways of working.

Reflection prompt: Are your structures helping or hindering learning and innovation? What changes could remove friction and unlock new ways of working?

8. Boundary Workers as Environmental Scanners

Frontline staff who regularly interact with customers, partners, or the public are encouraged to bring external insights back into the organisation.

Why it matters: Valuable learning often happens at the edges. Organisations that listen to the boundaries stay ahead of change.

Reflection prompt: How do you capture the insights of frontline staff? Are those insights translated into meaningful organisational learning or lost in the noise?

9. Inter-Company Learning

Learning extends beyond organisational boundaries. It includes benchmarking, partnerships, joint projects, and even learning from competitors.

Why it matters: No organisation has all the answers. Openness to external learning creates a strategic advantage.

Reflection prompt: When was the last time your organisation deliberately learned from another? What prevents or enables inter-company learning?

10. A Learning Climate

A learning organisation fosters a culture of curiosity, feedback, and psychological safety. People are encouraged to experiment and learn from success and failure – without fear of blame.

Why it matters: Culture determines whether learning is a buzzword or a lived reality. A true learning climate supports growth at all levels.

Reflection prompt: Is your culture safe for learning? How do people respond to mistakes, and what do they learn from them?

11. Self-Development Opportunities for All

Learning is not reserved for high performers or senior leaders. Everyone is expected – and supported – to take ownership of their development.

Why it matters: Empowered learners fuel continuous improvement across the organisation.

Reflection prompt: Does everyone in your organisation have access to development opportunities? Are they empowered and expected to use them?

So Why Do Pedler’s Dimensions Still Matter?

Although developed in 1991, Pedler et al.’s framework remains powerful because it goes beyond individual upskilling. It addresses the deeper structures, systems, and cultural elements that either support or inhibit organisational learning.

Through our work at WiP, we have found that most organisations don’t suffer from a lack of talent or ideas. What they often lack are the conditions that enable learning to take root and thrive. Pedler et al.’s 11 dimensions offer HR, L&D, and business leaders a practical and insightful lens to diagnose the conditions within their organisations and guide meaningful transformation.

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At WiP, we partner with forward-thinking companies to build the capacity to learn continuously, collectively, and with purpose.

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