If your organisation has recently taken part in a formal training course, then chances are that on their return to the office, colleagues will automatically embark on their own informal learning; learning to use new software, for example, in their own environment. The nature of informal learning prevents management controlling how and what is learned following a formal training course. However, when this happens organisations should ensure that informal learning can happen quickly and workers are able to access the information they need when they need it.

It's a good idea to find out more about informal learning in your organisation before addressing its advantages and disadvantages. Before any interventions can be made to support informal learning, the current informal learning activity needs to be understood. The easiest way to do this is to carry out a simple analysis of how colleagues learn in the workplace.

Think about setting up focus groups or interviews: Talking to people about how they carry out their day-to-day job and how they are using new software, for example, can help to identify where they access the information that helps them. This can build a picture of what tools and commands workers use and also which ones they don't. Questions should uncover where/who they turn to when they are stuck, how they improve their performance, and what information/knowledge resources they use on a regular basis.

You could ascertain this using a questionnaire. A questionnaire can collect much of the same information as focus groups/interviews, but in a more time efficient manner. You could even do this electronically. However, the responses will often be less comprehensive without the ability to ask follow-up questions or clarify answers.

If you have the time and resources to dedicate to carrying out one-to-one observations, this can be an extremely effective and reliable way of measuring informal learning. Although more time-intensive, this is potentially more revealing as observations can be undertaken while people work. In the course of carrying out their job and getting answers to work related queries a worker might: talk to colleagues face-to-face, by phone or by email; use the internet/intranet to source information; refer to other information resources such as a shared computer drive or paper based work manual; contact subject matter experts.

Observing this activity and recording it will provide a fairly accurate picture of how informal learning happens after a training course in your team/department. The information collected during an analysis will provide a useful account of which informal learning activities work most effectively, which ones don't, and which ones are being underutilised. This will help to inform any improvement plan.

While workers may naturally learn informally, there is always room for improvement. Providing advice or training on the following activities will help workers improve their approach to informal learning.

Effective information gathering. This can include: how to find information on the internet/intranet.

Learning techniques may include note taking, mind mapping and personal reflection.

Setting personal learning goals to encourage workers to take responsibility for their own learning
networking. An expansive personal network helps workers get to the information they need quickly.

Formal learning activities will always have a role in the training and development of workers and these can be enhanced by highlighting to participants the informal learning opportunities that are available to them in the workplace. This has a double benefit: it will increase the likelihood of the formal learning transferring back to the workplace; and it will improve the focus of the informal learning that subsequently takes place.

Informal learning is about accessing the right information when it is needed. One way of making sure that people have access to good quality information is to ensure that it is easy to find and easy to access. An organisational intranet is a useful mechanism but it is important that workers know what is available to them. By promoting the availability of information on the intranet, organisations can increase usage.

Research has found that an average 15-30% of a worker's time at work is spent actively seeking information. Setting up online areas where information can be stored, shared and edited will help to reduce the time workers spend looking for information. In order for these areas to be successful, they should be created and promoted but then left to the workforce to develop. The more ownership that the workforce has of these knowledge sharing areas, the more useful and better used they will be. It may be worthwhile gaining the buy in of the subject matter experts by highlighting the potential value that they could add in an overseer's role.

Informal learning is most effective when people are able to easily meet and exchange ideas. This is especially useful after a formal training session and there are a number of initiatives that an organisation can take to increase this activity:

Cross team project work - providing workers the opportunities to meet with people from other teams and departments will help improve their personal networks and give them a fresh perspective on the organisation as a whole.

Peer to peer coaching and mentoring initiatives - although coaching and mentoring are examples of formal development initiatives, they often lead to more informal opportunities
Create comfortable areas where workers can meet - this will encourage the kind of informal discussions where learning will often take place.

Improving the informal learning activity in an organisation should be an iterative process. Some initiatives will be very successful; others will need to be refined over time. Developments in technology and the Internet, and more sophisticated software and communications technology offer opportunities to improve the effectiveness of informal learning. The key is finding those improvements that will offer best value to the workforce by involving them in the process.