While formal training develops baseline skills, social learning within communities of practice (CoPs) addresses the more nuanced real-world needs of employees. When cultivated well, CoPs can become an organization’s most valuable continuing education asset.
Effective communities form around common vocational identities. They should unite diverse professionals with shared practice interests rather than simply shared jobs. Surgeons, project managers, engineers, execs, and researchers likely find community in CoPs more than job title defined groups.
Once established, foster organic growth through member interactions. Avoid over-structuring or micromanaging discussions. Enable users to own community direction, set agenda topics and facilitate sessions themselves.
While online forums, video chat platforms and knowledge portals support virtual communities, consider bringing members together periodically for meetups, conference sessions and open space technology workshops. Bonds strengthen through some face time.
Incent involvement by formally recognizing community contributions during performance reviews and even providing rotational assignments to winners of knowledge sharing competitions.
To measure CoP impact, track metrics like member participation rates, solution quality sentiment surveys, and amount of documented learnings uploaded. But also watch for increased collaboration, innovation and productivity organizationally from amplified collective knowledge.
Implement simple community health checks periodically to gauge member satisfaction, group trust and safe space sentiments. Continually refine group charter guidelines accordingly.
When done right, communities become their own regenerating fountains of collective knowledge, wisdom and timely support benefitting entire institutions for years. Keep investing in communities of practice.
Tomuz Academy
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