Informal Learning: Decoding the Myths and Mysteries
Informal learning is the unofficial, impromptu way people learn how to do their jobs.
Informal ‘on-the-job’ learning happens all the time, in every team in every organisation.
But - organisations still invest heavily in formal training courses, leaving informal learning to chance.
Here we look at what informal learning is and how to support it in your organisation.
What do we mean by informal learning?
Asking a colleague to show you how to do something.
Watching a how-to video online.
Googling a solution to a problem you have.
Why we shouldn’t ignore informal learning
It is the key to improving performance:
32% of employees say that 80-100% of what they learn comes from informal learning.
Just 6% of employees say that 80-100% of what they learn comes from formal learning.
Learning models
There are three main models which describe the balance of how people learn at work:
Jay Cross’ model:
80% of workplace learning is informal
the remaining 20% is formal
The 70:20:10 model:
70% of learning happens on-the-job through real life assignments
20% of learning comes from feedback, our networks and relationships with others
10% of learning comes from formal training, such as courses and workshops
Dan Pontefract’s 3:33 model:
33% of learning happens is formal - physical or virtual classroom, conferences, roadshows and e-learning
33% is informal - mentoring, coaching, webinars, reading books, listening to podcasts and role shadowing
33% is social - via user-generated content, wikis, blogs, videos, discussions, comments, ratings and instant messaging tools
All three models effectively describe the same thing. As Nigel Paine says:
“They put a framework on something that is blindingly obvious, which is that a learning event isn’t the whole story about learning. We’re talking about different areas that comprise the learning experience.”
Important caveats
None of the models are meant to be a definitive limit or ideal state to aim for.
They are intended to encourage people to look at learning in a new way.
Remember that informal learning happens all the time:
3% of employees spend 91 minutes or more per day on informal learning.
13% of employees spend 61-90 minutes per day on informal learning.
32% of employees spend 31-60 minutes per day on informal learning.
46% of employees spend 1-30 minutes per day on informal learning.
6% of employees spend no time on informal learning.
Five ways to boost informal learning
Make coaching and mentoring part of everyone’s job, not just managers. Buddy up experienced hands with new employees. Set up an informal mentoring scheme in your department or team.
Make it easy for your team to find people with tacit knowledge. Set up a shareable database of team members and their specific skills which everyone can access.
Encourage everyone to share and document their work. Use wikis and other collaborative tools like Google documents, Trello, Yammer and Mindmeister.
Ban information hoarding. Don’t let people work in silos, or re-invent the wheel.
Encourage people to generate their own content, such as blogs and videos to show people how things are done.
References
J. Cross, Informal Learning: Rediscovering the Natural Pathways That Inspire Innovation and Performance (John Wiley & Sons, 2006).
The Importance of Informal learning Infographic, Degreed.com, Available at: http://degreed.com/blog/importance-informal-learning-infographic/
R. Eichinger and M. Lombardo, The Career Architect Development Planner (Lominger Ltd, 1996).
GoodPractice interview with Nigel Paine, conducted by Stef Scott (8 October 2014).
Jay Cross, How to Support Informal Learning, (7 July 2010), Available at: http://www.informl.com/2010/07/12/how-to-support-informal-learning/
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