When was the last time you used an app? If you’ve got a smart phone or tablet the chances are that you use apps on a regular basis so… congratulations you are a mobile learner! Now for the follow-up question: when was the last time you encouraged the use of mobile learning within the workplace? If the answer is never then you are one of the few organisations that have yet to grasp the vast potential that opens up when apps meet business.

In a survey in 2013 by Brandon Hall Group 73% of organisations were actively involved in mobile learning of one sort or another and 87% planned to increase m-learning use within the following year. More interestingly, 100% of high-performing companies surveyed used mobile learning to a sophisticated degree. In truth, unless your organisation actively bans the use of smart phones within the office then it is hard to escape some form of mobile learning.  What differentiates high-performing, innovation-led organisations from the rest is the way in which m-learning is harnessed as a force for improvement.

As an innovation consultant I’ve often written about innovation drivers and the way in which organisational structures have to change so that the culture of innovation infuses every person and every process. Out go silos and ‘knowledge secrets’ and in comes an open collaborative way of working. Partly this requires a change of ethos, a fresh way of looking at interactions but partly it comes from opening up knowledge pathways and what better way to do this than using technology and mobile learning.

We live in a time in which customers are looking for swift responses and instant solutions and yet 68% of UK Corporates take just as long to innovate and get products to market as they did five years ago. If businesses want to stay ahead of the game then they have no option other than to embrace innovation and that requires embracing Adaptability; in other words increasing the focus on agility which enables business to execute better and faster. And when you want to get your message across fast, when you want speedy responses to problems, what better way than to leverage instant communication for both your customers and your people.

As an aside, ‘Adaptability’ forms part of my latest thinking and working with some of the world’s most successful organisations on what it’s going to take to drive innovation-led growth for the future. It’s something I call the ‘Next Generation Organisation’ and it boils down to three core attributes - Intelligence, Collaboration and Adaptability. The first challenge for organisations is ‘Intelligence’ and moving away from traditional approaches to data and insight. The second challenge is around ‘Collaboration’ and the re-design of cultures, networks, strategic partnerships and increasing co-creation. And the final challenge ‘Adaptability’ focuses on speeding up the commercialisation of innovation in order to bring bigger ideas to market faster.

Click here for my free whitepaper on building a ‘Next Generation Organisation’.

So developing innovation capabilities runs hand in hand with developing new ways of learning. To start off with, organisations may simply encourage access to certain widely available apps but in time as the appreciation of the potential of mobile learning grows companies need to move towards creating their own apps and content which can sit on an internal app store. And thanks to technology the possibilities are endless. ‘How to’ videos may be the start but what about games which teach processes as they are played? Why do assessments have to take place in a formal setting?  How could QR codes be used to take employees instantly to guidance or training materials? And what about delivering innovation workshops virtually so employees from around the world can learn in unison. The online or ‘virtual’ space is also particularly useful for delivering cost effective and efficient innovation programmes and challenges as it more easily promotes collaboration and involvement. This helps when organisations want enterprise-wide participation in innovation and want to benefit from the ‘wisdom of crowds’ and latent knowledge, creativity and skills that in many cases lie hidden inside organisations. In terms of knowledge, learning and participation, mobile platforms also allow people to dip in and out when it suits them, ‘pausing’ their learning or contribution at any time. As we all know, creativity and resulting innovation cannot be summoned or delivered at the flick of a metaphorical switch so allowing flexible contribution, participation and learning is crucial for driving valuable innovation.

Also, using ‘virtual’ tools helps widen the input of insight, ideas and opportunities, especially around innovation challenges and solving problems. That ‘wider’ input can be used by all participants to evolve and iterate ideas so they become fully rounded and scale up. This is essentially what designers do through the design process in terms of sketching, re-designing, mock-ups and small-scale development prototyping.

The truth is that people have moved on from quill pens and into the digital age so isn’t it about time that organisations stepped up? Ofcom research recently revealed that digital news is now more popular than reading newspapers. Millennials are increasingly looking for a blended lifestyle and BYOD is on the rise. To ignore mobile learning is to ignore progress and we all know where that approach leads! 

Innovation is one thing; building a culture of innovation is something else again.  Collaborative and adaptable, delivering exceptional customer experiences and game changing performance it could almost be said that mobile learning and innovation culture go hand in hand.

Every organisation needs to be driving innovation-led growth but few actually do. If you want to be one of the few and a ‘Next Generation Organisation’ and you’ve got a question ask Cris on [email protected] or visit www.crisbeswick.com for more information.