Learning Teams
Learn how work really happens – and develop worker-driven solutions to improve it.
HOP recognises that workers are the experts in how work gets done – and how they are able to adapt to the ever-changing complexities that come with it. Put simply, Learning Teams allow your people to provide both the insight into their work and be part of ways to make it better.
Learning Teams are a method to learn about operations and understand how people and systems perform within an organisation’s context.
What do Learning Teams provide?
A Learning Team is a facilitated conversation with field experts to share their insights, experiences and stories about their work. The outcome is a holistic understanding of how they navigate every-day operations, with a positive focus on building system resilience.
The context-rich information gained from this process identifies the real problems. In other words, where systems may be brittle and what is working well. As a result, fostering decisions and actions that are relevant to building system resilience. Learning Teams provide a collaborative approach to improve and enhance operations, capacity and rigour around critical controls. The true strength of Learning Teams is that the focus is on normal operations.
While this can be useful in incident response activities, they can be used at any time to learn, providing a proactive means to safety management.
Learning Teams can generate reports and actions much like traditional safety activity methods, however the real benefits are seen in the engagement and commitment generated. There is a basic human need to be heard, understood and included. Learning Teams provide a platform for this to happen, and the stories shared post-learning team sessions can be transformational. The depth of learning and insight from the process enables better comprehension of problems, creating effective solutions and allows for informed decision making.
What do Learning Teams provide?
A Learning Team is a facilitated conversation with field experts to share their insights, experiences and stories about their work. The outcome is a holistic understanding of how they navigate every-day operations, with a positive focus on building system resilience.
The context-rich information gained from this process identifies the real problems, where systems may be brittle and what is working well, which fosters decisions and actions that are relevant to building system resilience. Learning Teams provide a collaborative approach to improve and enhance operations, capacity and rigour around critical controls. The true strength of Learning Teams is that the focus is on normal operations.
While this can be useful in incident response activities, they can be used at any time to learn, providing a proactive means to safety management.
Learning Teams can generate reports and actions much like traditional safety activity methods, however the real benefits are seen in the engagement and commitment generated. There is a basic human need to be heard, understood and included. Learning Teams provide a platform for this to happen, and the stories shared post-learning team sessions can be transformational. The depth of learning and insight from the process enables better comprehension of problems, creating effective solutions and allows for informed decision making.
Getting started with Learning Teams
It’s important to have a foundational understanding and acceptance of HOP principles before starting Learning Teams in your organisation. Successful Learning Teams involve leadership sponsorship and an impartial position of the Facilitator in which worker experts can share openly.
There are a few ways you can commence a Learning Teams approach.
LEARNING TEAMS TRAINING
HOPLAB provides comprehensive training in HOP and Learning Teams. Our 3 Day course will provide you and your team with both the confidence and the skills to begin running Learning Teams back in your organisation. Training is available publicly and in-house by arrangement or as part of a wider HOP commitment.
FACILITATION AND COACHING
Whether you are looking for long-term support with Learning Teams or short-term assistance while your own team builds confidence and capability, our experienced HOP team can facilitate Learning Teams at your organisation. This can either be as facilitation or co-facilitation with internal facilitators. Having the involvement of an independent consultant can:
- provide an impartial perspective, which can have great benefit in remaining curious and limiting the effects of biases and preconceptions;
- gain insights that may not be readily shared internally (this is particularly the case in the early stages of HOP and Learning Teams integration);
- coach internal facilitators to learn and improve by doing – when they are new to the process, and as they become comfortable with the approach; and
- share insights on the successes and hurdles from their experience.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to Learning Teams. Determining how Learning Teams will best work within your specific organisational context can involve trial and error.
A pilot program allows for this necessary experimentation and a way to build competence, confidence and capacity.
