2.0 learning organization: rethinking traditional learning to optimize time and training cost

RETHINKING TRADITIONAL LEARNING TO OPTIMIZE TIME AND TRAINING COSTS

2.0 Learning

Organization

White Paper – 2.0 Learning Organization

© Atelya Consulting & Ellicom - Copyright, 2012 2

One step closer

to the business

of tomorrow


© Atelya Consulting & Ellicom – Copyright, 2012 3

Table of contents

Introduction: New issues related to training ............................................................................................................................................ 4

The Digital shift ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Learning Organization .................................................................................................................................................................................. 7

2.0 Business ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9

The 2.0 Learning organization .................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Incorporating 2.0 into the Training Strategy .......................................................................................................................................... 12

Embedded......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Wrapped ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 12

Community ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Benefits of the “2.0 Learning Organization” ........................................................................................................................................... 14

Some Issues Related to the 2.0 Learning Organization ...................................................................................................................... 15

Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 16

To find out more ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 18



INTRODUCTION: NEW ISSUES RELATED TO TRAINING

Today’s organizations are faced with a number of issues related to an increasingly complex and unpredictable business

environment:

> Growing volume of knowledge and information ;

> Increasing need for better knowledge management in order to stand out from competition, innovate and

confront globalization ;

> Rapid development of critical knowledge, need for fastest possible time-to-training ;

> Important need for new labour with baby-boomers reaching retirement ;

> Integrating a new generation of employees who have learned while using 2.0 and who have little regard for

geographical and hierarchical boundaries ;

> Decreasing training budgets, but increasing demand for responsiveness, agility and efficiency with HR

departments.

These issues have implications on training strategies for

companies: it has become imperative to make the required

kinds of knowledge available to employees, regardless of

where they are, as soon as they are required.

Within this context, companies around the world have spent

over 100 billion dollars last year to train their employees.

However, traditional approaches in training, heavily based on

presentation, reading and audio-visual, do not attain a

significant impact on business performance. According to a

study done by the McKinsey Group in 2011, barely one

quarter of companies consider that their training strategy has

any effect whatsoever on performance. The study also shows

that the majority of organizations do not even bother to

measure the return on investment from this expense1.

For its part, an Accenture analysis estimates that employees learn a maximum of 20% of what they need through formal

training strategies provided by their employers2.

So, how can training provisions be improved without raising costs for the company? How can one insure that the

knowledge passed on is still up-to-date? How can training practices meet the expectations of the younger working

generations, which are being discussed more and more among companies?

1 McKinsey Quarterly (Octobre 2011). Getting more from your training programs.

2 HOGLUND, Tom, Learning 2.0: Driving High Performance with New Strategies, Tools and a Broader Mission, White Paper.

INTRODUCTION:

NEW ISSUES RELATED TO TRAINING



THE DIGITAL SHIFT

The transition to digital and the arrival of Web 2.0 tools have affected every facet of our lives. They have changed the

way we communicate, work, have fun, inform ourselves and buy, just to name a few. Social networks, one of the

fundamental building blocks of Web 2.0, are now completely integrated into the way of life of a large part of the

population under the age of 30.

Let’s look at some proof that demonstrates the importance of social networks in our society today:

> Social media represent about a quarter of the time spent on the Web3 Facebook alone represents

one page out of five viewed on the Internet4 ;

> There are 845 million Facebook user accounts in the world5; that is one out of nine people on

earth. Out of those, about half of them access it through a mobile platform (smart phone, tablet)6 ;

> 40 % of social network users get connected before getting dressed in the morning7 ;

> An hour of video is downloaded on YouTube… every second8! So that means 100 years of content

is added to YouTube every ten days ;

> There are four billion videos viewed every day on YouTube9. Televisions – the sales of which

continue to diminish due to download platforms like PCs and smart phones – must now connect

to the Internet ;

> Two thirds of consumers do research on the Web before buying a product, namely to check out

the opinions of other consumers10 ;

> Five years ago, Twitter was only an idea on which three people were working. Today, 16 000

tweets per second are recorded and there are one million new Twitter accounts created every

day11 ;

> 89% of employers use LinkedIn in the recruitment process12 ;

> In America, one out of six married couples has met on a social network13.

But this digital transition has not really been an upheaval for the younger generation. With their 32 hours of Internet use

per week14, adolescents today, the “digital natives,” have never truly experienced life without social networks and the tools

associated with them that have been a part of each phase of their learning, even from their childhood.

These digital skills have affected the youth’s culture. They are accustomed to finding instant answers to factual questions,

provided only that they can formulate a question. They are used to their informational sources being interactive. They

3 D50 MEDIA, Nielsen: Nearly One Quarter of Internet Time Spent on Social Media. 4 AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, One out of five page views in the US occurs on Facebook.

5 FACEBOOK NEWSROOM, http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22. 6 Ibid. 7 COKESOLUTIONS.COM, Untangling the Social Web: Insights for Users, Brands and Retailers. 8 YOUTUBE INC., One hour per second, 2012, http://www.onehourpersecond.com/. 9 YOUTUBE, Press Statistics, http://www.youtube.com/t/press_statistics. 10 540/SEO, Are Online Reviews Killing your Business?, http://540seo.com/are-online-reviews-killing-your-business. 11 http://tweeterism.com/. 12 JOBVITE BLOG, 4th Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey: Employers plan to recruit more through social media. 13 ANSON A., Online Dating Statistics 2012, http://ansonalex.com/lifestyle/online-dating-statistics-2012-infographic/. 14 Average Time Spent Online per U.S. Visitor in 2010, http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2011/01/average-time-spent-online-per-u-s-visitor-in-2010/.

THE DIGITAL SHIFT

http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22



like to be able to search for subjects that interest them. And they are used to a multimedia approach in the presentation

of information, otherwise their attention is quickly lost.

Certain schools have begun to adapt to this reality, realizing that the traditional classroom and long, one-directional

lectures from professors have been less and less successful at reaching young audiences.

Thus, social networks are starting to be integrated into schools and universities. Professors now transmit course content

or homework on their website using blogs, wikis, podcasts or online video games. Certain universities broadcast their

official announcements on Twitter. The iPad is beginning to replace the student handbook and the large textbook

publishing companies have started to produce interactive multimedia manuals for tablets15, “Paperless” classes are

appearing and the United States has 250,000 students in “virtual schools.” Finally, specialized websites have surfaced and

content distribution on the Web and the students themselves are gathering around active virtual communities.

The digital shift is already well on its way to influence another aspect of our everyday life: the way we learn at school.

These changes are taking place so easily that heavily digital schools are showing some surprising results: lower dropout

rate, more active and involved student body, improved academic performance16 17. The integration of 2.0 has motivated

and mobilized students thanks to its flexibility, its interactivity and better matching of their habits and expectations.

If this digital learning shift is well under way in schools, what about training strategies in companies? How will organization

integrate tomorrow’s generation of workers who have already mastered social and collaborative learning? How can they

retain and develop qualified workers at a time when the younger generations expect to have three or four career changes

in their life?

15 Apple et l’éducation, http://www.apple.com/ca/fr/education/ipad/. 16 Réussir l’école numérique, 15 février 2010, rapport de la mission parlementaire de Jean-Michel Fourgous sur la modernisation de l’école par le

numérique, http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/var/storage/rapports-publics/104000080/0000.pdf. 17 MILLER, A. Pédagogie inversée : des résultats scolaires nettement supérieurs, 22 mars 2012.

The digital shift is already well on its way to influencing another

aspect of our daily life: the way we learn…!



LEARNING ORGANIZATION

Parallel to the emergence of this digital shift, a new approach has appeared in certain companies, that of the learning

organization. This approach has aimed to encourage agility and innovation in business, in response to an increasingly

complex and unstable business environment.

This complexity is largely due to:

> fierce, global competition ;

> increasingly volatile markets ;

> decreasing supply of labour ;

> rapidly evolving technologies;

> shorter and shorter product life cycles.

In order to be able to survive such incertitude, organizations have sought to be more agile and innovative and thus

capable of continuously reinventing themselves according to the hazard of their environment.

To do this, they have implemented tools, as well as a culture, that encourage the employees to create, acquire and to

diffuse their knowledge in a natural and consistent way. Values like experimentation, collaboration and transparency are

the underpinnings of this transformation. It is a state of mind as much as it is a process.

The learning organization has among other things integrated initiatives related to knowledge management, including

communities of practice, professional assistance and sponsorship, and technology tools from the emerging digital

revolution: intranets and expert directories.

LEARNING ORGANIZATION

Among the discrepancies of between the learning organization and traditional companies:

> it is acknowledged that everyone has potentially useful knowledge, not just the experts ;

> knowledge is not seen as a “good” that makes us important, but a resource that

becomes valuable by sharing it ;

> experimentation and innovation are encouraged.

une ressource qui prend de la valeur en la partageant ;

> l’expérimentation et l’innovation sont encouragées.



Through these initiatives and tools, business-learning processes have been formalized and integrated into the habits of

the employees. In addition, valuation concepts for critical or strategic knowledge and their integration in the organization

have emerged.

The implementation of the learning organization has changed the way in which employees develop by making explicit

and tacit knowledge more accessible, encouraging participatory learning processes and mutualizing the experience of

everyone involved. At the same time, this evolution has not been truly integrated into the training strategy of companies,

whose tool catalogue has remained focused on traditional class settings and eLearning.

Figure 1 – Initiatives related to a learning organization



2.0 BUSINESS

The advent of Web 2.0 tools has strengthened the learning organization’s effort by offering even more powerful

interaction and sharing tools. User-focused and extremely transparent, the integration of these tools in business has given

birth to what we today call “2.0 business.”

Web 2.0 refers to technology that encourages social interactivity, user-created content, collaboration and sharing. Well-

known examples of Web 2.0 tools include wikis, blogs, forums, podcasts and social networks.

The difference between what we call today “Web 1.0” is the interactive aspect that Web 2.0 brings to the table. In the “1.0

era,” individuals published websites and there were no opportunities for others to submit comments, changes or

additions. With Web. 2.0, content is both open and active: everyone can publish or react to what is published. Web 2.0

is centered on the user.

Integrating Web 2.0 tools allows for easier sharing of knowledge, creating new communication channels in the business

and taking advantage of employees’ tacit knowledge. In 2.0 business, everyone can publish their knowledge and react to

others’ publications. Social networks are integrated into the fibre of the organization. And the integration of these 2.0

tools, even to the company’s training strategy, that will allow the emergence of the 2.0 learning organization.

2.0 BUSINESS

Figure 2 – Tools related to 2.0 business



THE 2.0 LEARNING ORGANIZATION

The combination of concepts related to the learning organization (transparency, agility, innovation) and Web 2.0 tools

produced from 2.0 business (social networks, blogs, wikis, forums…) within the training strategy of companies has given

birth to what we can call today the “2.0 learning organization.” These tools enrich the training approach already in place

in the company by adding a social, interactive and multimedia dimension.

This approach is part of a trend moving towards social learning, whereby one learns more about new behaviours by

interacting with one’s peers and retaining winning behaviours than by reading textbooks or listening to instructors .

To understand the background, let’s review the evolution of training distribution methods in businesses:

> Before 2000: classroom training provided by an instructor. Use of reference manuals, binders and guides;

> 2000 – 2005: arrival of eLearning, simultaneous with classroom training, for mass distribution of generally static

training content;

> 2005 – 2008: the concept of blended learning comes about, training sessions that include classroom training,

eLearning, reading and questionnaire games;

> Since 2008: emergence of social learning, a concept related to 2.0 business, based on the fact that we

continuously learn through our real or virtual interactions with our peers.

This evolution has shifted the focus of individual learning towards community learning 18.

This evolution is also part of a change in employees’ expectations about training: they are looking less and less for formal

and structured training coming from experts and instructors (the “push” approach). Now the trend is more “pull,” meaning

the opportunity to bring one’s own knowledge and skills that are considered necessary at the time when they are

needed19.

18 BERSIN, Josh, From e-learning to we-learning, Conference Board of Canada. 19 CROSS, J. A Model of Workplace Learning, Conference Board of Canada.

THE 2.0 LEARNING ORGANIZATION

Figure 3 – Evolution of training distribution methods in businesses



PUSH PUSH & PULL PULL & PUSH PULL

Control of

information

Instructional

designers

Experts, superiors Peers, colleagues Oneself

Type of learning Classic,

academic

training

approach

Sponsoring,

professional

assistance

Communities of

practice,

collaborative

work

Personal process to find

the knowledge that is

needed, regardless of

the source

La The new pull approach boasts these advantages, particularly:

> It is completely adapted (the learner decides for what he/she is being trained) ;

> It is more agile (one trains at the precise time of need) ;

> It calls upon multiple knowledge sources, rather than only relying strictly on a group of experts.

The 2.0 learning organization gains a foothold where there is already an existing level of 2.0 maturity (meaning a higher

level of integration and internal use of Web 2.0 tools) coupled with a “social” means of knowledge distribution, where it

is possible for the employees to come into contact with the resources possessing the required knowledge without

worrying about geographical or company barriers.

Figure 5: Emerging 2.0 learning organization context following the model developed by ATELYA Consultants



Incorporating 2.0 into the Training Strategy

Dans In a 2.0 learning organization, Web 2.0 tools are incorporated into the training strategy according to three

models:

1. Embedded learning: Web 2.0 tools are embedded

into training ;

2. Wrapped learning: Web 2.0 tools are made

available to learners around the training ;

3. Community learning: Web 2.0 tools are deployed

throughout the entire organization and have an

active role within the work environment.

The following sections describe each one of these

approaches.

Embedded

The embedded approach seeks to enhance the training itself, particularly asynchronous (thus, essentially online training),

by adding an interactive component:

Incorporation de contenu généré par les apprenants au contenu de formation sous forme de commentaires, de blogues,

d’évaluations;

> Incorporating content generated by the trainees

to the training content in the form of comments,

blogs, evaluations ;

> Making learners’ profiles available amongst

themselves and the possibility for live discussion

between learners during training ;

> Integrating teamwork or co-creation to the

curriculum, even for asynchronous training

(shared documents, chat sessions, co-creation…) ;

> Ability to tag certain sections of training content

for future reference ;

> Ability to exchange notes even on virtual training material ;

> Possibility to evaluate different sections of training content ;

> Possibility to search for certain subjects by means of sharing supplementary references, “favourites,” outside

experts.

Wrapped

The wrapped learning approach aims at enveloping the training of a sustainable sharing area for the learners, be they

upstream or downstream from training activities:

> Sharing of profiles and chat sessions before training, allowing the trainees or instructors to:

> get acquainted (instant messaging, forum, profile sharing…) ;



> make the most up-to-date training

material available ;

> share information about the training in

order to manage expectations (who is

the training aimed at, workload).

> Opening of a space on a social network following the

training so that learners can:

> continue their conversations and share

feedback on the implementation of

training content (chat, forum, document

sharing, wiki…) ;

> comment on training content to develop certain subjects or exchange on this matter;

> further develop certain subjects together ;

> discuss the application of training content (instant messaging, forum, document sharing, wiki…) ;

> continue networking.

> Opportunities to consult with other learners to better interpret and compare one’s own understanding with that of

another.

Community

The goal of the “community” approach” is to facilitate informal learning, outside of the structured training activities. It

encourages the use of Web 2.0 tools and knowledge management in order to gather, organize and make available the

explicit and tacit knowledge that can be found in the company.

This approach concerns the employees’ work environment

and their everyday life:

> Implementation of Web 2.0 tools (micro blog, wiki,

forum, common agenda…) in order to facilitate

networking, knowledge sharing, document sharing,

collaboration ;

> Setting up a company Portal ;

> Creating communities of practice and learning

communities ;

> Decompartmentalizing of the experts’ work with the

intermediary “Yellow Pages” of experts or other directories ;

> Sponsoring and coaching program.

The “community” approach is already in place for 2.0 businesses. Its integration in the 2.0 learning organization concerns

its integration in the company’s training strategy. It is a matter of seeing this kind of everyday learning as an integral

component to the employee development plan and as an extra tool for HR to help the employees evolve in their

professions.



Benefits of the “2.0 Learning Organization”

The 2.0 learning organization brings many advantages to the table, for learners as well as the organization.

For the organization:

> Raises the level of application of the knowledge acquired

in class allowing for an exchange between the learners

about their individual experience upon returning to work.

Consequently, it considerably enhances the return on

investment of training ;

> Insures that training content is complete and up-to-date ;

> Eliminates delay between the time that knowledge needs

to be distributed and the time it is made available by

classic training ;

> Takes advantage of knowledge already in the

organization, often tacit knowledge that is difficult to

share through traditional means of collaboration and

sharing. This type of knowledge generally represents

three quarters of the knowledge possessed by

a company ;

> Captures the wealth of interaction produced in training as

well as outside of training in a sustainable and reusable

fashion, so that they may be made available for future

trainees ;

> More in line with the expectations of young employees, which in turn facilitates recruitment, speeds up

integration and improves employee retention ;

> Considerably raises the level of learner retention by drawing on several means of training: audio/visual,

demonstration, discussion, practice, and teaching another person ;

> The majority of today’s workers already use social networks in their everyday lives. If companies do not give

them access to equivalent tools internally, they will develop their own externally. At the same time,

knowledge about these external networks will not be sustained in the company and information security

issues may surface.

For the learner :

> Maintain the advantages of asynchronous training (accessibility, reusability) while adding the richness of informal

learning from interactions between learners, just like in classroom training ;

> Learner-focused training approach, available when the learners need it and on several types of media (PC, tablet,

smart phone, MP3) ;

> Better alignment of the expectations and habits of the younger generation who are now entering the job market

and expect to find easy and fast access to information, interactivity and multimedia that they have always used

in their social lives and their learning process at school ;



> Modular learning that is adapted to the learner: the beginner will find his/her account just as easily as the expert. No

need to lower the level of the training in the interest of making it accessible to everyone ;

> No more geographical barriers: learners can interact in real time no matter where they are on the planet ;

> Possibility to easily create one’s own manual using the distributed texts, for future reference.

Some Issues Related to the 2.0 Learning Organization

Integrating a 2.0 learning organization cannot be done without considering the following questions:

> Change management: how to insure that the change is well received?

> Animation: how to have learners use these tools and contribute to them?

> Governance: how to provide a framework for the use of these tools?

> Technological choices: which tool is best suited for my needs?

> ROI: how to measure the benefits and justify the investment?

> Prioritization: with which project and tool should one start?

The implementation of a 2.0 learning organization will require careful reflection that will give way to a deployment

strategy. The “2.0 maturity” analysis of the organization, the company’s mission, technology analysis and a look at the

company’s overall culture will help guide the development of this strategy.

« 77% of all L&D organizations believe that younger workers (under 25) have

significantly different learning styles than older workers, yet only 16% feel they have

developed some level of expertise in the implementation of collaborative learning.

On average only 51% of employees use the learning platform.

I firmly believe that this new form of software-enabled collaboration is a revolution, not

an evolution. » - Bersin & Associates, « Social Networking in Talent Management: An Update »



CONCLUSION

Integrating Web 2.0 tools in training, around training as well as in the work environment has a multiplier effect on a

company’s training strategy: with very low additional costs, it considerably enhances training provisions and integrates

the wealth of knowledge that the company already possesses.

This approach also has a significant impact on an organization’s ability to attract, develop and preserve new talent. Thus,

a company’s capacity to develop its employees, and reap the full benefit from this knowledge, is an important factor for

success. And in the current situation where HR services are asked to do more with less, the implementation of a 2.0

learning organization will prove to be a powerful lever for the organizations of the future.

CONCLUSION



What about your learning organization strategy?

Take action.



TO FIND OUT MORE

PATRICE LÉTOURNEAU LUC LESPÉRANCE Président & founder

Atelya Consultants

Associate & director

Atelya Consultants

Passionate about new issues in management,

collaborative and creative enterprise, Patrice has been

working on mandates in strategic management,

transformation and digital technology adoption for

nearly 10 years in Canada and Europe. As president and

founder of Atelya Consulting, he coordinates the firm’s

strategy and is involved in the creative business

community of Montreal, notably as a founding member

of the Montreal chapter of CreativeMornings where he

acts as President of the board of directors. He was also

accepted into the Professional Doctorate program at

the University of Strasbourg.

Passionate about collaborative technology and

innovation management, Luc assists decision-

makers of large companies in Montréal and France

in understanding the transformational impact of

technology on their business models. He is

renowned for his expertise in change management,

particularly in developing adoption and internal

collaboration technology strategies. For five years,

he has been highly involved in the management and

growth of the firm.

FRANÇOIS GUILLOTTE HUGUES FOLTZ Director

Atelya Consultants

Président-managing director

Ellicom

François possesses over 15 years of industry experience

in the fields of knowledge management, IT project

management, and human capital management. His

many years of experience have led him to work in

Montreal, Toronto and Paris, where he was responsible

for developing strategies related to learning

organizations within a large international group. Since

his return to Quebec, he first joined Atelya, and later

Ivanhoe Cambridge.

Hugues Foltz founded Ellicom in 2002. He has been

serving as president-managing director for twelve

years. His experience as a manager in the field of

online training encompasses business, project and

human resources management as well as

productivity optimization. With over 90 employees,

today Ellicom is Quebec’s leader in the field of online

training and the company’s rise continues in Canada

and the United States.

TO FIND OUT MORE



Atelya Consulting is a management consulting firm that has been assisting companies in digital transformations for over

five years. We believe that the ability to rethink types of organization, particularly while taking advantage of new

technologies and transforming them into increasingly collaborative models, is essential to the enterprise of tomorrow.

For organizations that wish to revitalize their training programs with a social learning project, we suggest:

> Assistance in developing a business case in order to evaluate a project’s ROI ;

> Assistance in designing and developing a social learning strategy adapted to your business goals and context ;

> Selecting, if necessary, a social learning software solution that responds to your needs and is compatible with

your technological environment ;

> Equipping stakeholders and developing new behaviours and organizational abilities related to collaboration ;

> Implementing a new procedure (e.g, in the form of a pilot) and evaluating its success.

For more information: [email protected].

Canada’s leader in online training, Ellicom designs and produces effective learning software solutions that are learner-

oriented. Backed by their expertise, Ellicom offers customized services and assists customers in each step of the design,

realization, and application of their project in training or skill development.



For more than five years, we have been assisting companies in

their digital transformations. We believe that the ability to rethink

organizational models, particularly while taking advantage of new

technologies and transforming them into more collaborative

models, is essential to the enterprise of tomorrow.

One step closer to the business of tomorrow.

(514) 940-5301 [email protected]

atelya.com

2.0 learning organization: rethinking traditional learning to optimize time and training cost

Business

white paper

new issues

training costs

number of issues

training strategy

training todays organizations

unpredictable business

table of contents introduction