Unmasking the key barrier to informal staff learning in large organizations

Citation

Panagiotakopoulos, A. (2016), "Unmasking the key barrier to informal staff learning in large organizations", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 15 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-10-2014-0055

Unmasking the key barrier to informal staff learning in large organizations

Article Type: Strategic commentary From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 15, Issue 1

Antonios Panagiotakopoulos

Antonios Panagiotakopoulos is Senior Lecturer of HRM at New York College, Athens,Greece.

Employee training represents any activity that develops skills, knowledge and behaviour and teaches employees how to better perform their present jobs. Training activities range from formal training courses run internally or externally to informal on-the-job training by a supervisor. Formal employee training refers to initiatives that have a structured mode of delivery and specific learning objectives, whereas informal employee training is a far more diffuse process and occurs throughout the organization as individuals observe, imitate and learn from others on a fragmented and flexible basis.

Employee training and learning has attracted much attention in the human resource management (HRM) field, as it is viewed as a key factor in developing a skilled workforce. Many commentators have stressed the major role of well-trained employees if living standards in the advanced countries are to be sustained and improved. The challenges posed by the rise of low-cost producers in other parts of the world can be met only if labour in the advanced countries has high level of skills, which will differentiate it from the capacities of workers in the newly industrializing countries. Many human resource (HR) practitioners also share the view that productivity gains and innovation cannot be achieved on the basis of low-skilled work. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to explore the training process at work and identify the key barriers to informal staff learning, which forms a substantial part of human learning.

Among the key barriers to informal staff training that are frequently reported by HR practitioners are the following: a restrictive job design that offers very limited opportunities for knowledge sharing; incompetent senior managers who do not possess adequate subject-specific knowledge to stimulate informal learning; and the lack of time due to increased workload. Against this background, a training workshop was designed and delivered by the author on May 2014 to the HR directors of 40 very large organizations in Greece. Its purpose was to examine what hinders informal staff training in large corporations and identify ways to eliminate such barriers and encourage staff learning.

The discussions with the HR directors during the workshop revealed a strong relationship between senior management attitudes towards staff learning and workforce skills development. As they all explained, positive management attitudes towards staff learning and knowledge sharing can facilitate significantly informal on-the-job learning. For example, those senior managers who show a positive attitude normally serve as coaches, make space for learning, encourage risk taking, instil the importance of sharing knowledge and give positive feedback and recognition. By contrast, those managers who are not willing to share their knowledge because they are afraid of being displaced by those whom they have guided and supported become the main barrier to informal staff learning.

The views expressed during the workshop by the HR directors have major practical implications for the senior management team of every large organization. Specifically, the views indicate that increased workload and job design are not the most important barriers to informal staff learning as it is currently believed by many HR executives. It is the senior management attitudes towards staff learning that essentially hinders workplace learning. Based on the new insights gained from this workshop, two major steps could be taken by the HR directors to encourage informal staff learning. First, they need to design effective management development programs to encourage attitude change. Second, they need to design effective reward systems that encourage knowledge sharing. For example, they can provide a generous bonus to those senior managers who motivate, guide and support employees to enhance their learning potential.

Further reading

Harrison, R. (2005), Learning and development, 4th ed., CIPD Publications, London.

Corresponding author

Antonios Panagiotakopoulos can be contacted at: mailto:apanagiotakopoulos@nyc.gr