Avi Singer, founder of showd.me, contributed an interesting article to mashable.com yesterday.  In it, he shared his views on ‘4 social trends affecting the dynamics of learning in the workplace.’

While the whole article was very interesting as it highlights the impact of the widespread use of social communication tools in the work place, one sentence stuck out in particular:

…employees will feel more empowered than ever to share knowledge indiscriminately in lieu of traditional exclusive trainer-trainee relationships.

The ‘indiscriminate sharing of knowledge’ in the workplace: What a wonderful and yet daunting prospect that is!  Of course information on how to do a job or deliver a task has always passed among employees outside of training rooms but Singer reminds us just how instant and unfettered the means to disperse information is among employees now.

As Singer points out, “People love to learn from others just as much as they like to teach others and be considered ‘experts’ on topics.” So, how do managers responsible for the training and development of their company’s people ensure that the right knowledge is being shared with the right people outside of the training room in this age of social communication tools?  Is it a new challenge at all, or is it just an age-old phenomena unleashed into a new medium?

What are your views and how does your organisation manage the sharing of knowledge outside of the training room and via social media?