Stupidly Simple Social Learning Strategy -
Social media is going to be around for a while, as most of us already know. But I am astonished by the amount of companies that do not make use of social elements for their employees' training. What I've seen just haven't caught on since they weren't utilized properly. There are a wide range of options at your disposal to learn socially, so let me give you an idea for a instrument that could be beneficial:
Social tools: a "Facebook" kind of wall to comment on. Where: On the organization's intranet, or on the LMS
Scope: To give employees an easy reference source for questions and sharing details
Overview:
As users log into their intranet/LMS, they need to set up a personal profile (limit the quantity of information shared here... additional information is less likely to be adopted). The fields that must be filled in are names, titles, departments, and a picture.
Moderators assigned by the administrator post their messages and other content on the wall to spark conversations. If people are aware of the wall's activity, they will be more inclined to write too. The posting process will be simple. Just like Facebook There should be an entry box for text where users type in their comment or question and press enter. That's it. Sweet and simple.
The great thing about this setup is the fact that it allows your organization to make use of their existing capital. Don't know the results of the latest TPS Report? Don't worry, inquire within the group... someone is sure to have the information. As people post to this "wall" of sorts you can award them points. You can even have incentives to the people who have the highest number of points at the final year or even a quarter.
It is simple and simple to apply. It helps encourage discussion between departments, and provides employees with an opportunity to feel secure in a supportive process. If you're part of an company, this can help to make it feel more personal. Best of all, this method of social learning can be scaled. If your business grows and more diverse, you are able to form sub-communities of different disciplines as opposed to only one.
An excellent model for this approach is LinkedIn groups. And one thing's for certain, it's effective. The organization you run doesn't need to be as elaborate and your profiles do not have to be as detailed. Simple profiles will suffice perfectly and boost participation. Additionally, one of the advantages of keeping this type of system internal is that there is no need to fret about confidentiality of your organization's activities.