Making the most of informal social networks

INFORMAL NETWORKS

– how they are changing the world of work

Jeremy Blain, Director, International Partners Network, Cegos Group

Call it a clan,

call it a network,

call it a tribe,

call it a family:

Whatever you

call it, whoever

you are, you

need one.

Jane Howard,

Novelist

“

”

CONTENTS

OVERVIEW & EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. INFORMAL NETWORKS – A SOFTWARE HERITAGE

2. THE RELEVANCE OF SUCH NETWORKS IN L&D

3. THE SME QUESTION

4. A LEARNING NETWORK IN PRACTICE – SHIBUYA

UNIVERSITY

5. CHANGING THE WORLD OF WORK – THE BENEFITS

6. AND THE CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

7. WHERE NEXT? THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO NOW TO

GET STARTED

© Cegos Group, 2010/2011

OVERVIEW & EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This short white paper will look at the growth of informal networks and the potential impact such networks are having on the world of work. The paper will link in to a number of issues raised in the broader May 2010 white paper from Cegos – ‘Exploring and Interpreting the Most Important Learning Trends across the Globe’. It’s important at the outset, however, to clarify the parameters of this paper. While social media networking tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, are playing a fundamental role in driving these networks forward and enabling other networks to be created, this white paper will not focus on the technologies and the use of these information dissemination vehicles per se.

The paper will look at how these networks have developed from the software world, the main characteristics that defi ne them – agility and responsiveness and collaboration, and the environment and values in which such networks fl ourish. Going back as far as the ‘Invisible College’ in the 17th century, the paper will examine the relevance of such networks to L&D, why SME’s seem more able to embrace them, and the benefi ts to organisations from empowerment to improved feedback to sharing best practices.

Finally, the paper will look at the challenges L&D departments face in structuring informal learning networks within existing activities and the main criteria for success.


This paper looks at the growth of informal networks and how they have developed, the main characteristics that defi ne them, the environment in which they fl ourish, and their impact on the world of work.

1. INFORMAL NETWORKS – A SOFTWARE HERITAGE

Networks today play a vital role in the bringing together of people with distinct interests and the sharing of information. They can redefi ne communities, geography and identity; can be formed around shared interests; and enable learning, communication and knowledge sharing.

The development of information-driven cross-country and cross-company networks over the last few years has been driven principally by the IT and software industry.

With the Internet and related social networking tools providing the key medium for the dissemination of information, open source software communities and their focus on agility, responsiveness, community building, and high performance collaboration, have provided a model which is now starting to be followed within the world of learning.

The impact that such informal networks can have on organisations and the culture changes they can engender is well illustrated in the diagram below – a statement of values from The Agile Manifesto, a group of software developers which originally formed in 2001 to defi ne the approach now known as agile software development.

Through their work, they acknowledged in the Manifesto that they “are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it” and that they have come to value individuals and interactions over processes and tools; collaborative technology over documentation; collaboration with the customer – the end user – over contract negotiations; and the all important ability and fl exibility in responding to change rather than adhering rigidly to an existing plan.


Individuals and Interactions

Leveraging Collaborative

Technology

Customer Collaboration

Responding to Change

Processes and Tools

Comprehensive Documentation

Contract Negotiation

Following a Plan/Existing Path

over

over

over

over

Cooperative, articulate and considerate people comprise the best teams. The Agile Manifesto, like a compass, helps guide the team towards a common goal as any member can deviate in the fog of uncertainty, complexity and stress

“

”Peter Lehman, Applied Innovations Research on the Agile Manifesto

Another informal network that has direct application to the world of work today is that of the Scrum Alliance, a not-for-profi t professional membership organisation that in the Alliance’s own words “is an agile approach to managing complex problems.”

The Scrum Alliance’s mission is to increase awareness and understanding of Scrum, provide resources to individuals and organisations using Scrum, and promote the iterative improvement necessary to succeed with Scrum.

So what is the Scrum process? It is is an agile process focusing on delivering the highest business value in the shortest possible time. It is based around self-organizing teams that create an agile environment for delivering projects and determining the best means of achieving their goals. Problem solving consists of the team split into a series of ‘sprints’ of between two and four weeks of focused activity on one or a series of linked items. If anyone has questions or needs re-assurance, the blog site doubles as a second self-organized environment, where issues are dealt with without the need for a managers and a more hierarchical structure. In this way, Scum can boast to be a truly empowered organisation.

While its main focus remains software and how it can change the world of work, Scrum today is relevant to every facet of an organisation and the means of acquiring information and skills. Read the articles on their web site and terms such as ‘the agile manager’ and ‘executive coaching’ come to the fore regularly.


• 712 courses offered worldwide.• 100,000 global members.• Offi ces in New York, Brussels and Beijing.• Recent Gatherings in Australia, China, India, the Netherlands,

and Portugal.

We have much to learn from the agility, responsiveness, community building, and high performance collaboration that defi nes the networks of the software industry.

Such networks require a culture change within organisations and a move from process and tools to individuals and interactions.

The Scrum Alliance is defi ned by self-organising communities and true empowerment.

! KEY POINTS

2. THE RELEVANCE OF SUCH NETWORKS IN

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

So what relevance do such networks have to today’s learning environment? What can we learn from software developers and their focus on agility and empowerment?

Such models can have immediate applicability to the world of work where collaboration, when done well, can help organisations and teams become more agile, fl exible and adaptable to change.

And they are not new, either. As far back as the 17th Century, a group of scientists set up what was called as the ‘Invisible College’ as a means of acquiring knowledge together through experimental investigation. According to Wikipedia, “the term now refers mainly to the free transfer of thought and technical expertise, usually carried out without the establishment of designated facilities or institutional authority, spread by a loosely connected system of word of mouth referral or localized bulletin-board system”.

Today, it is technologies, such as Web 2.0 and social media networking tools, such as Facebook, that are providing the platform for this bulletin board system. The ‘Skillsoft Social Networking at Work Survey’ in January 2010, for example, which surveyed 3,000 learning professionals, found 91% believing that social networking principles can be even more useful in a professional environment than a personal one.

Just as software developers have collaborated together for years and just as we are empowering ourselves in relation to our health (where do you fi rst go when you want to know what your symptoms mean?), the last few years having seen a proliferation of informal learning networks. As the diagram below illustrates, we have moved from artisans to hierarchies to networks. The white paper includes some network examples in the box at the bottom of this section.


WORK:

ARTISANS HIERARCHIES NETWORKS

–19th C +/- 20th C 21st C

About the year 1645, while I lived in London, I had the opportunity of being acquainted with worthy persons, inquisitive natural philosophy, and other parts of human learning. We did meet weekly in London on a certain day and hour, under a certain penalty, and a weekly contribution for the charge of experiments, with certain rules agreed amongst us, to treat and discourse of such affairs...

“

”John Wallis, one of the founders of The Invisible College


Software-based network models can have immediate applicability to the world of work where collaboration, when done well, can help organisations and teams become more agile, fl exible and adaptable to change.

Driven by technologies, L&D networks are on the rise. There are already many to choose from.

! KEY POINTS

Informal Learning Networks – some examples

43 Things – a social networking site based around the concepts of people describing and sharing personal goals (in many cases learning goals) and then collaborating towards achieving them with others with similar goals. Experts, who have achieved these goals, can offer expertise.

A source for guidance on best practice and future trends in technology-based learning and development at work, with more than 2500 members in the UK and beyond.

An executive network on management methods, models and concepts.

A free ethical learning and development resource and network for people and organisations.

3. THE SME QUESTION

One thing it’s also important to mention is that, to date, SMEs have tended to be much more adept at embracing informal networks than larger organisations.

Why is this? Part of the reason is that SMEs tend to more agile, and are able to focus on individual interactions and collaboration rather than being rooted in a mentality of processes and documentation. In short, they are much closer to the values that the Agile Manifesto aspires to than larger companies.

Our May 2010 white paper also came to similar conclusions with a survey at that time fi nding that mid-sized companies (with 250 to 1,000 employees) are leading the way with more customised forms of e-learning and blended learning rather than traditional off the shelf packages utilised more by the larger companies (see the diagram, below). The same is the case with informal networks.


Group/ Online On the job Blended E-learning withinstructor led self-driven coaching/ learning online tutor mentoring

%

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

1000 + 250 to 999 less than 250

93% 93%90%

49%44%

34%37%

34% 32%35%

32%

25%

31%

24% 23%

Cegos Group’s May 2010 survey found that mid-sized companies are leading the way over larger companies with more customised and innovative forms of learning rather than traditional off the shelf packages.

“

”

4. A LEARNING NETWORK IN PRACTICE

One of the best examples today of a learning network in practice is that of Shibuya University in Tokyo. The University demonstrates how creating an informal cooperative learning culture can promote the sharing of expertise for the greatest benefi t of the community without a reliance on more formal learning structures, such as academically qualifi ed teachers and lesson plans. It also incorporates some of the key elements of a successful learning network – agility, collaboration and the highly democratic notion that everyone is equal.

The whole philosophy of the University is grounded on the pretext that everybody should have the chance to join in and share knowledge – anybody can be a teacher, anybody can be a student. Unlike traditional universities, there are no entrance examinations and no graduation degrees. Classes are led by teachers from all walks of life; cover almost any subject under the sun; and take place in the local community – in shopping complexes, restaurants, record shops, museums and even temples.

At Shibuya University, learning is fun and relevant to the individual - people choose what they want to learn. Classes can be about anything people are interested in and range from Scotch whiskey tasting and the art of distillation (in a British-style pub, of course) to environmental issues and what you need to know before an election.

Shibuya’s free-fl owing approach to learning is a stark contrast to traditional, formal Japanese teaching methods and is a clear sign of the times of how today’s younger generation want to learn. There is much that L&D departments can learn from Shibuya as we look to embrace formal learning networks.


People think that education lasts until you graduate from school. But I think that people should continue to learn even after graduation.

“

”Yasuaki Sakyo, President Shibuya University

5. CHANGING THE WORLD OF WORK – THE BENEFITS

So what can we, as L&D professionals, draw from this growth in cross-country and cross-company informal networks? What are the benefi ts? What are the challenges? And how can organisations, whether larger organisations or SME, best harness their potential?

There’s no doubt that informal networks are changing the world of work as we know it with signifi cant benefi ts.

They are increasing the levels of empowerment, among learners allowing them to move away from the traditional manager-led, hierarchical structure and set their own learning paths. There is no better example of this empowerment that the agile software movement where equality and lack of hierarchy is the foundation to everything they do. The result is an ability to react according to changing circumstances and ensure that everything they do is rooted in real user needs.

Another benefi t is the ability to create a highly interactive feedback loop. Informal networks can provide learners with a continuous stream of feedback – more so than they would be ever likely to receive within the organisations they work for. Whether this is always feedback L&D departments would support is up for debate, but the fact remains that such feedback can be a huge source of support and strength to the learner.

Engaging with informal networks also provides the opportunity for sharing best practices across companies and countries. This aligns itself with the learning model of connectivism, based on the theory that learning exists in the world rather than simply in the head of an individual. See the quote from one of connectivism’s founders, George Siemens, below.

The informal learning network model can also be particularly benefi cial for particular types of workers, such as remote teams. And these teams are continuing to grow. A recent survey from City & Guilds and the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) found 73% of respondents saying remote management is common within their organisation with 37% of leaders managing fully or predominantly remote teams.

Finally, there is the benefi t of cost. At a time of declining training budgets and an end to week-long training courses, the emergence of highly cost effective informal networks has come just at the right time. Yet at no stage should informal networks be seen as an excuse for cutting budgets but rather should be based around a reallocation of budgets. With as little as 10% of learning occurring through formal development and yet up to 80% of L&D budgets spent in this area (Source: The People Bulletin), there certainly is a compelling case for a realignment of priorities.


Increased levels of empowerment, a highly interactive feedback loop, the ability to share best practices, the applicability to organisational models such as remote working, and reduced costs are all potential benefi ts of learning networks.

! KEY POINTS

There is a growing demand for the ability to connect to others. It is with each other that we can make sense, and this is social. Organisations, in order to function, need to encourage social exchanges and social learning due to faster rates of business and technological changes. Social experience is adaptive by nature and a social learning mindset enables better feedback on environmental changes back to the organisation.

“

” George Siemens, leading Theorist behind Connectivism

6. AND THE CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

Just as there are benefi ts, there are also challenges to today’s L&D practitioner.

Principal among this is the relevance and appropriateness of content that learners are accessing as part of these informal networks. How can you be sure that such information and expertise will contribute to your company’s ethos? Is there a danger of decentralising such knowledge and learning that it has no relevance to a company’s culture and values?

Information overload can also be a problem. Recent research from analyst Bersin & Associates shows that 68% of knowledge workers now feel that their biggest learning problem is an ‘overwhelming volume of information.’

So how can organisations, L&D and HR departments capture the same spirit of innovation and collaboration that has been demonstrated by the software community and how can the development of work-based informal networks, such as the Scrum Alliance, be harnessed for the good of the organisation?

In order to take full advantage of informal learning networks, L&D professionals must fi nd ways to ‘formalise’ informal learning to manage its use by learners and to protect against information overload. Informal learning networks also need to be linked to specifi c skills development and talent management strategies and structured in such a way that it has a measurable impact on individual and organisational performance.

There are a number of key prerequisites for achieving this:

HR & L&D professionals need to not only be aware of such networks but experience them. Research requires these people to join these networks and draw their own conclusions from them.

They also need to allow the learners to drive such initiatives. As soon as companies try to set out overbearing guidelines for the use of such informal networks, the benefi ts and sense of empowerment will be lost.

As discussed in some detail in the May 2010 white paper, the role of the line manager will remain vital in focusing and reinforcing what is learned as a result of these networks and how it can be utilised in day-to-day work activities.

Although not cross-company, there are also opportunities for organisations to establish their own informal, cross-country networks. One means of enabling this is through Elgg (see separate box).

Communications is also vital. People must be given reasons to engage with these networks and understand what’s in it for them in terms of their respective role in the workplace.

Finally, any embracing of informal networks must inevitably lead to a culture change within an organisation. Going back to the Agile Manifesto, there needs to be a paradigm shift away from processes and tools towards individuals and interactions and an increased fl exibility and agility within an organisation. It is here where SMEs are stealing a march on their larger counterparts.


Be aware of information overload and the relevance of content.

Make sure you experience such networks, let the learner drive them, bring the line manager on board, and communicate!

A culture change might be the result. Organisations can also set up their own informal networks!

! KEY POINTS

Elgg is an award-winning open source social networking engine that provides a robust framework on which to build all kinds of social environments, from a campus wide social network for your university, school or college or an internal collaborative platform for your organisation through to a brand-building communications tool for your company and its clients.

7. WHERE NEXT? THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO NOW

TO GET STARTED

While informal networks and the technologies that support them have developed remarkably quickly over the last few years, there’s no reason why the pace of change and innovation should not accelerate even faster over the next few years.

It’s also clear that software-led networks continue to set the standards in terms of agility, responsiveness and collaboration, and broader learning-based networks still have a great deal to do in order to be true equals. The scene has been set for an interesting few years!


See What’s Out There. Learn and experience the informal learning networks already out there. Try them out for yourselves. Ask if your employees are using such networks (you may not know if they are or not). How useful do they fi nd them?

Take the Learner’s Perspective. How can we help learners utilise these network and continue to enjoy them? We could perhaps roll-out software to make it easier for learners to engage. Make sure that they continue to lead the learning experience.

Get That Buy-In from managers and, most important of all, line managers who must support the process. Remember we are talking about a potentially signifi cant culture change.

! THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO NOW TO GET STARTED

REFERENCES

The Agile Manifesto – www.agilemanifesto.orgBusinessballs.com – www.businessballs.comCegos Survey, May 2010City & Guilds and the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Survey. See http://www.i-l-m.com/research-and-comment/1448.aspxThe Corporate Learning Factbook 2009: Benchmarks, Trends & Analysis of the US Training Market; Bersin & Associates.Elgg – www.elgg.org/The eLearning Network – www.elearningnetwork.orgThe Invisible College – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_CollegeThe Scrum Alliance – www.scrumalliance.orgSkillsoft Social Networking at Work Survey, January 2010 – www.skillsoft.com43 Things – www.43things.com12Manage – www.12manage.com

ABOUT CEGOS GROUP

Cegos Group, established in 1926 is today the European leader in professional education and one of the major global players. Its consultants have expertise across all subject areas in management and developing competencies: human resources, management and leadership, performance and organizational skills, individual and team performance, marketing and commercial, project management, deployment of large training systems internationally.

In 2008, the Cegos Group achieved sales of 195.5 M and trained more than 200,000 staff in Europe and internationally. Cegos employs 1,200 consultants and works in 30 countries across the globe.

www.cegos.com www.elearning-cegos.com www.global-learning-cegos.com

For more details, debate or discussion, please contact:[email protected] or + 44 (0)7714 521045


Documents

Making the most of informal social networks