Significance of Informal learning

For most people, at least the formal learning path ends with a degree, a post graduate degree or a doctorate from a reputed institution. Only people in the academic or core research institutions pursue formal learning further to highest degree attained. There are millions and millions of job holders who often may not be able to pursue formal education once they enter the work world. They will have jobs lined one after the other and genuinely there is no scope for them to go back to school and learn further. But Alvin Toffler made a prophecy that the literate of the 21^st century is one who can learn, unlearn and relearn.

The modern day work environment demands learning on day today basis. The job holders need to develop the skill of informal learning.

More than 70% of the learning experiences in the workplace are informal or accidental in a work place. Most often these learnings are not sponsored by the HR Department or the employer. Informal learning is continuous, holistic, effective and transferable, arising from daily events at work place. Informal learning emerges from the spontaneity and serendipity of interactions with men or machines. It happens everywhere, in a shop floor, in a meeting, in a laboratory, in the field with the customers or even while working alone.

Research by a consulting company indicate that more than 60 percent of the total learning by a job holder come from on the job experience and the social interaction with the co-workers.

Then why are we not valuing it or even acknowledging it (informal learning)?

Perhaps there is paradox: informal learning cannot be scheduled or planned but it occurs. All we need to do is acknowledge its presence, value the learner, liberate the organizational processes from red tapism, promote and nurture a learning culture, encourage informal social dialogues (fertile dialogues among job holders etc.

The job holders will find it very interesting if informal learning is captured and rewarded. Informal learning will increase job holder confidence, enthusiasm, feeling of security, personal growth, a sense of community, and rewarding relationships. Are there any better reasons needed to initiate informal learning in all?

Contributed by Sasikanth R Prabhu

Why do customers stop doing business with a firm / company?

Often the business owners / managers feel that the customer’s primary criteria to stop buying a product or hiring a service are its price. Again and again, the experience and research studies indicate that a customer abandons a product, service or a company not because of the price; it is because their needs are not met and also their needs are dealt with indifferently.

A decade back one McKinsey Quarterly reported the reasons industrial companies (B2B), lose their customers. According to their study the reasons customer s leave in a B2B situation are ….

Indifference to the customer’s need - 68%

Product dissatisfaction – 14%

Price – 9%

Development of new relationships elsewhere – 5%

Relocation – 3%

Death of a Key individual – 1%

In a B2C situation too this pattern seems to be followed.

Yesterday, my friend reported an experience at a factory outlet of branded shirts / men’s apparels. Many popular and premium brands of shirts and men’s apparel are available here at a discount price. A young man and women, of about same age say around 21 years, came at a time when the show roo is scheduled to be closed. As soon as they came in, one of the floor representative told them it is about to be closed and it is not possible to buy anything today. The boy said he is about to attend an interview next day and need some formals. Now the floor manager stepped in and confirmed that the shop will be closed at exactly at the scheduled time and they do not have time for searching for the product and do the billing formalities. The customer boy humbly requested again to allow them to choose an apparel. Now the shopkeepers got really irritated and waived him to go off. The boy then asked from where else he will get the apparel in the vicinity. They frowned and said bluntly they do not know.

The young pair walked out disappointed from this ornately merchandised, adequately human resources, optimally promoted shop. What is the use of investing so much and not being able to treat a prospective customer with care?

If this happened to you, will you visit such a shop again?

Mostly, this is how customers are lost.

contributed by Sasikanth Prabhu