Are you a Titanic in the world of learning?

Consultant's Corner

Last month we considered how informal learning was the far greater part of the whole learning experience – most research points to around 80% as the actual figure. We also know that many L&D departments don’t focus on this part of the iceberg at all. Why not? Is it that they are – like the Titantic – so massive, so technically advanced and crewed by such experience as to be unsinkable? Hmmm.

Clearly, there are many aspects of learning that needs an L&D department – how else would courses be designed and delivered? How would people learn if the logistics and management information weren’t taken care of? What about the mandatory stuff? That has to be properly designed and delivered so we can get the tick in the box. Without an L&D department, who would be able to use the latest IT system efficiently, or manage their teams? Call me cautious but I don’t want to sail on that one.

Fortunately, learning organisations have got business alignment of their L&D departments and they add value to - and understanding of - the relevant business functions they service. This alignment ensures that the formal learning needs are addressed but does it encourage the use of informal or unstructured learning? We should not confuse the organisational structure for managing learning with that of the actual method to deliver said learning. To fully understand the incidence of learning in your organisation, you must first recognise that informal learning is already taking place in all sorts of places, in all sorts of ways and between many different people. Then you need to develop practices and processes to cultivate and capture and share more of what people need to know as well as learn.

If informal learning is the unstructured learning that happens in daily life; for example when discussing a problem with colleagues, then giving that problem a context and encouraging a wider debate could extend the opportunity to share the solution with colleagues and lead to a better process for all to follow in the future. Is that not an equally valuable learning experience for those providing the solution? It doesn’t have to be as structured as a brainstorm to have equal value, just the culture of sharing knowledge through a process which makes it accessible to those who need to know it. In this way the learning of individuals adds to the organisational learning.

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The capturing and sharing process need not be heavily bureaucratic – indeed you should argue it must not be if it is to be effective – and could use the quickest and simplest of tools. Bllogs (that’s a learning blog) can then invite comment and capture a discussion trail. A wiki could allow a more collaborative environment to refine the ideas and enhance the collective learning value. These are very capable tools but you still need to ensure some structure and organisation to the content if the proliferation of such valuable thinking is to be of value. Being able to find the relevant knowledge easily is, I believe the most significant issue facing organisations today – that of enterprise level search that encompasses all relevant internal and external learning and knowledge bases. Otherwise the whole value of the exercise is lost on anyone not involved in the event.

In educational or social care environments this sort of informal development takes place constantly, educators / specialists encourage their students / charges to think about experiences and situations and share their thoughts and feelings. The difference here is that these coaches provide some context and structure to the process but in a way that doesn’t make it formal.

If your L&D people are already undertaking or facilitating informal learning without necessarily realising it, then they are beginning to see parts of the hidden iceberg and should therefore be capable of being more of a hovercraft than a Titanic. Good job, no one really wants another remake of that one.

Epic Consulting believes in challenging the conventional and is focused on building the capability of our clients by providing practical advice on all aspects of learning strategy, interactive design, blending, implementation and evaluation processes as well as the wider needs for integration with IT systems and other business processes. For an initial discussion on how our consulting service could help your organisation, please contact: consulting@epic.co.uk