Last week I facilitated peer group sessions with more than 100 learning leaders and sales managers in Chicago.  A special thanks to Mr. Dirk Tussing of Chicagoland Learning Leaders for organizing an event that included representatives from Chicagoland’s top companies.   The purpose of the sessions was to discuss the findings from ASTD’s in-depth research of the ‘State of Sales Training‘.   Dr. Brian Lambert of ASTD and Sales Training Drivers presented the findings to participants, which launched the room into active discussion.

The research findings drove discussions about one finding in particular, that 49% of organizational knowledge is actually acquired through informal learning.  And further ASTD research calls out how little is invested in developing informal learning programs.

To ground us around a common definition for informal learning and how it applies specifically to sales enablement and improved sales effectiveness, this is the knowledge necessary for sales professionals to learn on the job.  It is not learning acquired through the training classroom or by the use of courseware but learning by doing.

There were great discussions around this topic.  The learning professionals wanted to know how to tap into the collective experiences of successful outcomes in the field and share the best practices through the use of informal learning.  They also discussed methods for capturing these great lessons from the field in a manner that could be leveraged across a broader workforce.

These questions were contrasted by the sales management representatives, as they discussed the burden informal learning places on their day to day workload.   In order for their staff to learn through trial by fire, the sales manager plays a significant role in mentoring and coaching the sales rep to achieve the best outcome.  Questions sales reps often have that sales managers mentor them on include, “How to positioning against the competition?”  or “What client can I use as a reference for my prospect?”  Of course there are many other examples but the point remains, sales management is burdened with addressing redundant questions for their sales staff every day.   The sales managers spoke a different language than their learning professional peers but they both shared a common goal in finding a more meaningful way to harness informal learning than the typical water cooler conversations, phone call inquiries and email requests.

The breakthrough moment for the group was when Dirk Tussing asked “What tangible outcomes can an organization realize when it harnesses informal learning?”  One example was presented where a sales organization was able to cut ramp time in half for their new sales hires.  This translates to rookie sales reps generating revenue quicker and reaching sales targets sooner.  In one case, the reduced ramp time generated $50 million of incremental sales.  I presented a case study of Heartland Payment Systems that provided similar examples.  Another case study example showed how Premier, Inc. (network of hospitals, clinics and acute care centers) shared procedural best practices and lessons learned - This level of collaboration and know-how has helped Premier lower the cost of healthcare delivery across its network group.

The lessons from these interactive sessions were two-fold.  Sales management and learning leaders must build alignment in their efforts to address informal learning.  And also, technology solutions can play a key role in facilitating informal learning within Sales Departments and also across the enterprise.  There are still significant opportunities for the learning and sales functions to build greater alignment in a manner that is meaningful and very real to the overall performance of any business - The example of generating $50 million of incremental sales by cutting ramp time of new hires in half is a perfect illustration.  But to do so, the learning function must work with the front line of the business to bring learning beyond the classroom or eLearning courseware.

There are now technologies available that provide the collaborative tools to better enable the informal learning capture and dissemination of knowledge and information.  Even better, these new tools go beyond the limits of wikis and public-facing social Web 2.0 tools.  They take into account the needs of an organization and their requirements for security, quality of knowledge, and compliance and control.

Please share your views, challenges and success stories of addressing informal learning in your organization.  We are interested to hear how you are addressing this challenge.  Each blog poster will receive a free copy of StreetSmarts® report around informal learning that is planned for release next week.