Starting a community of practice or learning network.
This article features insights and recommendations that will help any organization create a corporate learning community of practice to improve performance and encourage innovative thinking through collaboration and expertise sharing.
Communities of practice are not called that in all organizations. They are known under various names, such as learning networks, or learning mentoring clubs, or Facebook or LinkedIn learning groups.
While they all have the three elements of a domain, a community, and a practice, they come in a variety of forms. These groups and communities range in size, and activity. Some are local and some cover the globe. Some meet mainly face-to-face, some mostly online. Some are within an organization and some include members from various organizations.
There are a variety of advantages associated with having a learning community of practice in corporate settings. Not only can it help organizations to develop new strategies and solve company-wide challenges, but it also allows every member to expand their professional knowledge base and share their invaluable insights to maximize productivity.
So where do you start?
Have a clear objective or purpose in mind.
Determine the goals and objectives that the corporate learning community of practice hopes to achieve through knowledge sharing.
- What is the purpose of creating this corporate learning community of practice?
- Do you want to fine-tune your training strategy?
- Are you trying to improve the performance of a particular department?
- Have a clear idea of why you are developing a learning community of practice so that members know how they can do their part to achieve the desired outcome.
To be successful a community must offer real value to its participants. The value to the organisation will not be the reason for enthusiastic involvement and support from community members. It is the value to them as individuals.
- How will the community help them to achieve their goals?
- What’s in it for them?
Some of the benefits may include:
- Many minds- result in a more robust solution
- Peer group support
- Better problem solving
- Personal development
- Less isolated
- More interesting problems
- Networking
- Reduction in reinventing the wheel.
Establish a corporate learning community of practice plan or infrastructure.
Every corporate learning community of practice must have a clear plan or infrastructure in place. Create a charter that identifies the strategy of the group, how they will communicate, when and how they will hold meetings, etc. This can give everyone an idea of how the learning community of practice will function and what’s expected of them.
Be aware of the experience and knowledge each member brings to the community.
Figure out what each member of the corporate learning community brings to the group and what core knowledge or experience they can share with the other members beforehand. Ideally, you’ll want a corporate learning community of practice that features a diverse group of individuals, so that each one brings something unique and invaluable to the table. As your group will be made of a limited number of employees, you’ll want to ensure that a wide range of employees is represented. For example, if you’ll be developing a company-wide learning community, including at least one person from each department, as well as those that excel in different areas or skill sets.
Conduct a network launch.
Arrange a meeting, whether it’s online or offline, wherein all of the members can meet one another and begin discussing the goals and objectives. This will also allow them to get comfortable with sharing knowledge and ideas with the other members of the learning community, which can help to improve the effectiveness of the learning community of practice in the long run.
A moderator is key to the success of any learning community of practice.
No corporate learning community of practice is complete without a moderator in place. Appoint someone who is widely appreciated and knowledgeable about a wide range of topics that will be discussed. This individual will help to guide discussions during meetings, keep the group on-task, and may even serve as a liaison between the organization and the corporate learning community of practice. You can either choose to appoint the moderator directly or have the group vote for the person they believe best represents the community.
Hold regular meetings to share knowledge and strengthen communication.
Regular meetings are another key to the success of any corporate learning community of practice because these gatherings serve as perfect opportunities for sharing and collaboration. It will also help communities to interact more effectively, because they will have the chance to speak directly with other members and to receive immediate feedback and input.
Use social media platforms and online forums to keep in touch.
Social media sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Teams or similar, as well as online forums, can serve as invaluable communication tools. This is true both for the communities who meet in-person and for those that are online-based. Sharing ideas and working together to come up with new and innovative solutions is quick and convenient with these networking platforms, which can even be used to share files, images, and videos.
Offer support and resources to start up communities.
Communities need more structure from the leader at the start, and less later on. Don’t be afraid to provide that structure in the first meeting or two; giving up control too early, without inviting others in that space, will create a power void that the loudest voices will dominate. Lead people until they know the group is safe to lead themselves and each other, which will usually start happening naturally over time if you leave space for it and invite them.
The success of any corporate learning community of practice greatly hinges upon the support and receives that the organization itself offers. They need to have access to the necessary tools, apps, and even monetary funds (if applicable), to achieve the primary goals and objectives, especially in the beginning stages. With this support, the learning community of practice will be more likely to develop training and development solutions and strategies that can benefit the entire organization.
Hold a company-wide survey to identify issues and areas of improvement.
Survey a wide range of employees in the organization to determine the issues or weaknesses that the learning community of practice should focus on. This invaluable feedback can allow the members to focus on the most pressing matters that the organization is facing at the moment and identify where their time and resources should be allocated. At the same time, it will help them to develop a plan for how to move forward, for example, what should be the core discussion topics that should be covered during meetings.
What do communities of practice look like?
Communities develop their practice through a variety of activities. A community of practice or learning network help to build relationships and networks. This enables the sharing of resources or posing questions in a collective forum, in addition to scheduled meetings or events.
Here are some typical examples.
Problem solving
“Can we work on this design and brainstorm some ideas; I’m stuck.”
Requests for information
“Where can I find customisable training materials?”
Seeking experience
“Has anyone had a request for ‘x’ training in this situation?”
Reusing assets
“I have a proposal /business case for increasing licences for ‘x’ that I wrote for a client last year. I can send it to you and you can easily tweak it.’
Building an argument
“How do people in other countries do this? Armed with this information it will be easier to convince my executive team to make some changes.”
Mapping knowledge and identifying gaps
“Who knows what, and what are we missing? What other groups should we connect with?”
Ok, what about the structure of the meeting and topics?
Structure of your meetings depends on the type of group you’re wanting to lead. For a learning community consider setting a general structure. Many learning communities meet monthly. Consider the time zone, country holidays and duration.
- How do we start,
- Learn together,
- and end –
At the end of each meeting, inviting someone to lead the next one.
An example structure for 1-hour monthly calls in a learning community of experienced learning leaders and specialists.
- Check-in (your name, where you’re based, and what is happening in your local community).
- Call the next person once you speak.
- Go around again. Each person says if they have a topic they want to discuss on the call.
- The facilitator writes down the topics.
- Time 5 minutes for each, with the option of adding time if needed.
- Work through the list of topics, and allow the person who brought the topic to clarify what it is and what they would like from others (discussion, help, etc)
- Check out (one word of what you are leaving with. E.g. insight, knowledge etc)
Topics for new trainers and subject matter experts
In some organisations, technical subject matter experts conduct training and could benefit from greater theoretical knowledge. The topics listed below are similar to what would be contained in a train the trainer workshop, or degree program.
Key to success is to determine the levels of experience, skill and awareness in your network. From here you can then determine which topics would be the most appropriate.
From this point, you can create a calendar of topics, and allocate guest presenters. You may choose the presenter based on their knowledge of the topic, or as an opportunity to research and present on the topic.
Ideally, the guest presenter would send their presentation and learner notes to the attendees 3 days before the scheduled session. This enables participants to review the content and enable robust discussion, sharing of examples, and ask questions.
It is good practice to model how this occurs for the first formal session. Be sure to send reminders to the next guest presenter, and engage with your community to send questions about the scheduled topic and how it relates to their workplace.
Key to success is relating theory to current workplace issues, what is the benefit and how it can be applied. Be sure to create action points for your attendees.
There are great resources and videos on YouTube, LinkedIn and other sources that can be used as a starting point. These resources can then be saved to a share drive, SharePoint, teams or similar for future reference.
Foundation topics for a community of learning
- What is the difference between training and facilitation?
- What is adult learning (Andragogy)
- Making the most of technology to create engaging remote learning opportunities
- The role of gamification in learning
- Icebreakers versus energisers versus learning activity
- ADDIE model (or similar)
- Soft skills vs hard skills
- Bloom’s taxonomy -Learning outcomes versus learning objectives
- ROI of learning – more than happy sheets
- Writing a business case for resources
Topics for more advanced
- Change management concepts.
- Communication with stakeholders
- Humanist Theory
- Constructivist Theory
- Cognitive Theory
- Transformational learning
- Experiential Learning
- Trends in learning
- Trends in HR
Like any social organisation, a Community of Practice is often set up with great enthusiasm and excitement, but as time passes becomes less active, less interesting to members and finally fades away. A good leader helps to act as a focal point for the community, encouraging participation, ensuring relevance, and building capability.
Whether your company is large or small, a corporate learning community of practice can allow you to achieve success by tapping into the collective knowledge and skill sets of your workforce. With these tips on hand, you can create an effective corporate community of practice or learning network.
Resources for learning networks to help consolidate learning.
The Training Primer
This book has been written by a trainer and facilitator for fellow trainers and facilitators.
Topics include:
✓ Tips and hints for using technology
✓ Instructional design concepts and references
✓ Ways to engage learners – including those who are disengaged and challenging.
✓ Facilitation skills and so much more.
Also included are over 40 training games and activities. These classroom-tested games, exercises and activities add spark and energy to your training sessions and help adults really learn without even knowing it. Included are games for improving communication skills, developing conflict resolution skills, breaking the ice, creating effective teamwork and so much more. The Training Primer is a must-have source book for trainers and managers in all functions and industries.
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The Managers Tool kit – Facilitated Training
The Managers Tool kit
“This tool kit has been a fantastic resource when planning workshops, and problem-solving. My colleagues often ask to borrow my copy. I tell them to buy their own.
” D Pyke. Project Management Director, Matchem Investments.
This tool kit has been designed as a refreshingly simple resource for Managers, HR team members and those who run a small to medium business without a dedicated HR team or employee.
Human Resource Management (usually referred to as HR) involves everything related to the employer-employee relationship and is about supporting and managing the organisation’s people and associated processes.
This DIY tool kit breaks down HR jargon and concepts into easy to understand and use templates and explanations. The Manager tool kit has been designed to assist as a ‘go-to’ resource to determine needs and next steps as a team or organization grows.
Included in this tool kit:
- Explaining why data is important when making decisions.
- Review of coaching models and when to use them.
- How to conduct a SWOT and PEST analysis.
- Templates and explanations of HR models
- Communication plans
- Change management concepts.
- Problem-solving process plus much, much more.
This handy ‘go to’ guide provides targeted resources to assist in planning and delivery of projects, decision making, reducing risk and day to day management decisions.
72 pages of targeted, practical information that will be referred to again and again.
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About Facilitated Training.
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