Informal learning has emerged as an important element in employee development, and collaborative tools and technology help facilitate this process.

Forward-thinking companies realize that while corporate training continues to play an integral role in advancing today's workforce, informal learning has emerged as an equally important, if not more critical, element. In today's hyperintense workplace, companies are blending informal learning into their development methodologies, recognizing the value of better informed and better skilled employees who are supported at their point of need, and thus creating more competitive advantage throughout the business.

Organizations seeking to build their competitive advantage through workforce development must evolve their learning management strategies and systems to incorporate informal learning. Not only do today's employees interact, learn and work in different ways, but most organizations also have an increasingly mobile and geographically dispersed workforce.

Traditional, or formal, learning often takes a top-down approach to educating employees, but informal learning is a more user-driven process that facilitates knowledge and idea sharing when and where it's needed.

E-Learning: A Precursor
The evolution of technology has made it easier and more effective to adopt informal learning across an enterprise, and the emergence of e-learning has inspired many organizations to shift focus from more traditional classroom-based training.

At its core, e-learning is the computer- and network-enabled transfer of skills and knowledge. Information can be delivered via the Internet, intranets and extranets; satellite TV; and CD-ROMs and DVDs, either self-paced or instructor-led.

While e-learning has made it possible to extend consistent and reliable learning to an entire organization — offering anytime, anywhere access to training and development resources — it's still seen as an extension of classroom-style, or formal, learning. That's not to say it doesn't have value. Formal learning, whether face-to-face or electronic, remains a popular way to train both new and experienced employees to ensure they have the skills, knowledge and competency required to perform their jobs and deliver business results.

Why Embrace Informal Learning? 
In the context of corporate training and education, informal learning is used to describe the many forms of learning that take place independently from instructor-led programs, including books, self-study programs, performance support materials and systems, coaching, practice groups and expert communities.

Some of its chief characteristics are:

• It often takes place outside educational establishments, including corporate training departments.
• It doesn't necessarily follow a specified curriculum; it often originates accidentally or sporadically, in association with certain occasions, from changing practical requirements.
• It is experienced directly in its natural function or course of everyday life or work.

By embracing informal learning — through adoption and encouragement of social media, networking and collaboration tools — organizations can achieve a number of direct benefits.

Increased innovation: Informal learning provides a platform where employees can find and interact with experts and share knowledge on key issues or topics. It's not just socially driven; content can be created and delivered to serve any purpose, whether it's employee onboarding, a new product launch or the creation of a project team. In such instances, the information can be managed by the end users themselves, making it more relevant and applicable to their jobs.

Improved productivity: Informal learning helps increase workforce efficiency and productivity because users are in greater control of the information. With the ability to quickly post questions, share documents, discuss best practices and connect with experts, users find themselves getting what they need when they need it at a much more rapid pace, enabling them to perform their jobs better.

Increased, more cost-effective knowledge transfer: In today's "do more with less" environment, employees are asked to take on expanded or different roles, thus requiring additional learning and development. Informal learning can facilitate job transitioning and project collaboration in a much more rapid and purposeful manner.

Taking the Plunge

Informal learning is a way to improve organizational performance and demonstrate that investments in people, learning resources and information technology can have a direct positive impact on company results, including revenue, profitability, customer satisfaction and employee retention.

One way organizations can accomplish this is by creating, or co-opting, collaborative learning environments, where formal and informal learning are seamlessly tied together. It doesn't take huge amounts of time, resources or money to get started. In fact, organizations might increase their success by integrating informal learning into their system one step at a time. While there will be challenges along the way — for example, getting agreement from IT, learning, HR and other stakeholders on how to capture and recognize these informal contributions — blending cost-effective, efficient and relevant informal learning into the organization's overall learning and development platform can yield significant results in the long run.

Source: Chief Learning Officer

No matter what the topic, format, or circumstances, many people in the room simply are not on board when a facilitator walks through the door. Every facilitator has witnessed eye rolls, inattention, negative remarks, and body language that signals disinterest. Some people might be curious and questioning, others actively antagonistic.

Few professionals know how to deal with resistance, yet it's a key part of the facilitation process. Sometimes it is even the first sign that people are coming together. Working with resistance - and welcoming its expression - can resolve conflict, help people feel heard, and increase the trust needed for collaboration.

The first step is simply to realize that there are reasons for the resistance. Sometimes it springs from pure obstinacy, but that's much rarer than one might think. Among many other factors, a workplace's penchant for cynicism often makes it more acceptable for people to respond to any initiative with an attitude that "this won't work here." On a deeper level, however, cynicism can serve a more practical purpose. It puts the cynic in a vulnerable position - protecting a sense of fear, exhaustion, alienation, or disappointment.

This type of cynicism is well earned. Most people do not come into their workplaces cynical. Rather, they have grown that way from negative experiences. After 10 or 20 years with an organization, why should they believe consultants who suddenly appear and say everything will change?

Behind that question lies a key insight into dealing with resistance - those who resist act as if they know better, and sometimes they do. They have seen the results of failed change efforts and known the disappointment that comes with failure. As a result, their resistance holds a great deal of data - about system flaws, leadership, and the organization's ways of interacting - that can transform our effectiveness as facilitators if we know how to work with them.

Engaging everyone in the room

To work with these individuals and their data, we have to hear them. Our first step in any session is to learn everything we can about the participants and their experiences. If we make time to hear all participants, including those who express resistance, our insights into the organization will be more penetrating and our work more effective. The trick is to hear resistance without getting derailed or defensive.

This listening has critical fringe benefits as well, especially in group settings. In one session, I was stressing the importance of greeting people authentically and saying hello when a participant said, "I've seen you around many times, and you've never said hello." It would be easy for me to get defensive in that situation, especially since I had indeed greeted him on occasion. Instead, I heard him, apologized, and talked about the challenge of consistently practicing what we preach. Not only did this soften his anger, but it allowed me to model positive behavior and set the tone for everyone in the room.

Note the last two points. Whatever we say to an individual, we are saying to the group. Each time we work through resistance with a participant, everyone else watches how we do it. They take cues about how safe the room is for voicing concerns, and this sets new norms for constructive conversation on difficult topics. Since I lead sessions as an expert in inclusive behavior, they assume that I behave inclusively. If even I cannot do this, learners are justified in assuming that they can't, either—and that "this won't work here."

Engaging people who express resistance is more of an art than a science. A few tips:

• Don't label anyone as merely obstinate or divisive. Accept that people are speaking their own truths. Part of our work is to change their reality going forward and their perspective about what is possible.
• Recognize that people who express resistance may well be speaking for others in the room.
• Acknowledge that, in many cases, resistance indicates someone is wrestling with new ideas and trying to make them work.
• Thank people for expressing their resistance and, in so doing, making it safe for everyone to speak out.

So much of this comes back to basic inclusive behaviors. When we listen as an ally, we often turn away anger and resistance. As we accept what others say as true for them, address misunderstandings, and resolve disagreements, we have a far better chance of engaging our participants and collaborating with them to co-create sustainable change.

Source: ASTD. Mickey Bradley has been associated with The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group since 1994. His work focuses on effective communication strategies while also encompassing client consultation, data collection and feedback, education, and executive coaching.