Why,most,companies,get,the,way business, insurance Why most companies get in the way of employee learning and w

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Informal learning accounts for almost 80 percent of all the learningactivities within the organization, then why do most companies focus all theirefforts on formal training. “Most organizations don’t utilize the fullpotential of informal learning” says Ravinder Tulsiani, a Learning Consultant withTraining EDGE. Ravinder advocates that “organizations should incorporateinformal learning as an important approach to employee education and training”,and explains the factors that can enhance the effectiveness of the informallearning process within the organization. Research has shown that informal group behavior within the organizationexerts tremendous influence on the overall performance of the organization.These informal groups within the organizations also impart right skills totheir group members and surprisingly account for as high as 80 percent of allthe learning activities within the organization. The formal managers oreducation and training department of the organization have no role in thisinformal learning process and therefore, the informal learning may not serve asa very effective and desired training process from the manager’s perspective. Management cannot control the informal learning process within theorganization, but they can influence the quality and effectiveness of informallearning by considering it as an important approach to employee education andtraining. The managers should facilitate the informal learning process andensure that their employees have access to the right information when they lookfor it.  The training or human resourcedepartment should include the following guidelines for taking full advantage ofinformal channels of training within the organization:  1. Understand the informal learning process within the organization It becomes highly imperative to understand the information learningprocess within the organization to effectively support and facilitate informallearning so that it actually aligns with the formal education and trainingwithin the organization. The managers should find out how their employees learnat the workplace in order to understand the informal learning process. Theanalysis of the worker's learning process at the workplace can be carried outby using any combinations of the following approaches: Conducting a Survey: The managers can conduct surveys by drafting a questionnaire to collectimportant information as to how the employees improved their skills. Thesurveys are better than focus groups or interviews in quickly and efficientlyobtaining the information but may require further clarification or follow-upquestions to get a more comprehensive understanding of the informal learning process. Focus groups/interviews: The managers can suitably categorize the employees into focus groupsand engage in personal conversation with them to find out the source of theirinformation and how they perform their routine jobs. During the personal interactions,the managers can specifically ask how the employees improved their efficiency,what they do when face any work-related problems and what resources are more useful in solving their problems.This will allow the managers to understand the resources that are moreimportant to the workers. Observation: The observation during the actual work is the most important approachto understand the informal learning process because the informal group code mayprevent the employees to share information with the managers as to how theywork and coordinate with each other in solving problems. Although observationis the most revealing method of understanding informal learning process, it’sequally time-consuming process. The workers may coordinate with each other inthe following manners to resolve their work-related  issues:  ~ Consult with senior colleagues through email, phone or personalinteraction.~ Search the Internet for answers to their problem.~ Look for past references and information from hard copy records orshared computer-based  records.~ Consult with subject matter experts in question. The close observation and monitoring of such activities will reveal thetrue picture of the informal learning process taking place in any group orfunctional departments within the organization.The analysis and understanding of the informal learning process willreveal the secrets of close informal groups as far the informal learningprocess is concerned, and the education and training department of theorganization can have a clear picture as to what resources are utilized andwhich one are neglected by the employees. This understanding of the informallearning process will enable them to plan accordingly and improve the correctresource utilization for education and training.  2. Encourage and Support informal learning within the organization The informal learning in the most natural process without any need offormal interference, but the informal learning process can be significantlyimproved. The managers can incorporate training modules on the following skillsand activities in the formal training to encourage and support the informallearning process within the organization: ~ Improving the information sourcing skills of the employees such asthe methods of finding accurate information on the Internet.~ Improving the learning skills of the employees by making themproficient in mind mapping, taking notes, and personal reflection, etc.~ Motivating and encouraging the workers to become more responsible anddedicated in achieving personal learning goals.~ Encouraging employee’s access to an expansive personal network sothat they can quickly find a solution to any work-related  problems. The role of education and training department of the organization liesin imparting formal learning opportunities to the employees for improving theirworking proficiency and thus increasing the overall organizational efficiency.The incorporation of these skills will provide additional advantages of smoothinformal learning at the same time enhancing work efficiency of the employeesthrough formal training. The encouragement and support to informal learningprocess by formal training certainly lead to dual advantages.  3. Provide access to authentic and quality resources for informallearning The most important aspect of informal learning is that it providessupport to the employee in the form of right information whenever they faceproblems. The informal learning can be improved by supporting the employee’saccess to quality and authentic information sources. The organizations can useintranet to provide cost-effective and easily accessible authentic informationto the employees.  The easy access toquality information will naturally improve the informal learning once the usageand availability of information is promoted by using formal learningopportunities. The organization should use the services of only those providers whocan effectively deliver right knowledge base and meet the informationrequirements of the workforce.  4. Support employee’s access to subject matter experts Generally, the senior colleagues with expertise on the concernedsubject matters serve as informal advisors and provide a very instrumental rolein the informal learning process. Virtually, the entire informal learningprocess within the organization revolves around their mentoring skills. Theorganizations can identify and develop the mentoring skills of these seniorsubject specific experts within the organization to encourage and facilitatethe informal learning throughout the organization. The development of subjectmatter experts within the organization will encourage informal learning andimprovements in their skills will ensure that they don’t act as the answeringmachine but actively encourage the employees to develop self-learning  capabilities.  5. Develop Knowledge base and Information resources that can be easilyupdated The employees within the organization persistently seek the right andupdated information, and research has revealed that on an average 15-30 percentworking hours of the employee is lost in seeking the most authentic information(IDC Information Worker Survey April 2003). This waste of time can besignificantly reduced by incorporating an information management system wherethe information can be easily edited, stored and shared by the employees. Theorganization should incorporate the information management system but allow theemployees to manage and develop the information resources. The extent ofworkforce ownership and sharing of the knowledge base will encourage informallearning by providing quick access to authentic and updated information. The monitoringand management of the knowledge base by the subject-specific  experts will significantly enhance thepotential advantages of using information management systems.  6. Encourage opportunities of informal learning The cordial working environment conductive to informal groupinteractions enhances the effectiveness of informal learning as the employeescan easily interact and share ideas and solutions. The organization shouldencourage and promote employee interaction through cordial working environmentby incorporating the following aspects in the organizational culture:~ Creation of an informal working platform where workers can feelcomfortable is the first step in promoting informal learning. The employees aremore likely to engage in informal interactions when they are assured that theiractivities are not going to create any negative implications. ~ Encouraging informal relationship between the formal trainingprofessionals and the employees create additional avenues of informal learning.The formal education and training department of the organization is concernedwith the formal training to the employees, but the behavioral aspects in theorganization cannot be neglected and if an informal relationship developsbetween the trainers and the employees, it creates additional avenues ofinformal learning.~ Encouraging team work and coordination across the functionaldivisions within the organization in any project creates additional avenues ofpersonal interactions with employees from different teams and departments,significantly increasing the scope of potential informal network. The cordialworking environment across the functional divisions of the organization caninfuse totally new perspective among the various stakeholders of theorganization.  7. Monitoring, Evaluation and corrective measures The adaptation to the behavioral challenges of the organization is anongoing process, and the avenues of informal learning have to be constantlyexplored. The evaluation of the supportive measures becomes very important forencouraging informal learning process. All the policy measures that don’t bringdesired changes have to be refined. The technical advancements such assophisticated software, monitoring systems, the Internet, etc. createadditional opportunities that can be incorporated within the organizationalculture to increase the effectiveness of informal learning. The workforceparticipation in finding the most appropriate technological improvementsconductive to informal learning is another very crucial factor for promotinginformal learning within the organization.