The Wired Generation and Their Effect on Training

These are wild times, and the new generations are wired for Learning 2.0, also known as social learning. The rise of social media based on innovative Web 2.0 technologies, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, has created a new paradigm for how we approach learning. Consider the following:

• Total Internet users (PC and phones): 1.8 billion (25.89 percent) of the 6.8 billion people in the world.
• According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the size of the U.S. workforce in 2014 will be 162 million. Estimates are that Millennials will make up an impressive 47 percent of the workforce in 2014.
• Seventy-five percent of adults aged 18 to 24 who are online have a profile on a social network, according to a Pew Internet American Life Project survey.
• CEOs and industry leaders of all ages are beginning to use Twitter to open dialogues with employees and customers.   
• According to Forrester, interactions online or through other technology and their effect on e-learning indicates that more than 80 percent of adult learning occurs outside the classroom.

Informal Learning Power

 

Social media and learning consultant Jane Hart said, "Once individuals and groups do realize they have the power, ability and tools to learn for themselves, then they will begin to address their own problems informally and quite spontaneously --- without the supervision or intervention of a teacher." It's called informal learning, and, according to an ASTD study, it takes place "without a conventional instructor and is employee-controlled in terms of breadth, depth and timing. It tends to be individualized, limited in scope and utilized in small chucks." 

The Role of the Training Professional

Research indicates that learning professionals still play an important part in facilitating informal learning through social networking tools. It's something that organizations need to get smart about now.

Jay Cross, an informal learning expert, has indicated that formal training and workshops account for only 10 to 20 percent of what people learn at work. Interestingly, he likened formal learning to passively taking a bus and informal learning to riding a bike. The learner chooses the destination or detour.


Author and researcher Donald Tapscott says that Millennials want the following:

• Customization
• To be managed as individuals
• Integrity and transparency
• Value collaboration through social networking tools
• Entertainment through games and simulation 

In the workplace, performance management and training must reflect these needs.

Karie Willyerd, vice president and chief learning officer for Sun Microsystems, said "That social media presents a huge opportunity for the training profession to create strategies for informal learning." According to Willyerd, if the learning organization doesn't use social media, it will become "irrelevant and left behind." This heralds a call to action to become involved, and Willyerd said that it's an exciting place to be.

Getting On Board

In the April 2009 report, "Get Serious about Informal Learning," Claire Schooley of Forrester Research discusses steps to getting on board with Learning 2.0: 

• Examine how you conduct employee training.
• Collaborate with business units to develop effective strategies.
• Use employee performance results to measure successful learning experiences.
• Keep track of how people rate informal and formal content.
   

The many benefits of social learning include the use of online training capabilities that you may already have through providers with comprehensive online training platforms, such as Vital Learning's, which includes online coaching and the ability to link to other content and giving participants the opportunity to share their stories and keep learners engaged. Other benefits include the following: 

• Find and reach new students through Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Promote your own training.
• Create enhanced and timely presentations.
• Stay on top of trends, competitors, market changes through social mining.
• Increase opportunities for participant feedback and create solutions for a deeper experience.

Lessons from Leaders

Consider the following ways these top companies engage their employees:

 

IBM links participants before and after a formal training event. The company uses its intranet-based "Blue Pages" to help employees connect around business issues.

Sun Microsystems adds to formalized learning and harvests knowledge. The company's open learning exchange called Sun Learning eXchange (SLX) takes advantage of the expertise within the community to gather knowledge.

 
Southwest Airlines uses social media to foster professional networks. The company uses Twitter to foster communication among employees and customers.

John Deere use communities of practice (CoPs) to drive innovation, efficiency and lifelong learning. Since 2002, the company has facilitated connections among knowledge workers with a network of 300 communities that cover topics from Six Sigma to mergers.

Get Going. Get Wired. Get Social.

Researchers agree that integrating social learning into formal learning strategies represents a major change, but it will not replace all formal learning. Learning professions will still need to create, deliver and manage the learning function. The change means that organizations will be adding to what they already have and moving the infrastructure to support exchanges.

Formalizing informal communication can make employees more efficient and productive, reduce costs, improve sales and increase retention. The best part is that implementing social media is relatively inexpensive.

Social media and its uses are growing and show no signs of stopping. Joining those who are already wired in social media is an essential part of the job of learning professionals today.   

Thought for the Day
"A social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations ... the groundswell trend is not a flash in the pan. This is an important, irreversible, completely different way for people to relate to companies and to each other."

--- Charlen Li and Josh Bernoff, Groundswell

Sources:

Vital Learning (2010). Online training seminars

Fyfe, K. (June 2010). Groundbreaking Book Explains the Power of Social Learning for Organizations, ASTD.

Jarche, H. (April 2008). Skills 2.0, T+D.

Lorens, J. (2010). Learning 2.0, The Best of Social & Informal Learning 2007-2009, T+D.

Meister, J. and Willyerd, K. (2010). The 2020 Workplace, HaperCollins Publishers, NY.

Millenials, Portrait of Generation Next: Confident, Connected and Open to Change, Pew Research Center

Nancherla, A. (May 2009). Knowledge Delivered in Any Other Form Is Perhaps Sweeter, T+D.

Paridise, A. (July 2009). Informal Learning: Overlooked or Overhyped? T+D.

Sauve, E. (March 2007). Informal Knowledge Transfer, T+D.

Schramm, J. (June 2010). At Work in a Virtual World, HR Magazine.

Wilkins, D. (April 2009). Learning 2.0 and Workplace Communities, T+D,

Woodill, G. (April 2010). Worldwide Mobile Learning Trends 2010, Brandon Hall Research. 

Boosting Business With Communication

Social media is rapidly changing, challenging the way the world communicates. In corporations, we are seeing many more team and project collaborations, which alters the expectations of employees and customers as the new culture of social media entwines with traditional business communication. Books like The Conversational Corporation: How Social Media Is Changing the Enterprise provide insight into the social media phenomenon.

While keeping pace with the evolution of social media, many organizations have also spent time teaching their employees about the communication dynamics of a diverse workforce. Management is taught to recognize that no two workers are alike. Companies that practice one-on-one management are discovering the value of learning about the communication styles of their team members to understand what motivates them. For many employees, this effort by supervisors helps them become more productive.

The bottom line is this: Communication, which is constantly evolving, is crucial to businesses.

Over the decades, researchers have consistently cited communication as one of the most critical skills for managers to possess. Some studies indicate that managers spend 75 to 80 percent of their time engaged in written and verbal communication. Add to that today's engagement with social media, such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and you see more emphasis on traditional "soft" skills that provide new and core links in business functions.

The Importance of Communication

Communication is important for three major reasons:

First, ineffective communication becomes expensive. Messages that have no clear objective lead to confusion or missing the mark, failing to win understanding on the part of the listener or reader. This lack of understanding of or sensitivity to how the message will be received can lead to poor reception of the message. Time is wasted and projects can fail. Customers may not receive proper customer service.

Second, today's business environment is increasingly complex, which makes communication that much more important. Diverse and participatory workforces require managers to build trust, promote understanding, remove barriers and encourage feedback. Furthermore, flatter organizations mean that supervisors are communicating with many people over whom they have no formal control. This requires you to break down complexities through effective listening: You must learn to probe, reflect, support and advise in order to communicate effectively.

Finally, the world's economy is increasingly global and competitive, and currently sluggish. Business is even more challenged, stretched and stressed. Every customer touch point, every negotiation, every purchase and sale, joint venture, adaptation, and product delivery involves communication. Thus, messages should be well designed, clear and concise. They should also avoid complex or pompous language, be logically organized and be directed at the receiver's interests. This breaks down barriers to understanding.

A key element to today's communication is building a base of hope and trust among employees. Supervisors who are trained properly build the kind of culture that facilitates productivity and reflects good communication. In turn, employees interact more effectively with internal and external customers.

The following list of "Leadership Tenets of Hope and Trust" presents the fundamentals of what businesses need and what employees expect today:

• Respect and honor others
• Be aware of what you say and how you say it.
• Practice what you preach, and do what you say you're going to do.
• Be true to yourself. Be authentic. Don't hop the fence for popularity.
• Listen and appreciate another person's point of view.
• Avoid using put-downs and zingers.
• Look for the good and reward the positive.
• Appreciate others' uniqueness. Embrace diversity and cultural differences.
• Acknowledge that hope and trust go two ways.
• Don't be afraid to show your human side and acknowledge your mistakes.

This sounds pretty simple, but if your supervisors aren't communicating effectively, then your workforce could be suffering at a time when it needs to be soaring.

Uncover the Essential Skills of Communicating

Vital Learning has debuted a new cover for its Essential Skills of Communicating program, and the redesigned cover reflects today's business environment. This program has been taught to millions of supervisors worldwide, and it is a staple of training for many organizations. The program is available in classroom, online and blended (online and classroom) formats, and it teaches managers the following:

• How to design clear, concise messages
• How to look for nonverbal clues
• How to listen to communicate
• How to overcome barriers to understanding

Only you and your training professionals can improve the skills of your supervisors, managers and team leaders. This program is easily customizable with current communication scenarios typical in your organization. The Essential Skills of Communicating can give your organization real communication skills for real-life business issues. Give your employees what they need now and re-energize your workforce with communication that is trusted, appreciated and authentic.