Leverage the Fruits — and Ease — of Informal Learning

The problem extends beyond tuition costs, however. The opportunity cost of traditional classroom learning also hangs in the balance as most people must pay for and attend college while unemployed or underemployed. That makes accessible, flexible informal learning more important — whether delivered as on-demand resources, experience or interaction.

Traditional education is not as accessible, which presents a problem that can undermine workforce preparedness and innovative thinking. To get a traditional education, therefore, an adult learner needs money, technology and other resources, as well as the luxury of time to just “sit down” and learn. But in today’s hurried business environment, sitting down sandbags productivity.

The challenge is daunting, but corporate educators have reported some good news: knowledge is everywhere, and its cost has dropped substantially. The pivotal task for a learning leader is finding relevant information and putting it in the right hands quickly and consistently at the point of need.

Successful corporate learning professionals realize that informal learning often has more merit than traditional learning. In fact, e-learning, coaching, knowledge databases, social sharing platforms and other learning tools cut clutter and deliver the salient points individuals care about.

Today’s drive for personal empowerment fuels individual workers’ desire for increased knowledge. Once people understand what success requires, many of them take learning into their own hands. Corporations that provide on-demand learning tools empower their employees while improving their employee value proposition.

Michel Koopman is CEO of business book abstract provider getAbstract Inc. He can be reached at editor@CLOmedia.com.