The Business Case for Social Learning: Dealing with the "Capability Recession" at Lower Cost

The Business Case for Social Learning: Dealing with the "Capability Recession" at Lower Cost
Accenture Outlook, Aug 09
In this economic climate it is difficult for most companies to increase their training budget but it is possible for them to create a more collaborative and effective learning environment that combines formal training, knowledge sharing and informal learning.

During an economic downturn many organizations are forced to downsize, they are able to spend less on training and development. This leads to a company becoming less capable of serving customers. This is called a capability recession.

It is important for a company to generate better performance from their existing workforce. Since they cannot spend more on training and development they have to change their technique of training. Companies should include a more learning based training programme with knowledge sharing and formal training. By improving the social learning environment a company can reduce training costs by using employees to provide personal content. The return on learning is improved because the time to competence in a business critical workforce is reduced. The company is also able to create a workforce that can respond to changes in the market place and customer.

Most of a typical learning budget is spent on interventions that have the least impact on employee knowledge, performance and productivity. According to several studies, only about 10% of what people know on the job was acquired from formal classroom learning experiences, where knowledge retention and transfer rates are never better than 40%.

Employees today prefer informal or on-the-job learning to classroom training, some employees are demanding it. A large percentage of a company's workforce has numerous (and critical) performance needs that are not being met by formal learning events.

BT and Accenture have taken a new approach called "Dare2Share." It does not replace the company's existing learning programs so much as augment them with informal learning opportunities and with social, collaborative capabilities. Dare2Share leverages Microsoft Sharepoint to enable employees to create, find and view learning segments (podcasts, documents and links), and also discuss and debate the content being created. The attitude and learning culture is more important than the platform. People have to be encouraged to experiment, collaborate and communicate. This knowledge sharing has a positive impact on how other employees serve customers, find information or solve problems.

Companies have to cope with a lot of different stress factors in the current business environment. In this climate it is more important to have a competent workforce. Social learning is the best way for a company to train its workforce while not overspending. Employees will be able to offer practical training which is relevant to that company since they have the experience.
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