Helping Your Employees Learn From Peers - Manager Guide

Fostering Collective Learning: Helping
Your Employees Learn from Peers

Manager Guide
August 2010
CLC LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
CLC Learning and Development, Corporate Leadership Council
2010 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved. LDR6501610PRO
2
CORPORATE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

CLC LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

Research Analyst
Deepti Srivastava

Director
Thomas Handcock

Managing Director
Todd Safferstone

NOTE TO MEMBERS
This project was researched and written to fulfill the research request of several members of The Corporate Executive Board Company and as a result may not satisfy the information needs of all member
companies. The Corporate Executive Board Company encourages members who have additional questions about this topic to contact the Member Support Center at EXBD_Support_CLC@executiveboard.com
for further discussion. The views expressed herein by third-party sources do not necessarily reflect the policies of the organizations they represent.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES NOTE
CLC Learning and Development has worked to ensure the accuracy of the information it provides to its members. This project relies upon data obtained from many sources, however, and CLC Learning and
Development cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information or its analysis in all cases. Furthermore, CLC Learning and Development is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional
services. Its projects should not be construed as professional advice on any particular set of facts or circumstances. Members requiring such services are advised to consult an appropriate professional. Neither
The Corporate Executive Board Company nor its programs are responsible for any claims or losses that may arise from any errors or omissions in their reports, whether caused by The Corporate Executive Board
Company or its sources.
3
Why does
coworker
support
matter?
How can
coworkers help
each other
learn?
How do I help
employees
learn from
coworkers
experiences?
0%
10%
20%
Support from Coworkers Support from Managers
4
COWORKERS CAN PROVIDE POWERFUL
LEARNING SUPPORT TO EACH OTHER
Effective support from
coworkers has as much
of an impact on
employees learning from
day-to-day work as
effective manager
support.
While employees can learn a
lot from you, their manager,
they also learn a lot from their
coworkers and peers.
You can ease the burden on
yourself by encouraging
employees to support each
other in their development.

You can drive employee learning by
enabling your direct reports to
leverage their coworkers
Impact on Learning of Support from Coworkers and Managers
I
m
p
a
c
t

o
n

L
e
a
r
n
i
n
g

A
p
p
l
i
c
a
t
i
o
n
*

14%
12%
Source: CLC Learning and Development, Unlocking the Value of On-the-Job Learning, Arlington .VA: Corporate Executive Board,
September 2009, p. 67.
*Learning application refers to the amount of what an employee learned from an activity that he/she has been able to use (i.e. put into
action) in his/her work.

HOW CAN COWORKERS HELP EACH OTHER LEARN?
5
Providing Performance Related Guidance

Giving early guidance on how to address performance issues

Serving as a sounding board for difficult issues and challenges

Teaching a new skill, concept, process, or procedure

Providing constructive informal feedback on a regular basis
Source: CLC Learning and Development, Unlocking the Value of On-the-Job Learning, Arlington ,VA: Corporate Executive
Board, September 2009, p. 70.
Opportunities for Coworkers to Support Peer Development (In Order
of Importance)
Sharing Successes

Giving advice based on own experience

Regularly sharing ideas, best practices, and solutions
Enabling Learning Application

Helping peers use and apply new skills or knowledge at work

Helping peers understand the best informal ways of getting things done

Coworkers are most
powerful at driving
learning from work when
they share past
successes.
Coworkers have the greatest
impact when they focus on
sharing learning from their
own experiences, particularly
best practices and solutions
that have proven successful
for them.
Coworkers can also support
their peers by helping them
apply what they learned in
their day-to-day work and
providing performance
related guidance.

6
HOW DO I HELP EMPLOYEES LEARN FROM COWORKERS' EXPERIENCES?

Enable employees to learn from peers successes
Facilitate demonstrated success-based peer-to-peer networking

Short-Term Tactics That You Can Adopt

Build trust within your team
Break silos and encourage cross-functional interactions

Longer-Term Tactics That You Can Adopt
7
ENABLE EMPLOYEES TO LEARN FROM PEERS'
SUCCESSES
Sharing and analyzing
successes provides for
powerful and mutually
beneficial learning.
Create a mutually beneficial
peer learning exercise
focused on analyzing the root
causes of recent successes.
Establish a clear and
structured process for
enabling success sharing
and analysis among peers to
enhance learning from the
exercise.

Schedule regular
meetings as platforms
for employees to share
successes experienced
on-the-job.
Ask a group of
employees to each
prepare a
success story for
each meeting.
Have the first
participant present
his/her success
story to the group.

Reach a consensus on the
key insights from the first
participants success story
before beginning the next
discussion.
Work with participants
to ensure that they
apply the success
analysis to their work.

Process for Creating a Mutually Beneficial Peer Learning Exercise
Have the group ask the
presenter probing and
clarifying questions
to identify the root
causes of success.*
Facilitate a discussion
where the group identifies
how the drivers of
success might be applied
in their own work.
Rotate the Presenter: Having employees take turns sharing successes ensures a mutually beneficial exchange
where employees are both learners and teachers. If you have a small team, have each employee play the role of
presenter in the same session. With a larger team, ensure that everyone knows upfront that each employee will be
asked to share a success story at one of the sessions.
Essential Feature
*Provide employees with example questions to ensure a productive session. (see page 9)
Help employees analyze the root causes of successes. (see page 10)
Source: CLC Learning and Development, Shells Enabling Employees to Collectively Learn from Successes, Arlington, VA:
Corporate Executive Board, September 2009, pp. 16.
8
Provide guidance to
help employees
effectively participate in
the exercise and learn
from peer successes.

PEER LEARNING EXERCISES SUPPORT
MATERIAL

Definition of Success

Predefine success to enable consistency in the experiences that qualify as success stories. For
instance, at Shell, they define success as something that proved to be highly effective in achieving
an outcome important to the business or to the presenters development.

Clarifying Questions

Provide short, easy to answer clarifying questions to the group to help them understand the specifics of
the success while listening to a presenter, such as:

What resources did you have available to help you with this?
What was the overall challenge that you looked to address through this experience?
What support did you receive from your manager or other peers during this experience?

Probing Questions

Provide probing questions to the group that they can leverage in order to help the presenter think more
deeply about the success and move reaction to reflection, such as:

What had to hold true for the success to have occurred?
What if the opposite were true? Then what?
What, if anything, would you do differently on a similar situation in future?
Guidance Provided to Employees for Success Analysis
Source: CLC Learning and Development, Shells Enabling Employees to Collectively Learn from Successes, Arlington ,VA:
Corporate Executive Board, September 2009, pp. 16.
9
Identifying the
underlying factors (or
"root causes") of a
success will help
employees learn from it
and replicate the
success.
Enable employees to see
that, as with failures,
successes can be attributed
to multiple root causes.
Ask employees to consider
how much control they had
over the factors that
contributed to the successes
and identify the factors that
can be replicated in other
situations.

IDENTIFYING THE ROOT CAUSES OF SUCCESS
Source: CLC Learning and Development, Shells Enabling Employees to Collectively Learn from Successes, Arlington ,VA:
Corporate Executive Board September 2009, pp. 16.
10
IMPLEMENTATION TIPS FOR SUCCESS ANALYSIS EXERCISE
Enable Employees to Learn from Peer Successes
Drive participation by iterating the value of learning
from successes and not just failures.

Provide sufficient time for employees to think about
and prepare a success story that they can share
with the team.

Ensure that each team member presents a success
story either within the same session (if you have a
small team, or want to split your team up into
smaller groups) or at some point across a series of
sessions.

Help employees identify and focus on the root
causes of success during the discussion.

Facilitate a few initial team discussions on success
stories, and thereafter, encourage employees to run
the sessions on their own.

Quick Tips: How Else Can I Leverage This Practice?
Incorporate Success Analysis into Daily Work
Help your direct reports diagnose and analyze the root
causes of success and failures during weekly one-on-
one conversations and informal day-to-day
conversations.

Conduct Failure Analysis in a Similar Manner
Leverage the success analysis drivers (see
page 10) to conduct a similar analysis to identify root
causes of failures at work in order to minimize the
possibility of repeat failures.
11
Coworkers that have
successfully solved
similar challenges can
provide more relevant
input than "general
experts".
Identify coworkers that can
support your direct report
based on whether or not they
have demonstrated success
in a critical event related to
your direct reports
development area.
Provide guidance to help
your direct report extract
maximum learning from
his/her interaction and apply
it in his/her work.

FACILITATE DEMONSTRATED SUCCESSBASED
PEER-TO-PEER NETWORKING
Process For Enabling Success-Based Peer Networking
Identify your direct
reports
development area
to target.

Identify a networking
partner who has
demonstrated
success in your
direct reports
development area.*
Determine the
objectives and
timeline for the
network
interaction with
your direct report.
Discuss with you direct report
how he/she will apply what
he/she has learned to his/her
work, and how you can
support him/her.
Agree on key
success measures
with your direct report
and monitor their
progress.
Provide a list of
questions to your
direct report for
reference during
the network
interaction. **
Help your direct report
think about what
he/she has learned
from the networking
interaction.***
*Ensure to identify networking partners based on specific past success in your direct reports development area. (see page 12)
**Provide employees with interview questions to ensure an effective network interaction. (see page 13)
***Help employees reflect on the key learning from the network interaction. (see page 14)
Source: CLC Learning and Development, Event-Based Network Brokering (American Express), Arlington ,VA: Corporate Executive
Board, July 2010, pp. 4248.
12
Identify networking
partners based on
observed successes to
ensure actionable
employee learning.

IDENTIFY NETWORKING PARTNERS BASED ON
DEMONSTRATED SUCCESS
Networking Partner Selection criteria

Manager or others have recently observed
individual demonstrate success in a critical
event related to employees development
area
Observed success is relevant to employees
role and responsibilities

Tips for Managers to Select Networking
Partners

Keep a log of successes you have observed in
peers, leaders, and your direct reports
Ask peer managers about successes they
have observed
Ask your direct reports about successes they
have observed
Guidance for Managers
Success-Based Network Identification
Illustrative
Source: CLC Learning and Development, Event-Based Network Brokering (American Express), Arlington ,VA: Corporate Executive
13
Provide employees with
an interview guide to
help them focus on
how different
behaviors led to
success rather than
simply what the
behaviors were.
An interview guide helps
employees leverage the
network interaction to reach
an understanding of the root
causes of success which can
be replicated.

CREATE INTERVIEW GUIDES FOR EMPLOYEES
Source: CLC Learning and Development, Event-Based Network Brokering (American Express), Arlington, VA: Corporate Executive
14
Help employees reflect
on network interactions
and apply learning back
to their work.
Providing reflection guides
helps employees identify
what they learned during the
interaction and how it can be
applied to their work, which
extends learning beyond the
initial conversation to on-the-
job application.

PROVIDE REFLECTION GUIDES TO EMPLOYEES
Source: CLC Learning and Development, Event-Based Network Brokering (American Express), Arlington, VA: Corporate Executive
15
IMPLEMENTATION TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE EXECUTION
Facilitate Demonstrated Success-Based Peer-to-Peer Networking
Clearly articulate the whats-in-it for the employee to convey
the personal development value derived from peer networking.

Leverage your direct reports development plan to identify a key
development area that can be addressed through peer interaction.

Contact identified networking partner to inform him/her about and
prepare him/her for the networking interaction.

Help the identified networking partner see the value of the
exercise by explaining how analyzing and articulating what
he/she has done can help him/her learn from it and more easily
apply the lessons again in the future.

While face-to-face meetings are recommended, allow employees
to leverage different platforms, such as e-mail or telephone
conversations to hold this interaction.

Quick Tips: How Else Can I Leverage This Practice?
Encourage Employees to Actively Prepare for Any
Developmental Intervention
Before any developmental intervention, use one-on-one
meetings with your direct reports and other informal
interactions to help them prepare for the opportunity.

Instill Deliberate Reflection Post Activity as a
Regular Practice Among Employees
Following a developmental intervention, encourage your
direct reports to deliberately reflect upon what they have
learned from the activity and how can they best apply
the learning to their daily work.
16
HOW DO I HELP EMPLOYEES LEARN FROM COWORKERS' EXPERIENCE?

Enable employees to learn from peers successes
Facilitate event-based peer-to-peer learning

Build trust within your team
Break silos and encourage cross-functional interaction

Short-Term Tactics That You Can Adopt
Longer-Term Tactics That You Can Adopt
BUILD TRUST WITHIN YOUR TEAM
17
Build trust within your
team to enhance
employee ability and
probability of learning
from coworkers.
To build trust, you need to
understand which behaviors
build trust and encourage
those behaviors within your
team.
Create opportunities and
leverage exercises/activities
that help strengthen trust within
the team.

Understand Behaviors that Drive Trust
Encourage the following behaviors among
team members:

Sharing some personal information to
build a rapport with team members

Acknowledging and apologizing for
mistakes

Communicating consistently

Giving credit when due

Honoring confidential and sensitive
information

Keeping promises and honoring
commitments

Involving people in decisions that affect
them

Sharing information, both positive and
negative, with people who need it

1
How Can You Build Trust?
Create Trust-Building Activities/Opportunities
2
Leverage the following opportunities and
activities to build trust within your team:

Increase Team-Based Interactions:

Hold team meetings to share any
organization, function, and/or team
specific updates
Organize frequent brainstorming sessions
to help employees share ideas and
collaborate on decision making

Use Team Building Exercises:

Organize outdoor or indoor exercises that
involve substantial team participation and
require team members to rely on each
other
Absence of trust within the team increases employees unwillingness to collaborate and
share with coworkers.
BREAK SILOS AND ENCOURAGE CROSS-FUNCTIONAL
INTERACTIONS
18
Improve cross-functional
collaboration to enable
employees to learn from
coworkers across the
organization.
Identify opportunities to
connect your employees to
those in other functions and
business units to break
functional silos and further help
employees leverage coworker
support.

Opportunities to Enhance Cross-Functional Interaction
1
Hold Cross-Functional Meetings

Involve employees from other teams and functions in your team meetings and brainstorming
sessions to help employees acquire a multi-dimensional perspective.
2
Encourage Your Team to Participate in Cross-Functional Projects

Create project teams consisting of members from disparate functions or geographic locations
to work on a common goal or objective, typically over and above their primary roles. Use the
following recommendations to enhance project teams effectiveness and success:
Define benefits of the cross-functional team initiative to team members
Outline the purpose and objectives that each team member is expected to achieve
Clarify expectations regarding team members roles
3
Facilitate Informal Cross-Functional Peer Networking

Encourage informal networking between employees from different departments to facilitate greater
cross-department knowledge sharing and collaboration.

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