improving employee engagement through social learning
DESCRIPTION
What role can social learning play in improving employee engagement? This presentation will discuss three approaches in particular: developing a prosumer model, developing employee learning networks, and creating shared learning spaces.TRANSCRIPT
IMPROVING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT THROUGH SOCIAL LEARNING
Thomas StoneSenior Research Analyst, Taleo
T A L E N T I N T E L L I G E N C E
YOUR PRESENTER: THOMAS STONE
› 12+ years in the L&D / TM space
› Experience in research and analysis, popular industry writer and speaker, product strategy, learning content development, instructional design
› Areas of expertise include social learning and mobile learning
› 60+ speaking engagements
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›Earnings per share of top quartile companies is 2.6 times greater than below average companies
›59% of engaged employees feel that their job “brings out their most creative ideas” vs 17% of unengaged employees and 3% of disengaged
›74% of engaged employees “share new ideas with customers,” only 13% of disengaged
›Disengaged workers cost the economy about $328 billion annually
Did you know?
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HOW DOES ENGAGEMENT DRIVE RESULTS?
›More productive workers
›Higher profit
›Safer workers and less risk
›Stronger customer relationships
›Longer tenure and less dysfunctional turnover
›Nimbleness and agility in times of change
›More positive work environment
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WHAT DRIVES ENGAGEMENT?
›Relationship with peers
›Opportunity to grow and develop
›Opportunity to excel by using unique skills and talents
›Clear direction and communication about role, objectives, success
›Recognition and reward for excellence
›Trust in management and peers to take risks
›Employee self-direction and ownership
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EUROPEAN SOCIAL PRACTICES = ENGAGEMENT PRACTICES
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TRUST IN SOCIAL NETWORKS: A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE
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CONSIDER: ENCYCLOPEDIAS
›How often did you consult Encyclopedia Britannica?
›How often do you consult Wikipedia?
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THE EVOLUTION OF TRAINING AND LEARNING
Model
Time
1 : 1 1 : Many Many : Many
1900’s 1900’s 2000
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SO WHAT IS SOCIAL LEARNING?
Functional Definition:Social learning is learning through your interactions with others and through the knowledge and expertise of others.
Techniques:• User-generated content• Social networking, expertise discovery• Collaboration and sharing
Tools:Blogs, wikis, microblogs, social networking, discussionsRatings and reviews, file sharing, video, podcasts
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POLL
Which of these tools do you use to enable greater Social Learning in your organization today?
› Discussion forums
› Blogs
› Wikis
› Microblogs / activity streaming
› Social networking profiles
› Content ratings and reviews
› YouTube-like internal video portal
› Podcasting (subscribable audio)
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SOCIAL LEARNING & ENGAGEMENT – BIG PICTURE
1. Develop a pro-sumer model to give all employees a voice and validation
2. Develop employee social networks to deepen relationships, peer commitment and trust
3. Create shared spaces where employees can collaborate on company initiatives or share expertise
4. Create shared spaces where groups can connect based on common interests or identity
COPYRIGHT 20091.
DEVELOPLEARNINGPROSUMER
MODEL
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DEVELOP A PRO-SUMER MODEL
›Everyone is a producer and consumer of learning, rather than dependence on “training team”
›Techniques?
– File and link sharing infrastructure
– Video recording and sharing – HD Video Cams are cheap!
– Discussion forums
– “Open” course authoring tools
– Blogs, wikis, and microblogs
– Ratings and reviews
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LEARNING CULTURE
15
• Training group is a MUCH smaller subset of the larger organization
• Training group can’t possibly keep up with “all” of the training needs of the org
• It’s a scale problem• Other examples of
industries where scale has changed from social contributions?
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LEARNING CULTURE
• So what if the whole org were “the training group”?
• Why do we explicitly look to a small sub-set of people for education and new information?
• What happens if we expect everyone to share what they know?
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LEARNING CULTURE
17
• What if we wentoutside the org?
• To the extendedenterprise?
• Shouldn’t we alsobe sharing withpartners, clients,suppliers, etc…?
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ENGAGEMENT BENEFITS FROM A PRO-SUMER MODEL?
›Everyone becomes a creator and a consumer
›Everyone has a chance to share their unique expertise, knowledge or skills
›Everyone has a chance to share their voice
›Employee can discover new connections and strengthen existing ones
›Highly engaged employees can find new avenues to add value
›Unengaged workers may find a voice and new opportunities to become engaged again
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ANOTHER REASON PRO-SUMER MODEL IS A MUST…
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DEVELOPEMPLOYEE LEARNINGNETWORKS
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DEVELOP EMPLOYEE NETWORKS
›Turn potential ties into weak ties, turn weak ties into strong ties, and develop denser networks
›Techniques?
– Linking content to people and people to content
– Expert and expertise location
– Ratings and reviews
– User-generated content
– Microblogs
– Activity feeds / Walls
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HIERARCHIES VS. NETWORKS
McKinsey QuarterlyHarnessing the power of informal employee networks, 2007Lowell L. Bryan, Eric Matson, and Leigh M. Weiss
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WHY NETWORKS MATTER: WEAK TIES
Weak tiesThis person has strong connections to multiple groups (weak ties) which enables her to act as a conduit between teams.
Sales Marketing Production HR and LegalR&D
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WHY NETWORKS MATTER: STRONG TIES
Strong tiesShe is also tied to multiple people within her own group (strong ties).
She is quite likely the most influential person in this company.
Sales Marketing Production HR and LegalR&D
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BENEFITS OF CONVERTING POTENTIAL TIES TO WEAK TIES
Learning from network• Discovering potential ties and increasing the density of the network• Increasing the flow of information• Increasing the number of connections to other groups•Diversity of perspective and innovation
Sales Marketing Production HR and LegalR&D
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ENGAGEMENT BENEFITS OF LEARNING NETWORKS?
›Reflects expectations of Millennials
– McKinsey research shows networks = retention
– Millennials move in tribes, grown up with networks
– GenX = biggest user of LinkedIn and Twitter
›More connections = greater resiliency, agility
›Connections = relationships = trust = engagement
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EXAMPLE -- RAYTHEON
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CREATESHARED
LEARNINGSPACES
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DEVELOP A SHARED SPACES MODEL – LEARNING COMMUNITY
›Shared spaces around topics and initiatives
›Shared spaces around user attributes
›Techniques?
– File and link sharing infrastructure
– Dedicated pages for updates, announcements etc…
– Discussion forums
– Blogs and wikis
– Microblogs
– Social networking
– Activity feeds
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THE LEARNING INVERSION
20%
80%
20%
80%
Formal Learning
Informal Learning
Learning On-the-Job Official Spending
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KNOWLEDGE WORKERS = EXPERTS AND EXPERTISE
› “Command and control” evolving to “Persuade and influence”
› “Top-down communication” evolving to “Managed viral communication”
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SELF-ORGANIZATION, ENGAGEMENT, AND LEARNING
› In a world of knowledge workers, does expertise still primarily come from above?
›What happens when learners share expertise with each other?
– Opportunity to grow and develop
– Opportunity to be recognized
– Opportunity to connect with peers
– Development of a true learning culture
– Learning culture = self-efficacy = engagement
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EXAMPLES?
Communities of practice since 1999$75 million in savings as of 6 yrs ago
Working women’s network for professionals dealing with leave of absence and related issues
Deloitte, Sabre Holdings, EMC, Booz Allen
Hamilton, Marathon Oil, Nokia, Capital One, Mayo Clinic, and many more!
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REMEMBER:
1. Engagement has a direct impact on key business metrics.2. Engagement is tied to employee voice, opportunities to
learn, reward & recognition, relationships with peers, and self-directed behavior.
3. Social learning is an enabler of all of these engagement drivers.
4. Three ways to use social learning to drive engagement:a. Provide infrastructure and tools for users to share.b. Provide opportunities for users to network with each
other.c. Create shared spaces where learners can collaborate.
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SOURCES
› Slide 2 – EPS Datahttp://gmj.gallup.com/content/102523/Return-Investment-Engaging-Employees.aspx
› Slide 2 – Engagement Datahttp://gmj.gallup.com/content/24880/Gallup-Study-Engaged-Employees-Inspire-Company-Innovation.aspx
› Slide 28 – Training Percent DataUS Dept of Labor
› Slide 29 – IBM – Global Study: Capitalizing on Complexity, page 31
› Slide 31 – Caterpillar http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4467/is_200406/ai_n21350864/