help-onlineThe idea of informal learning seems to be taking  more shape these days.

In reality, ‘informal learning’ is not a phenomenon which is new – since the dawn of man, we’ve been curious beings who pro-actively seek to learn and who also acquire knowledge through experience.

That said, in the world of Learning & Development, we have done our best to define it in terms which relate to work place training.  According to Hodkinson, Malcolm and Wihak, “informal” learning is about the following 5 aspects*:

In spite of agreed definitions, informal learning has, however, until recently been rather intangible within the learning and development sphere. We all knew it occurred, that it was inevitable, but we couldn’t necessarily steer it or measure it effectively.  This is changing, though.

Informal learning is becoming more tangible, in part, due to the new vehicles of online and social media which facilitate the dispersal of knowledge and information among peers. It is becoming traceable.

Why does this matter?  Do we need to monitor informal learning, do we need to evaluate it?

Well, look at it this way:

Whether the informal learning is self-directed and intentional, or incidental and unintentional, given that it occurs every day among our work forces and can influence company success, job satisfaction and employee development, it is surely time to start viewing it and assessing it more on a par with formal learning.

There are a variety of providers out there which can help your company get the insight it needs into the informal learning which is a daily part of your organisation.  The great infographic below is supplied by one of them.  That said, you can get the data you need internally too.

Remember to focus on macro numbers and data so that your organisation can spot and act on trends.  Wherever possible, map these findings back to trends in certain areas of company performance to see the true impact of informal learning.

Informal learning is has always been, and will always be an integral part of how employees get their jobs done and how they develop.  It is time to embrace, time to measure and time to evolve this aspect of every enterprise’s learning and development strategy.

Please leave your comments below on how you think you might give informal learning formal consideration within your organisation and enjoy the infographic below in the meantime!

 

The-Importance-of-Informal-Learning-Infographic
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* With thanks to Dan Steer for the summary