Getting Started with Learning Communities
Thank you Scott Palmer for this guest post. Scott is a Principal Technologist in Research and Development at RWD Technologies. RWD is a leading human and operations process improvement company that enables sustainable business transformation.
Traditional learning and development organizations are changing from a top-down, you’ll-know-what-we-tell-you-to-know to competing for the diminishing attention of internal and external customers who might (and do) talk back. Implementing this kind of change involves more than changing your technology choices. You must determine what this new way of communicating to and with your audience means to your organization and what you’re going to do with the (gulp) feedback. Here are five tips to get you started in the right direction.
1. Make sure your organization is ready for this kind of thing. Often, organizations begin to implement new systems or technologies because everyone else is doing it. Do you have a top-down culture? How are differing opinions handled in your organization? Is it ok to discuss decisions after they’ve been made, or is it simply time to obey and execute? Before you ask people to participate, ensure that you are prepared to do something with the fruits of that participation.
2. Why are you doing this? A mission to “teach something,” “connect people,” or “provide support” isn’t targeted enough. Is there already a learning community, email list, or newsgroup currently serving this need? How do people learn the concepts and tasks today? How much time are you expecting your users to spend on the effort of learning and being a member of a community? Do they have that kind of time? A specific answer to “why” can be the difference between a thriving learning culture and an online ghost town of wasted effort.
3. There is no spoon. Imagine what you might do without the limits of existing software purchases, available talent, and money. What kind of experience do you want to create? What’s the end result of their learning or community experience? Once you’ve answered those questions, now come back to reality and assess your available options. Get a vision, and push your technology and resources to achieve that vision. It’s possible to create an immersive learning experience with email, Twitter, and/or a simple wiki, but it takes vision to get you there.
4. Break down the barriers. Make things as easy as you can for your users. Try to eliminate unnecessary security or logins. Accommodate users on mobile phones and other connected devices so they can learn or get some much-needed help while they’re on the road. Don’t forget the social effects of your learning community. Will it be acceptable for your users to be helping coworkers instead of “doing real work”? Management needs to understand that this sort of interaction can affect the bottom line in a big way – and that’s everyone’s job.
5. Water the plants. Learning communities need care and feeding, not simply a onetime push. Are you (or the appointed guardian) willing to put in the time it takes to keep things going? A good start is useless if there is no follow-up. Especially in the beginning, learning communities need people to form around. Creating rules that allow some freedom, asking users to clarify things they’ve posted, or even inviting them to participate are all critical in building a burgeoning community.
Changing your approach to learning and interaction is a quantum leap for any organization. Following these tips can make it exciting and productive for everyone.
Tags: development, learning, technology
Nice summary Scott. I think the two most important elements are organizational culture and “watering the plants” (I like that analogy!). When I talk to people about getting started with social learning those are the two points I emphasize.
I often encourage them to ask themselves if their organization currently shares and collaborates (without technology). If the organizational culture supports and emphasizes collaboration and information sharing, then social learning has a great chance of being successful. If the organizational culture is to “hoard” information and is a “win-lose” culture social learning will most likely have little acceptance and impact.