Focus Magazine - Fall 2012 - 27

eLEARNING

Social Learning: How to Tap Its Potential
I By Mike Capaldi and Britney Conrad cross industries, training and development organizations are experimenting with new tools for informal learning — namely, social networks, blogs, chat rooms, wikis, virtual classrooms, discussion boards, and so on. Such technologies can help transform training from an isolated event to a collaborative and continuous process, or what some call “social learning.” Social learning is broadly de ned as the exchange of ideas characterized by friendly interaction via personal and professional networks. Organizations that have embraced social learning, even on a small scale, have found that it can: • Supplement formal training events and promote blended learning • Reduce costs and time away from the eld • Increase learners’ access to information • Allow people to learn at their own pace • Boost engagement and collaboration in the workplace create informal groups that allow participants to develop relationships that begin before a Web conference or in-person training — and continue long a er that. rough these connections, learners can get quick access to information and learn from one another.

Social Pharma

Although the pharmaceutical industry was not an early In 2009, Sano launched a private, secure social adopter of social media technologies, many companies have networking site for its employees through Yammer, a been making strides in this area, particularly across their Microso -owned platform that has an intuitive, Facebook-like commercial organizations. Training departments have been a interface. For example, Yammer allows little slower, in part due to concerns employees to comment on others’ posts and about regulatory and compliance issues. Don’t adopt social even “like” them. Using this technology, ese will likely linger until the FDA media technology just Sano employees can collaborate on content releases its highly anticipated guidance and ask each other questions via their to say you did it. Be strategic. on social media. smartphones, iPads, and desktop computers. Still, many organizations see social Two years ago, trainers at Sano used the media technologies as tools that can help trainers move from platform to support a large-scale training event. ey created a working environment based on the principles of “command about 20 social groups and gave each one its own Yammer and control” to one based on the principles of “communicate page, similar to a private, LinkedIn group page. Before the and collaborate.” training, the groups got to know each other and discuss some Communication and collaboration are at the core of social of the content. What’s more, the groups continued to learning, which takes advantage of the phenomenon that communicate for months a er the training. When trainers trainers know well — that the best learning o en occurs measured the e ectiveness of the tool, they found it actually during the networking time at training events. Using social improved some performance measures among the media tools, trainers can replicate that experience. ey can participants, namely around role-plays.

Social Learning at Sanofi

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Focus Magazine - Fall 2012

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