Learning Organisation 2.0

The concept of learning organisation has been around for a while now. A learning organisation is an organisation where all has been put into to place so that employees create, acquire and share their knowledge on a natural and continuous basis. Learning organisations rely in part on KM initiatives and collaboration tools which act on the environment’s culture. It is a state of mind, as much as an approach.

The concept of the enterprise 2.0 is newer but it is gaining ground rapidly. The enterprise 2.0 is an organisation where social networking tools (chat, blog, wiki, forums…) have been integrated within the business and / or between the organisation and its partners and clients. It is a connected, agile and innovative organisation, illustrative of the younger generations of workers currently accessing the workforce. The integration of the web 2.0 into organisations has facilitated the free-flow of ideas and opinions, giving birth to what is called “social learning”.

What if we were to combine these two concepts? What would a “Learning Organisation 2.0” look like? It would be an organisation where learning takes place continuously, via formal and informal methods and while taking advantage of the web 2.0. The structured integration of web 2.0 tools into the learning strategy would provide the organisation with a new set of tools for sharing knowledge. These new tools would not replace the old ones (classroom training, elearning, blended learning…, which still very much have their place) but enhance them and provide them with more reach, at little extra costs.

Concretely, where would these 2.0 tools be integrated?

1) Within the trainings: to enhance the trainings themselves, particularly the asynchronous trainings (elearning, reading, databases) by providing them with an interactive component they sometimes lack.
o Incorporation of content generated by the learners into the training, in the form of comments, blogs, evaluations ;
o Possibility of discussions between learners ;
o Facilitation of teamwork or co-creation activities as part of the training curriculum.

2) Around the trainings: to create a long-term space for sharing for the learners.
o Sharing of profiles and chat before the training for the learners and teachers to have them get to know each other, share information about the training and manage expectations ;
o Creation of a social network space so that learners can continue their conversation on the training and share their experience on the integration of the training content into their work.

3) In the workspace: to facilitate informal learning, outside the context of formal training activities
o Usage of web 2.0 and KM tools to capture, structure and share the explicit and tacit knowledge circulating within the organisation. This knowledge can then be put to use and improved upon.

However, there are many pitfalls tied to the integration of KM and web 2.0 tools into a learning strategy. These include change management, animation, governance and technology choices. It is therefore important to proceed down this path in a structured, well though-out manner.

Do you see interest for the learning organisation 2.0 in your business?

To know more about this subject, look out on this website for upcoming seminars in Montreal and Quebec City in April.