I’ve oftened wondered about the organisational disconnect between Learning and KM/Documentation areas. For years the model has perpetuated a sort of ‘doubling up’ on effort around the information people need to perform on the job. Learning has the role of ‘teaching’ or embedding in memory, while KM ensures all procedures are captured and delivered(usually within the business). The gap between the two can resemble the Grand Canyon – or perhaps Sydney Heads is a closer example. Yet whileorganisations invest time and money in both, they don’t always talk to each other.
Why can’t we combine the two? When change occurs for new systems, products, processes etc, target audiences must feel like they’re caught in a hailstorm – there’s “support” information raining down on them from all directions. Too often we leave it up to them to make sense of and integrate all this information into something usable and useful on the job. I’m reminded at this point of my own induction experiences into new organisations: forms, glossy brochures, staff benefit handouts, structure charts and classroom sessions provide information overload on steroids. Aren’t we doing the same to our employees by not integrating the support functions that deliver information? Internalcommunications fits into the same category.
We seem to be telling the same stories over and over again but from different perspectives. Someone on the receiving end can quite rightly ask “what am I meant to remember?” and “what can I leave for later when I need it?”
So, by saying that we need to get the integration of all this information sorted before anything is delivered, it raises an interesting point. Given the high level of interest in un-structured informal learning and just-in-time performance support, Is there not an opportunity for the typical Learning and Development function to link arms with the business and bring some method to this madness?
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Method and madness – Disconnect between learning & knowledge
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