FAQ
The Peer Learning Institute has developed, engineered, and designed a unique management development program using peer learning groups that boost workplace performance and productivity within your organization that ultimately helps to drive profits.
Our program is engineered to be implemented on site with your managers at a fraction of the cost of traditional training. Research shows that peer learning is much more effective than both classroom and online training!
Compared to other alternatives out there, 90-minute sessions sound like a short period of time. However, the unique tool in our program enables your team to learn and understand new, useful knowledge more effectively and efficiently than ever before. What peer learning boils down to is not the amount of time spent in groups, but the focus, content and commitment to the learning that happens in these groups.
Peer learning groups add value to people who have gone through professional training by providing practice of the new skills. For example, you send an aspiring manager to an off-site training. When she comes back, she organizes a peer learning group and shares what she has learned and what others know about the topic. The other members of the peer learning group benefit from her knowledge. Then, all members of the peer group take time to practice and reflect on what they have learned. So, you do not replace existing training, you add and build upon it.
We are very happy to hear that your teams work together well. If this is true, you have ideal conditions for peer learning. Well-functioning and trusting groups are best positioned to learn from each other and create new knowledge and new practices.
Yes, having older and younger people on staff can be a challenge. Peer learning is very useful for inter-generational learning because each group brings what they know best. The older managers bring experience and knowledge, and the younger managers bring new ideas and new ways of looking at things. One of our core principles is equality, so we take care that the older managers do not dominate the discussions. We have designed an introductory module that helps the group members develop ground rules that ensure psychological safety and equality.
Virtual teams are very common in today’s world. The same results achieved by in-person groups can be achieved by virtual groups if they follow the same ground rules and principles.
No company is ever too small to improve their productivity to increase profits. Each peer learning group can only have up to 6 individuals anyway. This means your team will fit nicely into one group.
You certainly do not want people to just casually meet and chat during this time. This is why we have developed a specific structure for each session with a logical flow of activities. We’ve also incorporated tools that ensure accountability and results throughout every minute of every session and in-between sessions.
Absolutely! The program starts with an introductory workshop for in-company program coordinators, who we like to call peer learning champions. This 3-hour session will allow you to experience peer learning first-hand with other peers. Once you have participated in the peer learning group, you will be able to present it to others in your organization.
The group members report to you about what they learned, so that you know what you can expect them to be able to do better. They immediately put what they’ve learned into practice, so you can observe how well the program has worked. The participants’ personal accountability to perform well is bolstered by peer pressure from the other members of the group. We will help you assess the changes in knowledge, skills, and attitudes, changes in on-the-job behavior, and the changes in business impact variables.