Informal Learning: Decoding the Myths and Mysteries Infographic

Informal Learning. Decoding the Myths and Mysteries. Informal learning is the unofficial, impromptu way people learn how to do their jobs. [1] Informal on-the-job learning happens all the time, in every team in every organization. But, organizations still invest heavily in formal training courses, leaving informal learning to chance. Here we look at what informal learning is, and how to support it in your organization. What do we mean by informal learning. Asking a colleague to show you how to do something. Watching a how-to video online. Googling a solution to a problem you have. Why we shouldn’t ignore informal learning. [2] It is the key to improving performance. Thirty two percent of employees say that eighty to one hundred percent of what they learn comes from informal learning. Just six percent of employees say that eighty to one hundred percent of what they learn comes from formal learning. Learning models. There are three main models which describe the balance of how people learn at work. Jay Cross’ model. Eighty percent of workplace learning is informal the remaining twenty percent is formal. The seventy, twenty, ten, model. [3] Seventy percent of learning happens on-the-job through real life assignments. Twenty percent of learning comes from feedback, our networks and relationships with others. Ten percent of learning comes from formal training, such as courses and workshops. Dan Pontefract’s three, thirty three model. Thirty three percent of learning happens is formal, physical or virtual classroom, conferences, roadshows and e-learning. Thirty three percent is informal, mentoring, coaching, webinars, reading books, listening to podcasts and role shadowing. Thirty three percent is social, via user-generated content, wikis, blogs, videos, discussions, comments, ratings and instant messaging tools. All three models effectively describe the same thing. As Nigel Paine says. They put a framework on something that is blindingly obvious, which is that a learning event isn’t the whole story about learning. We’re talking about different areas that comprise the learning experience. [4] Important caveats. None of the models are meant to be a definitive limit or ideal state to aim for. They are intended to encourage people to look at learning in a new way. Remember that informal learning happens all the time. Three percent of employees spend ninety one minutes or more per day on informal learning. Thirteen percent of employees spend sixty one to ninety minutes per day on informal learning. Thirty two percent of employees spend thirty one to sixty minutes per day on informal learning. Forty six percent of employees spend one to thirty minutes per day on informal learning. Six percent of employees spend no time on informal learning. Five ways to boost informal learning. [5] One. Make coaching and mentoring part of everyone’s job, not just managers. Buddy up experienced hands with new employees. Set up an informal mentoring scheme in your department or team. Two. Make it easy for your team to find people with tacit knowledge. Set up a shareable database of team members and their specific skills which everyone can access. Three. Encourage everyone to share and document their work. Use wikis and other collaborative tools like Google documents, Trello, Yammer and Mindmeister. Four. Ban information hoarding. Don’t let people work in silos or re-invent the wheel. Five. Encourage people to generate their own content, such as blogs and videos to show people how things are done.

References

[1] J. Cross, Informal Learning: Rediscovering the Natural Pathways That Inspire Innovation and Performance (John Wiley & Sons, 2006).
[2] The Importance of Informal learning Infographic, Degreed.com, Available at: http://degreed.com/blog/importance-informal-learning-infographic/ (accessed 23 March 2015).
[3] R. Eichinger and M. Lombardo, The Career Architect Development Planner (Lominger Ltd, 1996).
[4] GoodPractice interview with Nigel Paine, conducted by Stef Scott (8 October 2014).
[5] Jay Cross, How to Support Informal Learning, (7 July 2010), Available at: http://www.informl.com/2010/07/12/how-to-support-informal-learning/ (accessed 25 March 2015).

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