Informal training, whether you like it or not, happens more often than the traditional learning method. According to a study published on LearnDash.com, it is revealed that 46% of employees spend 30 minutes every day on informal learning. If you go further into the article, you will see that only 6% of employees do not engage in any form of informal education. That means 94% are involved in some type of informal learning on a daily basis.
This is an important piece of information for companies. If you want to ensure that your employees are in top shape to work in the company, you have to make sure that they know how to get what they need to be efficient. Growth in the workplace is something that you do not need to force them into. Employees know that this will benefit not just the company, but their own professional lives as well.
Does that mean informal training should be given priority? Not exactly. You do not want to formalize informal learning because there is a reason why people prefer this method of learning. It allows employees to increase their knowledge and skills without necessarily having to compromise their daily routine. You want to give them the freedom to pursue learning at their own pace.
But then again, that does not mean you will completely keep your hands off. You want to be able to facilitate this type of training so you can ensure that the employees are learning the right skills and knowledge.
Here are two things that you can use to make this work in favor of everyone involved.
Make it social. The first is to tap into social learning. This is the best way you can let them be free to learn while controlling their choices or pushing them towards the right sources of information. You can set up a social networking site that will allow employees to communicate with each other. This will allow you to post new information that employees can see and view during their free time. By setting up the right learning management systems, you can monitor who read the data or article that you posted. A social platform is a great way to engage the learners and allow them to control their learning schedules. This is also a great way for everyone to collaborate, share ideas, etc.
Support their search. The next thing that you have to do is to provide them with portals by which they can conduct a search to answer their questions. When an employee is stalled by a question, the first thing they do is to ask their colleagues or superiors. If they are not satisfied with the answer, that is when they do their search elsewhere. You want to make sure this information or sources are available for them to explore. If you have set up a social network within the company, you can post tutorials, links, and other useful information that employees can tap into when it is needed.
Combining these two are important in informal training. It will help you use it in harmony with your other training initiatives.
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