Informal Learning For Managers

 

NOTE TO THE C-SUITE – YOU AND YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE WASTING TIME AND MONEY SEARCHING THE INTERNET

 

The Internet has become an important business tool for frontline managers all the way to C-Level managers. However, using the Internet is becoming increasingly frustrating. There is too much Fluff, Spam and clutter in the results you get.

 

Just take a look at some studies.--

• Managers spend up to two hours a day searching for information, and more than 50 percent of the information they obtain has no value to them.  In addition, only half of all managers believe their companies do a good job in governing information distribution or have established adequate processes to determine what data each part of an organization needs. Accenture

 

• IDC estimates that an enterprise employing 1,000 knowledge workers wastes at least $2.5 to $3.5 million per year searching for nonexistent information, failing to find existing information, or recreating information that can’t be found. The opportunity cost to the enterprise is even greater, with potential additionalrevenue exceeding $15 million annually.

 

•   "The major obstacle with the Internet is assimilating the vast amount of information available. Approximately half of the responses indicated frustration at too much information on the Internet and that it is hard to find just what they need. As one executive commented, "The Internet can be good but the veracity of much of the information is questionable. Content from trusted sources is more valuable to executives than random web content from unknown sources."

Bersin & Associates in their survey “How Executives Stay Informed”

 

The problem is that the rapid increase in information, more spam sites linked to keywords on the internet, major search engines do not have effective business search capabilities and their inability to filter out clutter and irrelevant results all lead to massive information overload. The result is wasted time and costs in the search for useful information.

I have experienced this myself when conducting my own research. My personal partial solution was to develop my own business search engine based on quality and useful resources that I reviewed and then added to the search engine(www.clevelmanagers.com). While this has been valuable to me and individual researchers, it only scratches the surface of what corporations need.

Organizations are facing unprecedented rapid change and an every increasing demand for faster decision making.

The Great Transformation

“We humans today are experiencing the most rapid social and technological change in all human history.  All aspects of our lives are changing radically--the ways we work, the ways we play, the ways we learn, and the ways we do business.

This extraordinary metamorphosis of human life has no accepted name so let's call it simply the Great Transformation.”

Edward Cornish Remarks prepared for presentation to the 2005 AACSB International Deans Conference, Monday, February 7, 2005.

 

These developments affect all corporate functions and most profoundly the way learning budgets and resources are deployed.

One emerging trend is that companies are starting to use Informal (Just-In-Time) Learning methods. Simply put Informal Learning takes place at the company’s workplace, where people do their work. It is learning that can place anywhere, anytime anyplace. Some estimates indicate that 80% of what people learn is through Informal Learning on the job.

 

"The best learning happens in real life, with real problems and real people, and not in the classrooms." Charles Handy

Informal Learning can be as simple as using my business based search engine, taking a course from the robust inventory offered by open source networks. It can also be as comprehensive as a corporate wide network making full use of technology such as such as regular internet search, specialized databases, Wikipedia, Social software (blogs, wikis, social bookmarking, instant messaging, web based video, podcasts). As consultant Peter Senge puts it, “…informal learning is that which allows the tacit knowledge resident in a group to emerge and be exchanged, sometimes by serendipity, sometimes in the course of accomplishing a specific project, through the construction of spaces that support learning.

The following diagram outlines Formal compared to Informal learning –

 

 Source - The Learning Circuits Blog

 

Two additional key benefits of Informal Learning are that it has a significant positive impact on the corporate culture and it contributes to the transfer of tacit knowledge which is vital to corporate performance

Informal learning is not meant to completely replace formal learning. Rather the two are blended into a composite approach that increases the return for the company’s investment in employee learning.

Informal Learning Advantages

A well executed corporate Informal Learning process has a number of benefits –

• Cost saving

• Increased employee productivity

• Improved customer relationship

• Fast new product development

Informal Learning Corporate Example

 

According to Jeanne C. Meister, writing in Chief Learning Officer Magazine, one company using informal learning in an innovative way is Intel Corp. They have created an in-house wiki called Intelpedia. This is a way for Intel employees to share knowledge, collaborate with employees and post need-to-know company information in a safe, behind-the-firewall space. Within the first six months, more than 10,000 page lookups were tracked and Intelpedia has quickly become the go-to place for new recruits who need to know what an Intel acronym means or want the latest update on a project.

 

Examples of Financial Benefits

 

• Accenture receives a 353% return on investment in learning. The Communities of Practice are an excellent approach for Accenture professionals to exchange information and learn from one another.

•   IBM employees learn 5 times as much at 1/3 the cost of classroom instruction. “Basic Blue,” was developed as a new, worldwide management training program. IBM uses Basic Blue to deliver critical leadership information to new IBM managers via a combination of e-learning, simulations, in-field experiences, face-to-face, experience based workshops, and coaching.

 

Building The Case For Informal Learning

 

While Informal Learning has been established, only an estimated 10% of companies are using it.

 

If you are senior level manager with the authority to take action, you can have your team develop an implementation plan. Otherwise you will need to do some selling

 

First, expect resistance. Any new venture that will impact the company will disrupt some entrenched practices. For example as Dr Peter Honey, writing in the Training Journal puts it –

q       the tendency to keep doing what you’ve always done – in this case, peddling courses

q       following the herd – ‘if all the big organizations offer formal courses, then we’d better too’ (I will explain how this aspect can also be used to support Informal Learning)

q       the fact that it is relatively easier for managers to send people off on courses than to bother with providing staff with work-based learning opportunities

q       the recreational aspect – many people like attending formal courses as a welcome respite from the stresses and strains of their normal workplace

 

Next plant the seed. The “follow the herd” aspect I call benchmarking. I would organize examples of what other companies are doing such as Intel, Accenture and IBM. Be sure to highlight the business benefits they are realizing. Put this in a short, well written memo to your boss.

 

If you get an OK to proceed you will need to build the business case. Fortunately there are some good resources available.

 

q       Start with Jay Cross’s (the Informal Learning Guru) article “ at –

http://www.learningcircuits.org/0108_cross.htm

 

q       An excellent view of informal learning from a corporate perspective-- www.internettime.com/itimegroup/ROI%20White%20Paper.pdf

 

q       Visit The Ageless Learner site for lots of information -- http://agelesslearner.com/

 

q       At this site also visit Informal Learning website by Marcia L. Conner for additional useful information –http://agelesslearner.com/intros/informal.html

q       A must read is The e-Learning Strategy Workbook http://www.redtray.co.uk/docs/REDTRAY_elearning_strategy_workbook.pdf

These resources will get you up to speed the build the Informal Learning case for your organization.

Finally, there is another benefit, if don’t already know about Web 2.0, you will learn enough to have an interesting conversation with the Millenials generation in your organization.