5 Ways to Put Informal Learning to Work

Some of the most important learning you do at work occurs outside the training room. According to Karie Willyer, the chief learning officer of Sun Microsystems, 78% of learning is informal. So how can you leverage informal learning experiences to improve your skills and develop your talents?

1. Create small learning projects and work on them daily.
   

   Make a small commitment of time each day to work on a learning project. Suppose you need to upgrade your writing skills—particularly your word usage and vocabulary. Choose a pair of frequently confused words like "effect" and "affect" and use them (correctly!) all week. Choose a random word from a dictionary and make it your "word of the week" to improve spelling and vocabulary. Small steps can lead to big changes quicker than you think.
   

   
   

2. Pick an expert's brain.
   

   Need to improve a skill or solve a thorny problem? Find the in-house expert in your organization and ask their advice over a coffee break or lunch. You will add a potential new mentor to your network as well as pick up some valuable tips from the veterans in your group.
   

   
   

3. Ask a younger colleague to tutor you in a new technology.
   

   When did "tweet" and "Facebook" become verbs? Twentysomethings in the work place are typically tied in to technology. Ask for a quick tutorial in social networking from a technologically savvy co-worker. Blogger Lisa Haneberg in her book Hip & Sage recommends collaborating with younger colleagues to master new skills.
   

   
   

4. Use free resources to upgrade your computer skills.
   

   Do computer manuals intimidate you? Don't forget the help resources available for most of the business software that we use on a daily basis. For instance Microsoft Office users can find a wealth of video tutorials, demos, downloads, webcasts, and help articles at www.microsoft.com/office. Choose a different feature to focus on each week and you'll improve your skills dramatically.
   

   
   

5. Make sharing best practices a part of your meetings.
   

   Invest 5-10 minutes at the beginning of staff meetings to share ideas, solutions, and war stories. Experience is a great teacher even if it isn't your experience!