If you search the internet for the term “operational learning,” you’ll find two definitions. The older denotation has to do with the behavioral observations of B. F. Skinner and how rewards and punishments influence actions. The newer definition is about learning why people in your organization do what they do. Both have merit in the workforce of today.
Gamification
Boosting employee analytics with Skinner-style behavior shaping is what’s commonly known as “gamification.” You can tie your training to a method of rewarding repeated “good” activities, like viewing training courses to earn bonus coupons. Human motivation is complex, however, so you’ll need to be careful with any “punishments” associated with employees opting out of participating in such games. Make sure that the rewards are enticing and build culture without damaging it. You can see this by tracking participation and results, checking in on employees whose scores are low.
Learn From Your Employees
The other definition of operational learning encourages management to be the learners. Most organizational training is seen as a top-down effort, spreading knowledge from experienced managers to their staff. In a rigid work environment, this method can be boring at best, and disengaging at worst. The nature of work and the consuming public change over time, and adapting to those changes means taking a proactive and receptive approach to operational learning - that is, learning from the people who are performing the work. Let your employees teach you. Open your eyes to how the business is actually functioning, not just how you think it should be operating. Create a culture where management encourages feedback from employees, sharing knowledge back to the company as appropriate.
An example of a culture where such upward communication is discouraged is one where you see the emergence of “Shadow IT,” with departments bypassing normal approval channels to purchase their own software services. The purchasing branch sees the business moving too slowly and circumvents process to get what they need. A proper operational learning organization would have a system in place where the needs and benefits of new systems or procedures are communicated upward, possibly with the use of video to show and not just tell.
While behavioral reinforcement can have an effect on desired employee actions, it’s not without risks to culture and motivation. Bottom-up operational learning is both engaging and motivational, fostering an environment where employees feel empowered to help the company succeed by sending their knowledge upchannel. A culture that values progress understands that learning goes both ways. You should be prepared to learn from your employees as much as you expect them to learn from you.
