HOW DO WE DO LEARNING IN THE FLOW OF WORK?

Learning in the flow of work is the next step in moving toward a culture of continuous learning for many companies. As we work toward agile workplaces, and especially in the current environment of Help Wanted and difficulty hiring, learning in the flow of work is an imperative.
It might seem obvious to many, but just in case you’re not sure, learning in the flow of work is a term coined by Josh Bersin (read more here) a few years ago to describe the paradigm of people learning on the fly. Microlearning, in-app help systems, instant search and launch for learning topics – these are all a part of learning in the flow. The ability to jump into MS Teams and search “Agile Practices” then instantly watch a video to learn what Agile practices are, that is learning in the flow. Your folks might be doing it already and they aren’t even aware of it.
But if they are not, how do we get people learning in the flow? Ideally, we want to move them to a “pull” model of learning, where they are seeking out topics that will help them grow, and they are doing it throughout their day. Rather than the rigidly scheduled training days of the past (where we pushed learning to them), learning happens anywhere, anytime. If this isn’t happening in your organization yet, here are some ways to drive learning in the flow in your organization:
- Include links to relevant short topics in newsletters
- Push links to microlearning content through internal social media channels
- Have an intranet page that users see when they log in daily? Add a link to microlearning assets, changing it weekly or daily
- Consider the New Habit Calendar to get users into the habit of microlearning (talk to your CSM about the Skillsoft NHC)
- Encourage users to set calendar reminders to seek out learning assets on a regular cadence, like once daily
There are many, many other ways to start encouraging learners to consume content in the flow of work. Join me Jan 20th at 3PM Eastern time for an Ask Me Anything on encouraging learning in the flow of work using your Skillsoft content. I look forward to seeing you then!