Practice Makes Perfect: Putting Learning to Use in Today's Organizations

THE SOCIAL EFFECT

Organizations are not just functional

workplaces but also social environ-

ments. For people to learn effectively

and then put their learning into prac-

tice, the involvement of colleagues is

usually required. The BBC’s research

found that learners whose colleagues

took an active interest in what was

learned and who supported the learn-

ers in their use of their new knowl-

edge, skills, and behavior had the

most meaningful learning experiences.

Furthermore, when colleagues

help people put learning into practice,

the learning is shared—which

enhances the knowledge pool and the

potential for developing the entire

organization. This phenomenon could

be termed the socialization of learn-

ing. Once shared, learning spreads

and is used elsewhere.

Here are some important questions

for leaders at all levels of an organi-

zation—including department heads,

line managers, and team leaders—to

consider when determining whether

the social climate of the organization

is conducive to putting learning into

practice:

•

Are people interested in what

their colleagues have gained through

learning?

•

Are managers rewarded for

helping people integrate their learning

into the business operations and for

the subsequent improvements?

•

How much support is provided

to people when they return from off-

the-job learning experiences?

•

Are people encouraged to

openly solicit the support and oppor-

tunities they need to use what they

have learned? Or does the culture

force people to seek such support and

opportunities secretively or not at all?

•

Do team leaders make sure that

everyone on the team knows who is

learning what and for what reasons?

•

How do managers evaluate the

quality of their own and their direct

reports’ off-the-job and on-the-job

learning experiences? How do they

evaluate the outcomes of those expe-

riences as they relate to business

results?

Here are some simple best prac-

tices that managers and colleagues

can employ to ensure that learners

receive the interactive support and

feedback they need to put learning

into practice and provide positive out-

comes for themselves, their teams,

and their organizations:

•

Managers should work with

learners to put a plan in place that

enables the learners to use what they

have learned immediately after a

course.

•

When learners return from a

course, managers and colleagues

should talk with them to get them

fired up about using their learning,

and later should provide feedback on

how successfully the learners have

used their learning.

•

Managers and colleagues

should provide practical coaching

support to help learners use their

learning on actual tasks and activities.

As stated earlier, the gap between

learning and using is most pro-

nounced when formal, off-the-job

training methods are used. For off-

the-job learning programs to have

the maximum impact on individual

and business performance, they

should be

•

Tied to real opportunities to

apply the learning to real work.

•

Timed to minimize the inter-

lude between training and applica-

tion.

•

Highly tailored, practical, and

up to date, with relevant examples

drawn from the learners’ workplace.

•

Delivered by inspirational,

credible trainers who are highly

familiar with the learners’ industry

and specific line of work.

TIME TO REVIEW

Putting learning into practice is a

serious business issue for organiza-

tions. Yet many people who are pro-

vided with learning experiences find

it difficult to share and reflect on their

learning and their implementation

plans with managers and colleagues.

The evidence is that for learning to be

put to use effectively, managers and

their team members need to believe in

the value of reflective dialogue and

practical support as an aid to busi-

ness, have active and nonjudgmental

listening skills so learners can openly

share their learning experiences and

implementation plans, and be com-

mitted to helping learners generate

opportunities to put their learning to

use and advance the organization.

These attitudes and skill sets

remain all too rare in organizations,

despite the vast investments they

make in learning initiatives and the

values espoused on corporate Web

sites and in annual reports. Some

organizations are beginning to

address the issue of putting learning

into practice by installing processes

to follow up on employees’ learning

experiences. But the responsibility for

this is often seen as belonging not to

organizational or departmental leader-

ship but to training departments—in

whose interest it is to keep the learn-

ing train going. It may be time for

some organizations to review the

roles and functions of their training

departments to see if changes could

be made to keep all that learning from

going to waste.

LIA •VOLUME 23, NUMBER 4 • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2003

7

Once shared, learning

spreads and is used

elsewhere.