Thursday 14 March 2013

What Next ? - Learning Clubs

Dear Hrdians
It is a constant challenge for the learning & development(L&D) professional.He or she is constantly asked to prove that improvements or changes that occur is a result of  the training intervention.Although we have the 4 step model of  Kirkpatrick(Reaction, Learning. Behaviour, Results ) and the  5th step of  ROI added by Philips for assessing training effectiveness, to my mind it is not so much  the measuring and proving  of our contribution but sustaining the learning & application of the learning at work  by the participant long after the training happened, that is more important.

In this connection, I have been  requesting  participants at the concluding session of each program to keep track of   the  application of their learning at work and share in our internal knowledge management site(intranet), their experiences as to what worked and what did not work .While many say "yes''to the suggestion, rarely do they actually follow through and share experiences.

Of late I have been pondering as to what other  ways could  there  be to keep the participant connected or even hooked to the learning in the program? One thought that occured was that we could have them form a club with one of them  volunteering to  take on the role of a secretary who will ensure that the group meets periodically, say once a month to share & learn from experiences.I was considering starting of such a club in respect of the subject of Ëffective Communication" handled by me.

In the meanwhile , today at the valediction of the training program " Prompt judgement & action",  it occured to me spontaneously  to moot the idea to the participants  who were open and enthusiastic to the suggestion..Mr Sreenivan of Sales Logistics came forward to take up the role of the secretary.It was agreed that he would collect experiences of individual particoipants  every week through E mail & share the consolidated record of experiences to all the members through E mail.The club will have  a physical  meeting & interact in person  once a month. It was ageed that we from Learning & Development would give all  support that may be necessary in the initial stages for forming and getting it going..

All of us warmly shook hands with Srinivasan who would be the first secretary of the first learning club of our company.In future I am planning to  form such learning groups for all programs.It may not happen that all the 29  participants who attended would be active members of the club.. some may drop out .Yet, groups of passionate learners regularly interacting & sharing  experiences amongst themselves and also  giving their feedback to L&D  for enhancing the future training programs, is to me,  an exciting proposition.You, dear readers may like to try it out too and share your experiences!
Rest in my next

7 comments:

  1. LIFE = Learning Institute For Everyone.

    Without Learning nobody can grow further.

    Forming a learning club will be an excellent initiative and form a great platform of learning from each other sharing and experiences.

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    1. With the good wishes of active HR practioners like yourself, I hope this concept will blossom & flower in our company and also be gainfully practiced by others. Thank you, Ankit for penning your thoughts

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    2. Dear Rajeev Sir,

      Greetings!!

      Have you formed this "Learning club" for your employees ? If yes, then its OK, else I was thinking to give one suggestion.

      If you don't mind, Keep the name of your learning club as "LIFE" (Learning Institute For Everyone) Hope, in this 4 letter word, we are conveying our clear message to the employees i,e come>>>learn>>>grow

      Please correct me if my suggestion seems to you not appropriate. Your suggestions and inputs will help me to think in more creative manner.

      Best Regards,
      Ankit

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  2. Yes, we have started a few learning clubs.Thank you for your suggestions on the naming of the club.We will discuss this in our L&D team meeting & take a call.Thanks & regards Ankit.

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    1. Dear Rajeev Sir,

      Greetings!!

      Thank you so much for taking my suggestions for discussion with your L&D team. Taking this suggestion by you for discussion will be a great motivational factor for me.

      Best Regards,
      Ankit Sharma

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  3. Being an HR professional with 15+ yrs of learning experience and also in the Training & Development arena, I was very proud of Mr. Rajeev Moothedath who has started this blog. Reading the contents starting with NIPM - The New HR Agenda's - 3R's, followed by Shahruk Khans visit to the Hyundai Motors and loved the topic on Lost Employees, Lost Customers, Lost Productivity - it was wonderful. Keep up the good work Mr. Rajeev. I also thank Ankit Sharma for the expansion of "LIFE", really its very true, b'coz we are still learning something new everyday. Learning is a basic growth process and never ends itself...

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  4. I am sorry I saw this comment only now & did not respond to it earlier. I am very enthused by Yelhsa's comments as I can see that not only is he an experienced professional but a reader who has taken the interest & effort to read the different posts in the blog & has a total understanding of what it stands for.I am also happy to note that he is in the training & development domain.
    Thank you for your encouraging words which is what motivates one to continue writing

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