In a previous post I talked about the need to keep informal learning in the workplace truly informal. Another, and even more important, component to successful self education in the workplace is building a learning culture.

What do I mean by a learning culture? Companies and organizations, particularly very large ones, tend to get mired in short-term thinking. Rather than spend the time and money to develop their workforce, they tend to be so focused on short-term objectives that they neglect workforce development.

Right now, as the American economy flounders a bit, it’s easy for this to happen without the ramifications having profound impact. That will change. As the economy improves and the people who have been poised to change jobs start finding other employment, those companies and organizations that have not put effort into improving the knowledge and skills of their employees will be at a big disadvantage. Add to this the aging, retiring workforce and not fostering a learning culture proves even more problematic.

So what is a learning culture? Learning cultures are nothing more than leaders within a workplace making sure that their workers enjoy the following.

• Learning Guidance. What is it that needs to be accomplished and what learning objectives will help this happen? This is usually the responsibility of good managers.
• Career Development. What learning opportunities can be presented to workers that will improve their career potential? This also means an organization must accept the risk that an employee will learn things that will help them rise through the ranks in their current workplace or eventually find a better job elsewhere.
• Learning Resources. What resources at the workplace, or elsewhere, can provide learning opportunities? Knowledge repositories, tuition reimbursements, training programs, social learning and mentoring programs are just some of the possible resources a workplace can offer.
• Self Education Skills Training. Since most of the learning that takes place within an active and vibrant learning culture is self-directed, providing self education skills training is extremely helpful.
• Time. Too often a worker feels that they aren’t allowed the time during work hours to pursue learning. It’s one thing for a workplace to say that they foster a learning culture, but to actually allow an employee to carve out time in their day to pursue learning really shows a workforce that the company does support a learning culture.
• Encouragement. Workers should be encouraged to learn. Learning projects are not something to simply be tolerated. They are vital to the optimal functioning of the workforce. So management must actively encourage such learning.
• Recognition of Learning. Learning must be recognized. Too often an organization only recognizes formal education, certifications and degrees. Learning cultures rely primarily on self education. So there must be mechanisms in place that officially recognizes all learning. This can be built into the worker’s review cycle or documented in some fashion so that the learning is captured in an official record.

Does your company or organization foster a learning culture? Is there anything you can do to promote this concept?

Once upon a time, many American companies dedicated a significant amount of their time and resources to training their employees. One standout example, IBM, as far back as the 1930′s, was famous for their employee education programs that were in large part responsible for IBM’s success. Times have changed.

Companies today are spending increasingly less on their internal training programs. In these times of managing to quarterly revenue numbers for those all-important quarterly earnings statements, few companies are willing to set aside the necessary time or money to engage in the types of workplace education that would not only contribute to their bottom line, but also increase productivity, decrease turnover, and lead to much happier and dedicated employees. This is very short sighted.

As I talk with people across the employment spectrum in a wide cross section of industries, many report the same phenomenon. New employees are expected to jump into their new job roles already possessing a full set of pertinent skills and knowledge. Longtime employees report little ongoing education or training. It seems that rarely does a company take the time to invest in its employees anymore.

Observing corporate behavior over the last few years, I contend that few companies are going to be willing to institute more classroom-based training programs because they’re costly and require extensive resources to develop and deploy. Perhaps informal learning programs can come to the rescue, at least somewhat.

I believe a new high-level job category needs to be created – Informal Learning Officer (ILO). Perhaps some of today’s CLO’s (Chief Learning Officers) focus on informal learning, but I believe that informal learning is important enough to warrant its own separate job and title. So what would an ILO do?

ILO’s would be 100% focused on fostering effective and inexpensive informal learning initiatives throughout a company. These folks might oversee mentor programs, peer knowledge sharing strategies, learning resource repositories, lunchtime brown bag seminars, discussion forums and groups, project-based learning, training managers in how to encourage and assist with their team’s learning objectives, and so on. Just as importantly, ILO’s would evangelize informal learning and empower employees with the self education skills and mindset that are quickly becoming the most vital elements that determine a person’s success or failure within a company.

Any CEO’s or other high-placed business executives reading this? Please consider creating an ILO within your company. I think you’ll see both a happier workforce and a healthier company.

For another perspective on this topic, read Vivek Wadhwa’s strong argument for more American workforce education in this TechCrunch post. Wadhwa makes a compelling case for a complete rethink on the priority of educating the American workforce better and the American corporate landscape would be wise to listen.

Informal learning is a concept that is quickly taking hold in companies and organizations everywhere. No surprise. Such learning often produces as good or better results than more formal training programs and at a fraction of the cost. But as with all trends adopted within large organizations, there can be a tendency to over-complicate matters.

Wikipedia defines informal learning as “semi-structured learning that occurs in a variety of places such as learning at home, work, and through daily interactions and shared relationships…” and that’s a pretty good general definition. In corporate settings, informal learning is typically considered any learning that takes place independently from formalized or instructor-led training using various forms of self-study such as books, performance support materials, coaching, communities of practice, and expert directories.

My concern is that some companies and organizations will create such a complex process around informal learning, or build in such tight management oversight, that it will squeeze the “informal” out of the learning experience. I’ve seen it happen before.

As Daniel Gilbert points out in his book, Drive, people are motivated by having as much autonomy as possible. True motivation, including the motivation to learn, comes not typically from dangling carrots of bonuses or promotions in front of employees or other similar external incentives, but instead from creating an atmosphere of self-direction and autonomy that allows the employee to discover, play, explore and otherwise pursue their work, including their self education, in ways that work best for them.

Yes, companies can and should set appropriate learning objectives for employees when discussing informal learning projects. The learning project undertaken on company time should result in knowledge and skill that benefits the company (as well as the employee). However, micromanaging the learning project should be avoided.

For most informal learning projects agreed upon between manager and employee, I recommend a simple and direct process. First, a meeting should take place to discuss the learning project. Once the meeting is held, a simple (not long or complex) document can be created, perhaps using the company’s informal learning project template, that clearly states the objectives, potential learning resources and how the employee will use the learning in their job. After some time has elapsed, a check-in meeting can be held at which time the manager can offer any additional resources or otherwise keep the employee’s learning focused. Finally, a last meeting could be held, or perhaps a simple summation of the learning in document form could be created, to close the loop on the learning. If the company uses some type of learning tracking software, such as a learning management system, the learning should be entered into that system.

The maxim of “keep it simple” applies here. Don’t complicate the process. The simpler it is, the more likely people will participate and, even more importantly, enjoy the process.

This post has been moved to my racebannon.com site here.

Modern job requirements, along with the accelerating pace at which we now live, necessitate constantly updated information and skills. The workplace of today isn’t the workplace of a decade or two ago. Things change quickly now. Unless a worker develops the ability to continually self educate to keep up with new information, technologies and skills, their employment future is at risk.

Historically, companies and businesses have relied on educational institutions or internal training programs to keep their employees current on the information and skills they need to do their jobs. That scenario is quickly shifting. Now employees (and this includes the self-employed) must take more responsibility for their own training. No longer can a worker rely on their employer to provide the training necessary to grow and advance in a career. No longer can the knowledge and skills of today be seen as adequate to do the job in the future, even two or three years into the future.

Yes, some companies spend money and time investing in the education of their employees. But many do not. And for those companies that do invest in their employees, many fall short from the level of training and professional development they should provide to maintain a top-notch organization.

In The Futurist magazine (May-June 2008 issue), Marvin J. Cetron and Owen Davies predict that professional knowledge will become obsolete much more quickly in the future. The knowledge and skills required for most professions will become outdated at a rapid pace. Add to that a job market in constant flux and the rapid progress in work-related technologies and the necessity for ongoing job education for all workers becomes evident.

So what does this mean for the future of education? It means that self education skills will be one of the big differentiators in the future job market. The person who can quickly and efficiently learn new things, on their own, will be much more likely to excel at their jobs.