32 WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS SEPTEMBER 2015
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Why encourage informal learning? Research realigns the role of performance appraisals FEEDBACK MOST employees, from any profession or sector, will spend time talking about their job with friends, family and colleagues. In most cases, if they are in the same job area with any consistency, they will pick up and read articles and books that relate to their profession, either casually in an ad-hoc way, or even in a more structured approach, with some self-improvement goals in mind. All this is called informal learning, and while it clearly has the potential to have a positive impact on a person’s performance in the workplace and their long-term career development, its formal role has never been fully acknowledged and has certainly never been rigorously measured or quantified. Traditionally, the development of employee knowledge has been considered a top-down practice, where senior leaders determine the learning needs of employees and create and deliver structured development programs. This is despite the acknowledgement that employees choosing to engage in informal learning tend to have high levels of confidence in their own ability and competence. “It has had a little bit of a negative definition, for no good reason really, but informal learning is everywhere and in so many things we do,” says Karin Sanders, a professor and head of the school of management at UNSW Business School. “Even if you have a dinner, you are talking with your friends and that can be a part of informal learning. You hear something, you share knowledge and you are keeping up to date. “Informal learning had a place in the development part of HR, but also it was not measured, and if you want to know more about it, and its impacts, then you need to measure it in a community of practice.” Link to formal functions Informal learning was the focus of a recent research project by Sanders and former UNSW Business School colleague Timothy C. Bednall (now at Swinburne University of Technology), in collaboration with Piety Runhaar from Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Taking a sample of 238 employees from 54 work teams in six Dutch vocational education training (VET) schools, the researchers looked at informal learning with the goal of understanding how it might receive more formal recognition within an organisation’s human resource management (HRM) practice, and how the HR system could further encourage employees. More specifically, the study looked at the effects of perceptions of performance appraisal quality and HRM system strength on three informal learning activities: reflection on daily activities, knowledge sharing with colleagues, and innovative behaviour. “We also made a distinction between keeping up to date, also known as the reflecting on your own behaviour,” says Sanders. “These things, you can do by yourself, but other informal learning activities are more done in a team situation. Knowledge sharing – you can’t do that by yourself. And there is an element of reciprocity, because you are giving and taking feedback.” The study collected two waves of survey data from respondents a year apart. The only selection criteria was that employees had to work at one of the six schools, and so the breakdown was between teachers (84.9%), teaching assistants (8.8%), team coordinators (2.1%), with the remaining 4.2% classified as “others”. Data was collected via self-filling software, with response rates just over 50%. The questionnaire measured informal learning activities by the respondents in four areas: reflection on daily activities, knowledge sharing with colleagues, innovative behaviour and also performance appraisal quality. The idea behind the inclusion of performance appraisal was to see if this link to the formal HR function could be a practical way of integrating informal learning in a positive way into the HR system. The results bore this out, revealing that the quality of performance appraisal from line managers had a positive association with all three informal learning activities in the second wave, and with reflection in the first wave. This article was first published in BusinessThink, the online business analysis journal of UNSW Business School. WWW.WSBA.COM.AU New hub offers training options SOLUTIONS PARRAMATTA College is one of regions most established names in adult training and education. Backed by over 25 years of experience, the College has launched a new training facility that caters for the demand for professional development and workplace training courses in Sydney’s West. The Western Sydney Skills Hub assists businesses to meet the training needs of their staff locally, providing the ideal learning environment for business leaders, managers, staff and individuals who wish to further their careers. Focused on training that is of exceptional quality, the College has established a learning hub that provides the local business community, and individuals, with the opportunity to maximise organisational outcomes or their career through learning. The Western Sydney Skills Hub can work with you or your business to develop a custom corporate training solution through our work skills assessment process. The Hub offers flexible training opportunities, and the venue is also available for hire. Rooms can be utilised for training or planning sessions, corporate presentations and off-site events. The facilities include a computer lab, Wi-Fi, kitchen and breakout areas and catering. Contact the Parramatta College on 9687 2072 or visit www.parramattacollege.com.au WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS SEPTEMBER 2015 33
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