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Using Social Networks for Training
If there was any doubt that social networks are becoming the norm, here comes the news that the U.S. Army has set up a wiki site for soldiers to rewrite seven Army training manuals. A lot of eyebrows went up recently when the Army announced its 90-day "wiki" program, which invites about 140,000 soldiers of all ranks to make real-time wiki updates to the Army's tactics, techniques and procedures. The surprise was that the Army, the epitome of a hierarchical chain of command, was opening up policy-making to the rank and file. Actually, the Army is being very strategic, experts say. It recognizes that social-networking media, including wikis -- which allow all users to edit and update Web-based information sites -- are the way of the future in the public and private sectors. And the Army is not the only organization recognizing that. More and more companies are using Web-based social media or developing internal networks for training, information-gathering, recruitment, communications and project management, experts say. For training, in particular, social networks are a cost-effective way to collect the up-to-the-minute information an organization like the Army needs to be all it can be. The Army's wiki platform was set up on Army Knowledge Online -- the Army intranet -- using the same software as the online Wikipedia encyclopedia. Soldiers who have ID access to the Army intranet can contribute to seven field manuals on subjects such as Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Cold Weather Operations. As with Wikipedia, comments appear immediately and are monitored; unlike Wikipedia, all comments must be signed. If the project is a success, another 200 field manuals may also be "wikified." "The pace of change driven by ongoing operations has outstripped our ability to keep up with it at the lowest levels of doctrine," says Clinton Ancker, a retired colonel, who is director of the Combined Arms Center's Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, which created the wiki project in conjunction with the Battle Command Knowledge System in Fort Leavenworth, Kan. "By opening up these documents to updates by users, we will be able to stay more current with best practices being used in the field," Ancker says. While response has been slow -- the Army acknowledges that soldiers are more used to following orders than writing them -- postings thus far have been "thoughtful, insightful and experience-based," says Col. Charles J. Burnett, director of the Battle Command Knowledge System. "This pilot represents an innovative, breakthrough idea . ... As such, it requires a major cultural change, both for those who write doctrine, and those who contribute to it," Burnett says. "Soldiers who have been trained all their military career to follow orders are now being encouraged to help write the base documents of our profession that guide the leaders who issue the orders. It will take some time to change the paradigm," he says. "It's fascinating to me the Army would do this," says Jason Corsello, vice president of the Center of Excellence at Knowledge Infusion, a Minneapolis-based HR consulting firm. "This tells me they recognize the ability to leverage new technology and to change existing ways of doing things." The Army is not alone. Corsello works with many companies adapting social media to their purposes. For example, one pharmaceutical client uses Yammer, a Twitter-like system designed for business. "A salesperson makes a call on a doctor, then uses Yammer to share with other sales folks what [sales strategies] works. ... It's a great way to share information," he says. Wikis are useful for building an "internal encyclopedia" of knowledge, while giving employees 24/7 access to ongoing projects, says Corsello. Corsello said he's seen many companies, especially in the private sector, use wikis for training and development purposes, to share manuals and doctrines, and to collaborate on policy. In particular, wikis allow for ongoing training and development, long after the initial orientation and distribution of the training manual. "[Training] is infrequent. One time a year and it's done," he says. Meanwhile, corporate policies are constantly evolving. Wikis "allow training to be ongoing. ... They allow individuals to participate, collaborate and share ideas. It keeps information fresh, which has always been a challenge for companies." It is also a "very transparent and open way of collaboration," he adds. The traditional classroom training process is limited, says Corsello. "In most organizations, similar to the Army, training manuals are very dry and outdated. Using 'engagement technology' enables [companies] to keep [manuals] up to date." Pat Galagan, executive editor for the American Society for Training and Development, based in Alexandria, Va., note that "80 percent of the learning is information ... over the back of the cubicle," as employees pass on what they know and what they've learned. "For years, it's been a conundrum how to make it more efficient," she says. "There's this need to know that's widespread." Wikis, Twitter and other social media help by making training information immediately available on a "just in time" basis, Galagan says, using the manufacturing term that refers to the idea of bringing in supplies only as they are needed for specific tasks. "You try to make things more efficient. Instead of storing [the information] you just bring the stuff up as needed. It's a supply-chain thing." Many companies now use Facebook-like applications, Galagan says. "You can have your own territory on Facebook or own a group in LinkedIn or [on] Second Life." It's more common, however, she says, that companies build their own applications, as "there are a lot of concerns about control." For example, Sabre Holdings, owner of Travelocity, created a Facebook-like internal network called Sabre Town to connect almost 10,000 employees worldwide. Employees submit profiles and their areas of expertise, so the network not only brings them together but it is an information resource, Galagan says. Demographics is destiny. For the "net" generation -- young people aged 32 and under -- social networking is as natural as breathing, experts say. "Employees are using [social networks] anyway to work around impediments in an organization," says Galagan. "This generation is incredibly collaborative. ... They don't just read this stuff; they want to change it." If social networks in the workplace are inevitable, HR must be ready for it. Accept the inevitable, Galaghan says. "First, it's a state of mind. [Don't] reject [such ideas] out of hand because they are unfamiliar. They are credible," Galagan says, as she offers some tips to HR leaders considering such initiatives: * Pick the right social network for the goal the company wants to achieve. For example, for information sharing, an informal Twitter or an internal wiki are both feasible. * Write rules and regulations and establish administrative control from the get-go. * Don't allow anonymous posts. "The idea that everybody signs everything makes [users] more accountable. Your reputation is on the line." * Keep metrics on performance. * Seed the network. Pick key people, up to the CEO, to use it and promote it. "The CEO of Zappos [an online shoe site] encouraged people to use Twitter long before it was the rage," she says.
August 27, 2009 Copyright 2009© LRP Publications |
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