What are communities of practice? How can they help drive productivity and improve organizational performance? What are the key success factors? In this guide I will examine what CoPs are and how they have come about, as well as their role in learning and development today, and in driving organizational success. Furthermore, drawing on my experience at Cegos I will provide guidance on some of the key factors for setting up successful and sustainable CoPs in Asia.

1. COMMUNITIES OF
PRACTICE: A GUIDE TO
THE BUSINESS BENEFITS
FOR ASIAN COMPANIES
What are communities of
practice? How can they help
drive productivity and improve
organizational performance?
What are the key success factors?
Jeremy Blain, Director,
Managing Director, Cegos Asia Pacific. 1

2. CONTENTS
Page
3 1. INTRODUCTION
6 2. MARKET CONTEXT – THE KEY DRIVERS
10 3. THE BENEFITS OF COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
12 4. KEY FACTORS FOR SUCCESSFUL
IMPLEMENTATION
14 5. THE EVOLUTION OF COPS AND BEST PRACTICE
EXAMPLES
18 6. CONCLUSIONS
19 7. REFERENCES
20 8. ABOUT CEGOS GROUP
21 9. ABOUT JEREMY BLAIN
© Cegos Group, 2011/2012

3. 1. INTRODUCTION
While the term “Community of Practice” (CoP) was coined relatively recently,
“
Communities of
practice are groups
the phenomenon, which centers on proactive collective learning, has been
around as long as people have learnt and worked effectively together. Today of people who share a
a growing number of people and organizations across the world from different
concern or a passion
sectors and environments are now focusing on the concept as a key to
improving their performance. for something they do
and learn how to do it
In this guide I will examine what CoPs are and how they have come about,
as well as their role in learning and development today, and in driving better as they interact
organizational success. Furthermore, drawing on my experience at Cegos I
regularly.
will provide guidance on some of the key factors for setting up successful and
sustainable CoPs in Asia.
Communities of Practice: The Characteristics ”
Etienne Wenger, 2006
According to social learning theorist Etienne Wenger, communities of practice
are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in
a shared domain of human endeavor: a tribe learning to survive, a band
of artists seeking new forms of expression, a group of engineers working
on similar problems, a network of surgeons exploring novel techniques, a
gathering of first-time managers helping each other cope.
In essence, a CoP is a group of individuals with a common area of
responsibility, or similar interests, united by a joint desire to develop and grow
by sharing ideas and best practices.
Wenger cites three key characteristics – a domain, community and practice –
which are required to distinguish a CoP from other groups and communities
such as workplace discussion groups or departmental teams.
The domain: A community of practice is more than a club of friends or a
network of connections between people. It has an identity defined by a
shared domain of interest. Membership therefore implies a commitment to the
domain, and therefore a shared competence that distinguishes members from
other people.
The community: In pursuing their interest in their domain, members engage in
joint activities and discussions, help each other, and share information. They
build relationships that enable them to learn from each other.
The practice: Members of a community of practice are practitioners. They
develop a shared repertoire of resources: experiences, stories, tools, ways of
addressing recurring problems – in short a shared practice. This takes time
and sustained interaction.
3
© Cegos Group, 2011/2012

4. Communities of practice are found the world over and come in a variety of
different shapes and sizes, usually focused on learning and building capacity.
Well documented examples include learning networks such as ASTD
(the world’s largest professional association dedicated to the training and
“
Some CoPs are
formally recognized
development field), technology clubs, and technology programs which are run
by companies such as Microsoft for example. within organizations
and have a dedicated
ASTD Global HRD Community of Practice budget, while others
are completely
informal.
Through the world’s largest training and development platform, ASTD
reaches professionals on six continents and more than 80 countries.
The Global HRD CoP has been set up for professionals around the
”
world to share regional best practices, conduct global benchmarking,
and discuss cross culture and global talent development issues. A wide
range of content is available in Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Arabic, and
many other languages. With ongoing support the community continues
to grow providing a valuable tool for its members to connect, learn and
share.
Microsoft Innovative Teachers Programme
The Microsoft Innovative Teachers Programme is an online CoP with the
aim of creating a community of teachers who learn from and inspire each
other. It supports IT innovation and best practice in schools and helps
teachers use technology to connect and collaborate with colleagues,
by providing training on and access to e-resources that integrate ICT
into the learning process. Key programme aims include continuing
professional development, managing the online sharing of knowledge,
sharing innovation through virtual classroom tours, establishing online
communities to help teachers exchange information and creating best
practice examples of how technology can be used in education.
At one end of the scale CoPs are local with members limited to a single
organization primarily interacting face-to-face while more complex set ups
include global networks that mainly come together online and may span a
number of different organizations. Some CoPs are formally recognized within
organizations and have a dedicated budget, while others are completely
informal.
The emergence of CoPs within businesses can come from a variety of
activities such as the need to solve a specific problem – “Can we brainstorm
some ideas to progress the development of this product?”; for gaining insight
and experience – “Does anybody have experience of working with a customer
in this region?”; and to map knowledge and identify skills gaps – “Who knows
what within our organization, and what skills are we missing?”
4
© Cegos Group, 2011/2012

5. One of the key benefits of CoPs is their dynamic nature and the fact that
! KEY
learning and knowledge transfer is not limited to individuals at any particular
level of the organization but occurs among everyone involved. While CoPs
tend to be driven by a whole range of different individual and organizational
needs, what they typically have in common is their ability to play a pivotal role
POINTS
in informal learning strategies and in helping organizations to move beyond Some defining traits of
more formal organizational and training structures and techniques. CoPs:
They are peer-to-peer
Asian Development Bank collaborative networks
They are driven by the
willing participation of their
members
They are focused on
ADB introduced the concept of CoPs when it reorganised in 2002 and learning and building
these received a boost in 2009 when ADB empowered them under capacity
Action Plan for Knowledge Management, 2009 – 2011. ADB-hosted
CoPs: They are engaged in
sharing knowledge,
• Promote innovative approaches to address specific development developing expertise, and
opportunities solving problems
• Develop, capture, and transfer good practices on specific topics
by stimulating the active generation and sharing of knowledge They can operate
• Link diverse groups of practitioners from different disciplines and regardless of geographical
are thus intertwined with ADB’s organisational structure location
• Serve as an ongoing learning venue for staff (and outside
practitioners) who share similar goals, interests, problems, and They can be reinforced
approaches through leverage of
• Respond rapidly to individual inquiries from members and ADB collaborative tools and
clients, audiences, and partners with specific answers technologies
5
© Cegos Group, 2011/2012

6. 2. MARKET CONTEXT – THE KEY DRIVERS
In this section I look at the key drivers for CoPs in today’s global business
“
The global economic
slowdown and
environment and specifically in Asia.
now slow return to
Without doubt, informal learning tools such as CoPs are becoming an
growth have shined
increasingly important part of today’s business and learning strategies for
organizations worldwide. the spotlight on
the importance of
Research by industry analysts Bersin & Associates shows that more than
80% of corporate learning now occurs through informal approaches such as maximizing the value
coaching, mentoring, communities of practice, use of expert directories, and
of L&D budgets.
social networking. Those organizations that have begun to ‘formalize’ informal
learning and have integrated it with more traditional learning techniques to
create the perfect blend of learning for today’s learner centric workplace are
achieving the greatest impact from their learning programs.
There are a number of factors driving the uptake of informal learning tools and
”
CoPs – from economic benefits, globalization and the rise of technology, to
the changing dynamics of the workplace and the war for talent.
Economic benefits
The global economic slowdown and now slow return to growth have shined
the spotlight on the importance of maximizing the value of L&D budgets. While
Asia has not suffered to the same extent as the United States and Europe,
the ongoing Eurozone crisis has impacted growth in Asia. With slower growth
rates than predicted, companies are increasingly focused on getting the
maximum ‘bang for their buck’ from their training programs and are looking to
adopt more flexible and cost-efficient learning tools.
More so than ever before, there is a need for learning to be integrated into
employees’ day-to-day activities to ensure they remain productive and
focused on core activities rather than spending too much time away from the
workplace on off-site training courses.
The low cost of establishing and maintaining CoPs, combined with their
flexibility to be embedded into daily workplace activities such as problem
solving make them a strong economic option in the current business climate.
The rise of technology
In today’s global multi-cultural 24/7 business environment, the rise of
technology is enabling ‘learning-on-demand’, allowing people to learn
‘anywhere, anytime’, as well as helping to foster greater networking,
collaboration and community access. It is also having an enormous impact
on the bottom line by reducing costs from training away-days and enabling
greater productivity through collective learning and collaboration in areas such
as product development and customer services.
Over the past few years, the rise of the internet, faster and cheaper
telecommunications infrastructures and the proliferation of smartphones and
tablet computers have helped drive the uptake of CoPs in Asia, albeit many
companies are still very much exploring this tool as a learning technique.
This increased adoption of technologies and potential for the future is evident
in Asia if we look at their internet usage rates according to Internet World Stats. 6
Figure 1 shows that nearly a billion Asians use the internet. While Figure 2 shows
only a 24% penetration rate, it is worth noting that this is changing rapidly as
better infrastructure is rolled out, tighter controls around IP are implemented, and
wider applications to how technology is used continue to emerge. © Cegos Group, 2011/2012

7. “
Asia 922.3
Europe 476.2
Of key importance
North America 272.1
too is the changing
Latin America / Caribbean 215.9 demographics of
Africa 110.9 the workforce which
Middle East 68.6
is evident across
Asia and indeed
Oceania / Australia 21.3
globally. There are
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
currently four different
Millions of users
generations working
Source: Internet World Stat – www.internetworldststa.com/stats.htm
Estimated internet users are 2,095,006,005 on March 31, 2011.
Copyright © 2011, Miniwatts Marketing Group side by side...
Figure 1. Internet users in the world by geographic regions – 2011
North America 78.3%
”
Oceania / Australia 60.1%
Europe 58.3%
Latin America / Caribbean 37%
Middle East 31.7%
World, Avg. 30.2%
Asia 23.8%
Africa 11.4%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%º 80%
Penetration Rate
Source: Internet World Stat – www.internetworldststa.com/stats.htm
Penetration Rates based on a world population of 6,930,055,154
and 2,095,006,005 estimated internet users on March 31, 2011.
Copyright © 2011, Miniwatts Marketing Group
Figure 2. World Internet penetration rates by geographic regions – 2011
The changing dynamics of the workplace
Of key importance too is the changing demographics of the workforce which
is evident across Asia and indeed globally. There are currently four different
generations working side by side which fall into the following categories:
• Traditionalists born between 1925 and 1945 and tending to be
characterized by a sense of duty and loyalty;
• Baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 – many of whom are in
senior management positions today and tend to be more upwardly
mobile with a greater focus on advancement and status;
• Generation X born between 1965 and 1981 who often believe in the
values of resourcefulness and self-reliance; and 7
• Generation Y, or the Millennials, who born after 1982, tend to be highly
technology literate, are often positive and confident and are prepared to
challenge existing ideas.
© Cegos Group, 2011/2012

8. Today’s global information economy
CoPs have an increasingly important role to play in today’s global information
economy where knowledge is increasingly recognized as a crucial
“
Today’s teams tend
to be cross-cultural
differentiator in the marketplace.
and cross-functional
But managing, sharing and leveraging knowledge and skills is more
with individuals and
complicated than ever before due the global nature of business. Today’s
teams tend to be cross-cultural and cross-functional with individuals and subject matter experts
subject matter experts dispersed around the world so it is important to find
dispersed around the
efficient ways for these teams to maximize their potential.
world so it is important
Technology and social networking tools are providing platforms for informal
to find efficient ways
networks and CoPs which are helping to solve this knowledge management
issue and enable people in organizations to foster more effective and for these teams
collaborative means of working together thus leading to greater value being
to maximize their
generated.
potential.
The combination of these tools with techniques that enable greater
collaboration, such as agile development using scrum teams, is helping to
create organizations that are more dynamic and adaptable to change.
Last, yet by no means least, there is the skills and talent crisis. While this is
”
a global issue, industry figures show that the problem is particularly acute in
Asia, in particular in high growth markets such as India and China.
The ManpowerGroup 2011 Talent Shortage survey of 40,000 employers
across 39 countries reveals globally, that one in three (34%) employers have
reported experiencing difficulties filling positions due to lack of available talent
with 73% of respondents citing a lack of experience, skills or knowledge as
the primary reason. In comparison, 45% of Asia Pacific employers reported
difficulty filling job vacancies due to lack of available talent – a 4% increase
over 2010s figures. This is likely related to the fact that many of the countries
surveyed across Asia suffered less impact from the global economic
downturn. As a result they will have experienced an earlier, more robust
recovery and there are only so many qualified candidates available in the
market to meet the continued strong hiring expectation.
Figure 3 shows the extent of the problem in Asia with Japan and India both
reporting an increase in difficulty in 2011 compared to 2010. India shows the
most significant increase – up from 16% in 2010 to a staggering 67% in 2011
– which most likely stems from increased demand as the economy rebounds.
In China, organizations appear to be finding it less difficult to fill positions in
2011 than they did in the previous year.
8
© Cegos Group, 2011/2012

9. %
80%
8
! KEY
76%
2010
7 67%
6
2011
POINTS
52%
5 Key market drivers behind
4
40% 40% informal learning tools
31%
29%
such as CoPs include:
29% 29%
3
24% 23%
21% 20%
2 16%
Economic benefits
14% 15%
9%
1
Globalisation
0
The rise of technology
ce
na
a
ly
y
US
a
n
UK
an
ad
di
pa
Ita
an
hi
In
m
an
Ja
C
Fr
er
C
G
Learning on demand
Figure 3: Manpower Talent Shortage survey – Difficulties in filling positions
amongst largest global economies More effective
collaboration
When respondents were asked what strategies they were using to overcome
the difficulties filling positions in Asia, the most common response (17%) Changing workforce
was to provide extra training and development to existing staff. While this is demographics
encouraging, clearly an even greater investment needs to be made in L&D
to build a robust workforce for the future with informal learning tools such as The War for Talent
CoPs providing the ideal platform in conjunction with other learning tools to
upskill employees in the region.
When asked which position they find the most difficult to fill, employers in
the Asia Pacific region universally cited sales representatives. Indeed, sales
representatives have consistently remained the most difficult position to fill in
the region during the past seven years. In section 5 where I look specifically at
best practice examples of CoPs there is a good example of how a dedicated
learning program can achieve great results in terms of developing sales talent
from within the organization.
The human capital market in Asia today is clearly a ‘buyer’s market’ –
constantly challenging organizations to find the right strategies to attract,
develop and retain staff. It is perhaps no surprise then that 12% of the
Manpower survey respondents said that they were broadening their search
outside their local region. However, if talent starts to move from organizations’
multinational counterparts in the West on a larger scale than currently seen
today, this could lead to a mass ‘Talent Migration’ that no one is really
prepared for.
As this happens, the protection of talent becomes even more critical with L&D
strategies that fit seamlessly into day-to-day activities such as CoPs having a
key role to play in growing this talent into the Asian context, and supporting
long-term talent management and succession planning strategies.
In my recent white paper Blended Learning and its Applications for Asian
Companies Today I look at the implications of the movement of talent East in
greater detail.
So in summary, the lack of available talent in Asia combined with the
migration of skills from West to East highlights the need for a greater focus
on the development of employees, managers and leaders throughout Asian
organizations, domestically and through the absorption of international
staff from overseas. This ticking talent time bomb is driving the rise in 9
informal learning approaches and as a result more and more companies are
experimenting with CoPs. Also more and more learners are driving CoPs
out of necessity in order to raise their game and professional standing in the
marketplace. © Cegos Group, 2011/2012

10. 3. THE BENEFITS OF COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
CoPs have the potential to provide a whole host of benefits to organizations
“!
As austerity measures
continue to bite
across Asia, from both an L&D and broader business perspective such as
reduced costs and improved performance with the individual learner standing organizations must
to benefit greatly too. These key benefits largely stem from the community’s
be creative and
passion for learning and sharing work-related knowledge and the ability to
connect people across functional, divisional, organizational and geographic accountable in the ways
boundaries. While technology provides the infrastructure of modern day CoPs
that they develop and
and enables the connection of people regardless of location, the beating heart
of a CoP is the human interaction between its members, ensuring human retain their staff in these
capital is front and centre.
difficult times.
Cost and performance
Bersin & Associates 2011 Corporate TalentWatch® shows that reducing
costs is the number one challenge for organizations in 2012, cited by 42% of
”
organizations surveyed, with the next biggest challenge being expansion into
new markets, cited by 35% of respondents.
For companies today, the focus remains firmly on doing more with less while
ensuring that performance within the workplace is maximized. As austerity
measures continue to bite organizations must be creative and accountable in
the ways that they develop and retain their staff in these difficult times. CoPs
provide a low cost way of building knowledge and access to knowledge within
an organization, regardless of location with cost savings particularly evident
amongst global teams.
In addition, the collaborative culture brought about by CoPs can overcome
barriers in larger organizations where teams can have a silo mentality and can
lead to decisions being made more quickly, bringing benefits to the business
and customers. A collaborative culture is more efficient and innovative and helps
to build stronger bonds within and between companies which directly impacts
the bottom line.
CoPs represent a low-cost learning tool – one that is even more powerful and
has the potential to deliver a greater return on investment when implemented
as part of a blended learning program. Organizations need to carefully consider
their mix with technology enabled tools such as e-learning but also face-to-
face interventions such as coaching and classroom training for which there is a
strong cultural preference in many countries in Asia.
In today’s technology-driven workplace, we must not forget that the ‘human
touch’ remains key to engaging people as they work and learn. Indeed our
annual 2011 Learning Trends survey found that the human touch still remains
core to training today despite the rise in technology-led learning techniques.
Modern day CoPs represent a low-cost way of connecting people in a new way
that maximizes the use of technology for cross cultural and remote collaboration
yet maintains the essential human elements of communication and dialogue.
Dynamic informal learning for everybody, locally or globally
CoPs tend to be self-selected, autonomous and inclusive so every individual
‘member’ can benefit regardless of their location. They can address the tacit
and dynamic aspects of knowledge creation and sharing, as well as the more 10
explicit aspects. CoPs allow the individual learner to share their experiences and
learn from others spontaneously when they need to. This learning in real-time, in
a non-hierarchical way, from talent regardless of where an individual is located,
can help accelerate learning. © Cegos Group, 2011/2012

11. For the individual the benefits are numerous and include greater access to
! KEY
subject-matter experts and valuable information resources, as well as ongoing
professional development and helping the individual to remain at the forefront of
their discipline and gain confidence in their own expertise. POINTS
Members can access
Closing cross-generational skills gaps and share resources
regardless of location
As part of broader talent management and L&D strategies CoPs help
organizations harness the experience of older generation’s and close skills CoPs are a flexible
gaps by up-skilling younger generations. As mentioned earlier, this is important learning tool enabling
given the fact that so many Baby Boomers are due to retire during the course learning anytime,
of the next few years taking crucial knowledge and experience with them in anywhere
areas such as leadership and decision making.
CoPs can lower costs
How we engage today’s different generations is of great importance. CoPs of operation, increase
provide an effective means to harness the enthusiasm of the younger tech- efficiency and improve
savvy generations, providing a stimulating collaborative learning environment. customer service which
The autonomy of such learning tools can help people feel a valued part of are essential for a healthy
the team or company where their opinions count and are contributing to bottom line
the bigger picture and this in turn impacts productivity, staff retention and
organizational performance. CoPs have a key role to
play in solving problems
quickly and effectively,
Innovation and reduced re-invention developing professional
skills, influencing
CoPs help connect people to experts thus decreasing learning curves. They strategy, and in engaging
provide a safe and trusted environment for brainstorming that can help and retaining talented
stimulate idea creation and problem solving through thinking outside of the employees.
box which in turn leads to greater innovation in the workplace.
They also offer the advantage of reducing rework and prevent the ‘wheel
being reinvented’ all of the time. Indeed, research carried out by David R.
Millen, Michael A. Fontaine, and Michael J. Muller from IBM Research’s
Collaborative User Experience Group nearly a decade ago which explored
the benefits and costs of communities of practice within large, geographically
dispersed organizations, found that by far the most compelling benefits for
the organization was in the area of time savings. In particular, the key benefit
was the reduced time to perform information seeking and sharing tasks that
contributed to improved operational efficiency.
Relationship-building and networking
CoPs break down communication barriers among individuals from different
levels within an organization, different functions and different geographical
regions. This is particularly powerful for Asian companies seeking to bring
knowledge from West to East.
Their informal and dynamic nature based on continuous communication offers
a social environment ideal for building and nurturing relationships. CoPs can
also provide a strong networking platform.
Collective responsibility
CoPs can help tackle some of the toughest business problems. By promoting
collaboration, CoPs allow common outcomes to be achieved. They enable members 11
to take collective responsibility for managing the knowledge they need. Furthermore,
according to Wenger they create a direct link between learning and performance,
because the same people participate in them as in business teams and business
units. Collective responsibility leads to a more engaged and motivated workforce. © Cegos Group, 2011/2012

12. 4. KEY FACTORS FOR THE SUCCESSFUL
IMPLEMENTATION OF COPS “!
The first meeting should
introduce participants
The potential for CoPs in organizations is enormous, but their success hinges to the benefits of the
on a wide range of factors. Drawing on my experience at Cegos, in this
CoP and the roles and
section I focus on what basic ingredients are needed to establish productive
and sustainable communities of practice. responsibilities of the
key personnel.
Here are my 10 guiding principles for establishing a successful CoP in Asia:
1. Ensure there is a clear purpose
It is important to establish from the outset what your CoP will be used to do.
What problem or business issue will it address? It is worth developing a simple
‘manifesto’ defining the vision, rationale and scope with clearly stated goals
”
and success criteria. Make sure that the benefits are clearly identified for both
members and sponsors.
2. Identify participants
Get together a list of potential participants – think locally and globally. I find
it particularly useful to use a referral system where individuals are asked
if they can recommend others in the organization that would be valuable
participants. Also consider whether your CoP would benefit from a more
diverse membership to gain a different perspective. Remember to establish
expectations in terms of peoples’ time commitment.
3. Define key roles and responsibilities
Do not underestimate the power of the facilitator. This is a key role which need
not necessarily be one individual or indeed a subject expert. The facilitator
focuses on process and is responsible for understanding knowledge and
learning needs, designing and facilitating meetings, maintaining distribution
lists and working behind the scenes to maintain commitment and working as
a focal point both internally and for those outside the CoP.
The champion has a powerful role to play in communicating the benefits of
the CoP and engaging participants. The sponsor is largely responsible for
ensuring the CoP has the resources it needs to thrive and for monitoring
business outcomes.
4. Hold a kick-off meeting
The first meeting should introduce participants to the benefits of the CoP and
the roles and responsibilities of the key personnel. An important focus will be
to ensure all participants share a common understanding and vision for the
CoP. The first meeting should be all about building relationships, trust and
commitment. Given that many of the interactions are likely to be via email
or telephone, it can be very useful to kick-off with a face-to-face meeting
including a social activity.
5. Establish behaviors from the outset
If participants or the organization is new to this approach, you need to make
sure that you start as you mean to go on by engaging members in developing
good practice. This can cover, for example, a code of conduct or expectations
of responsiveness to queries. It can be useful to have to hand some seed
questions to stimulate discussion. The facilitator has a key role to play here in
pressing for answers behind the scenes.
12
© Cegos Group, 2011/2012

13. 6. Promote the CoP
!
SUMMARY:
Work with your marketing team to promote the CoP in internal and external
media/magazines. The more people who know about it the better. Try and
show how the CoP is helping employees to solve daily work challenges. In
the early stages advertise quick wins and publicize milestones as they are
CEGOS
achieved which will help build momentum and commitment. TEN STEP
7. Maintain connectivity
PLAN FOR
Success depends on maintaining and building on the relationships between
the participants of the CoP. It’s helpful to establish a blend of face-to-face and
SUCCESS
online activities which can be achieved by good active facilitation.
1. Ensure there is a clear
8. Monitor the effectiveness of the CoP purpose
The effectiveness of the CoP should be evaluated on an ongoing basis. 2. Identify participants
Consider metrics such as frequency of contribution/response, number of 3. Define key roles and
unanswered questions, and for larger networks the churn rate for participants. responsibilities
How can you improve activity? What techniques and approaches can you use 4. Hold a kick-off meeting
to make sure people remain engaged? 5. Establish behaviours
from outset
9. Review performance 6. Promote the CoP
How is the CoP delivering against its manifesto and key goals? What 7. Maintain connectivity
feedback do the participants have? Are there still regular examples of success 8. Monitor the
stories? Ensuring you have quantifiable evidence that the CoP is delivering effectiveness of the
against its objectives will help with ring-fencing further resources to ensure the CoP
CoP can continue to develop and meet future challenges. 9. Review performance
10. Test for continued
Measuring and demonstrating the value of a CoP is not always an easy relevance
process and there is much work to be done in this area. Cost savings can be
quantified in a number of ways by tracking expenses accumulated in training
new and existing employees for example, the time spent on group projects
and travel time that would have been spent seeking out advice from experts
and meeting with people.
10. Test for continued relevance
CoPs are dynamic and can last for as long or as short a time as their
members need them to exist as interests and issues shift and evolve.
Periodically re-evaluate the ‘business plan’ of the CoP. Should it continue, be
disbanded, redefined or sub-divided into new CoPs? CoPs require nurturing if
they are to remain valuable and viable over the course of their evolution.
Launching and sustaining a successful CoP requires thought and commitment
but with the right people, technology infrastructure and the steps outlined
above it can be one of the most effective ways to develop your knowledge
capital.
There are also key lessons we can learn from the software industry’s use
of agile development and from the Agile Manifesto – a statement of values
defined by a group of software developers which originally formed in 2001.
Through their work, they have come to value individuals and interactions
over processes and tools; collaborative technology over documentation;
collaboration with the customer – the end user – over contract negotiations;
and the all important ability and flexibility in responding to change rather than
adhering rigidly to an existing plan. More details of this can be found in my
“Informal Networks – How they are changing the World of Work” white paper.
Any embracing of CoPs must inevitably lead to a culture change within an
organisation. Going back to the Agile Manifesto, there needs to be a paradigm
shift away from processes and tools towards individuals and interactions and 13
an increased flexibility and agility within an organisation.
© Cegos Group, 2011/2012

14. 5. THE EVOLUTION OF COPS AND BEST PRACTICE
EXAMPLES “!
Early efforts to manage
knowledge were
The CoP concept is being applied to some degree in virtually every business underpinned by large
today with government organizations, educational institutions, professional
information systems,
associations and other broader society initiatives all realizing benefits from this
approach to learning and knowledge management. many of which failed
to make a significant
It is perhaps not surprising that it is within the business sector that CoPs have
gained the most ground. Why? This largely comes down to recognition among impact.
businesses that knowledge is a critical asset that needs to be managed
strategically.
Early efforts to manage knowledge were underpinned by large information
systems, many of which failed to make a significant impact. CoPs provided
”
a refreshingly new approach through their focus on people rather than
technology, with social interaction enabling learning and knowledge to be
transferred through greater collaboration. Arguably technology does play a
pivotal role today in CoPs, however its’ core role is in creating an infrastructure
that enables the people who use it to connect, communicate and interact. It
is not the be-all and end-all in the way that knowledge management systems
were created and rolled out back in the 80s and 90s.
CoPs have grown up around the rise of informal networks and in the context
of today’s virtual organization. You can find more information on both of these
themes in two further white papers I have written entitled “Informal Networks –
How They are Changing the World of Work” and “The Rise of Virtual Learning”.
So how are CoPs evolving today globally, and what challenges do they bring?
As I mentioned earlier in this paper, in the past few years we have seen
a shift in effort and investment towards informal learning. This has been
accompanied by the need to ‘formalize’ the more collaborative approaches to
learning in order to drive value and achieve measurable business results.
As the worldwide economy slowly recovers, organizations and their HR,
learning and talent development teams remain firmly grounded in cost-
containment but are now starting to shift their focus towards innovation and
growth and this is shaping the evolution of CoPs. CoPs are becoming an
increasingly important part of informal learning and blended learning strategies
today with more and more local companies in Asia exploring their potential.
Many organizations leading the way in this field are indeed International
companies with the need to build and share knowledge globally being a key
driver. Much can be learnt from such companies.
Grant Thornton, Underwriters Labs and JetBlue Airways are all good examples
of companies that have closely integrated CoPs into their L&D strategies –
the latter being an example of a company that has taken CoPs a step further
than many organizations by inviting trainers from other airlines to join their
CoP. These three companies all feature in Bersin and Associates’ Learning
Leaders® 2011 research-driven program which recognizes innovation and
excellence in critical areas of corporate training and talent management.
14
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15. Grant Thornton
“!
CoPs are becoming
more and more
Grant Thornton LLP is the US operation of Grant Thornton International, sophisticated as
the global accounting, tax and business advisory organisation which
organizations gain more
employs more than 30,000 employees globally and serves public and
private clients in more than 100 countries. experience in integrating
them into the fabric of
Grant Thornton is using CoPs for continued learning as part of its
innovative learning and leadership development initiative called LEADS. their business.
LEADS’ mission is to develop leaders who live the organisation’s
global vision and values, excel in client service and technical expertise,
develop the firm’s people and support continuous leadership
development. ”
One of its most visible and impactful programmes is a live three day
sales simulation event for senior managers. The CoP is used alongside
regular-scheduled online learning events as a follow-up to the event to
help embed key learnings in the workplace.
Underwriters Laboratories
Underwriters Laboratories is an independent product safety certification
organisation that has been testing products and writing standards for
safety for more than a century. To keep pace with its organic growth
rate, in 2009 the company had a pressing requirement to recruit and
train around 1,000 product safety engineers throughout 19 countries
within three years.
This was made possible through a blended learning programme and
‘boot camp’ with the Underwriters Laboratories University’s knowledge
management system providing support for informal and collaborative
learning through online communities, blogs for Q&A, wikis, and a global
community of experts.
Year over year, the product safety engineer training programme has
met or exceeded the goal of cutting the speed to qualification, and
therefore speed to productivity, by 50% compared to the instructor-
led apprenticeship model it previously relied on. The online CoPs have
played a key role in facilitating knowledge-sharing.
CoPs are becoming more and more sophisticated as organizations gain more
experience in integrating them into the fabric of their business.
According to Josh Bersin, one of the key challenges facing organizations
today is not only rethinking how learning content is developed and consumed,
but rethinking how a company works as a set of business communities and
designing learning and development solutions that fit each community’s 15
needs. Two companies that are beginning to embrace this approach are Intel
and Lufthansa.
© Cegos Group, 2012

16. A community-based learning approach to develop female
engineers at Intel “!
Lufthansa’s innovative
approach of developing
people to support
their own communities
The role of women in the workforce has dramatically changed in the last 10
years. Today, more than 58 percent of graduates are women and many leading and giving them the
organisations like HP, IBM and PepsiCo now have female executives at the
helm. Corporate programmes that attract, develop and support women have a
freedom and action
crucial role to play in winning the war for talent. plans to implement
Intel recognised that there is still a subtle bias against women in technical
solutions within their
roles in many parts of the world. Rather than simply train managers on the community has helped
role of women and how to counter gender bias, Intel proactively set up 32
community chapters called the Women at Intel network, empowering women
drive significant
to work together as a local community and learn from each other. improvements in
Corporate HR and learning and development teams have helped to build and
operational execution
support these communities with infrastructure, communications and training, and has resulted in
but ultimately it is the communities themselves which surface cultural,
training or leadership issues that must be addressed.
greater engagement
and career growth
throughout the
Lufthansa – Developing people to support their own communities organisation.
Lufthansa’s Coaching Ourselves programme gives high-potential leaders a
”
set of high-value coaching skills and formal leadership development and is
designed to change the organisation itself not just the people it trains.
With over 100,000 employees and internal communities in place among
service agents, finance, IT and country operations teams, a key goal of the
corporate HR department was to empower these communities to improve
leadership, internal coaching, knowledge sharing and development.
Lufthansa developed a highly blended training programme for high potentials,
teaching them how to coach themselves with the goal of working on projects
that are very specific to their own communities using the skills they learned
through the programme.
One team addressed the problem – “If only Lufthansa knew what Lufthansa
knew” – by creating an active social network that put in place a formal
programme for sharing best-practices, and the programme was replicated
across different countries using country-specific approaches and tools.
Lufthansa’s innovative approach of developing people to support their own
communities and giving them the freedom and action plans to implement
solutions within their community has helped drive significant improvements
in operational execution and has resulted in greater engagement and career
growth throughout the organisation.
16
© Cegos Group, 2012

17. As I mentioned earlier, many of the best examples of CoPs which we can learn
from come from large multinational organizations that are using the concept
to unite learning among teams across the world. However, it is important to
remember that there will always be local issues and nuances that need to be
“!
...it is important to
remember that there
taken into account given today’s multi-cultural workplace and that success will
often be dictated by the ability to find the right approach in the local context. will always be local
issues and nuances that
In Singapore for example, HCS (Human Capital Singapore Academy) the
national CET centre for HR WSQ competency-based training, has received need to be taken into
support from the Workforce Development Agency to create 12 CoPs across
account given today’s
six industries in the Human Resources profession to pilot CoP concepts for
professional fraternities. multi-cultural workplace
and that success will
The aim of the pilot project is to adapt general CoP ideas to work in the
professional context in Singapore to develop an additional approach to often be dictated by the
professional learning and knowledge development. Experience has shown
ability to find the right
that finding the right approach in the Singapore context has not been easy
and will require considerable time and effort. However, HCS believes that the approach in the local
rewards will easily justify the investment for everyone involved and will enable
context.
organizations to compete more effectively.
”
17
© Cegos Group, 2012

18. 6. CONCLUSIONS
Without doubt, CoPs have a valuable role to play in today’s L&D strategies
“!
Those companies that
nurture their CoPs, use
with CoPs clearly offering the potential to deliver many key benefits to
individual users, teams and the overall business on a local and global scale. them as part of broader
CoPs are all about connecting people who have a passion to learn and drive
blended learning
the business forward. They provide the perfect antidote to the economic crisis
which has resulted in a reduced focus on L&D and employee engagement, programs and truly
while providing a catalyst for change and growth to create a more agile and
integrate them within
enduring business for the future.
the culture and structure
While much progress has been made in this area in the past few years, I
of their businesses are
believe we will see an even greater shift towards the application of CoPs
in Asia and around the world in the next five years as innovation becomes most likely to reap a
an ever more essential factor in helping to win the war for talent. Those
return on investment in
companies that nurture their CoPs, use them as part of broader blended
learning programs and truly integrate them within the culture and structure the years to come.
of their businesses are most likely to reap a return on investment in the
years to come.
”
18
© Cegos Group, 2012

19. 7. REFERENCES
ADB (Asian Development Bank), http://www.adb.org/site/knowledge-
management/communities-of-practice/effectiveness
ASTD – State of the Industry Report, 2010, http://www.astd.org
!
Bersin and Associates, http://www.bersin.com
Cegos – Blended Learning and its Applications for Asian Companies Today,
Jeremy Blain, http://www.cegos.com
Cegos – Informal Networks – How They are Changing the World of Work,
Jeremy Blain, http://www.cegos.com
Cegos – The Rise of Virtual Learning, Jeremy Blain, http://www.cegos.com
Communities of Practice Lave and Wenger, http://www.learning-theories.com/
communities-of-practice-lave-and-wenger.html
Elearning! magazine, http://www.2elearning.com/www/magazine/articles/
single-news-article/article/learning-leaders-focus-of-winners-is-changing.html
Etienne Wenger, http://www.ewenger.com
HCS Human Capital Singapore Academy, http://www.hcs.com.sg
Grant Thornton LLP, http://www.grantthornton.com
Intel, http://www.intel.com
Internet World Stats, http://www.internetworldstats.com
JetBlue Airways, http://www.jetblue.com
Lufthansa, http://www.lufthansa.com
ManPower Group, http://us.manpower.com/us/en/multimedia/2011-Talent-
Shortage-Survey.pdf
Microsoft, http://www.microsoft.com/uk/education/teachers/innovative-
teachers.aspx
Morgan Stanley, http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1018583.shtml
The World Bank, http://www.worldbank.org
UBS, http://www.ubs.com/global/en/about_ubs/media/asiapacific/releases.
html
Understanding the Benefits and Costs of Communities of Practice – David R.
Millen, Michael A. Fontaine, and Michael J. Muller
Underwriters Labs, http://www.ul.com
19
© Cegos Group, 2012

20. 8. ABOUT CEGOS GROUP
Cegos, Europe’s largest training organization, is one of the major International
players across the Asia Pacific region, based at its HQ in Singapore, and with
operations in China and Hong Kong. A network of region-wide Most Valued
!
Partners, and Collaborators, ensures Cegos can support Client training and
development anywhere, in any language, consistently and with a truly “Think
Global / Learn Local” approach – meaning Cegos is experienced at driving
training in the Asian context, not just in the context of the origin country /
company.
The Cegos Group was founded in 1926 in France, and is one of the world
leaders in professional training for managers and their teams. In 2011, the
Cegos Group achieved a turnover of SGD300 million and trained more than
200,000 managers internationally.
www.cegos.com.sg
www.elearning-cegos.com
www.cegos.com.cn
For more details, debate or discussion, please contact: jeremy.blain@cegos.
com.sg or + 65 9069 3291
20
© Cegos Group, 2012

21. 9. ABOUT JEREMY BLAIN
!
Jeremy Blain is Managing Director for Cegos, Asia Pacific, where he heads up
Cegos’s Region-wide operations and activities from the company’s Singapore
hub.
Prior to this, Jeremy was responsible for Cegos’ strategy for international
expansion through a value adding Global Distribution Partners Network.
An L&D entrepreneur responsible for growing Cegos’ business worldwide
through his various roles within the company, Jeremy has 10 years experience
in the industry as a managing director, partner, trainer, coach and program
author. In previous roles at Procter and Gamble, Pepsico and as CEO of his
own business, Jeremy’s background includes marketing, sales, operations
and account management.
As one of Cegos’ senior executives, Jeremy is a frequent international
conference speaker and media commentator on topics related to the global
L&D market. Themes include: the integration of emerging and informal
learning technologies; the importance of performance measurement and
proving ROI; developing ‘core’ leadership, management and commercial skills
to achieve competitive business advantage; and change management and
how to implement successful international training strategies.
For more details, debate or discussion, you can find Jeremy on LinkedIn
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/jeremyblain and also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/
learntheplanet
Jeremy has also published a series of white papers on issues relevant to L&D.
These are still current and available, and include:
• Blended Learning and its Applications for Asian Companies Today,
March 2012
• Developing Multicultural Leadership and Management Skills in Today’s
Increasingly Globalised Workplace, November 2011
• Global Themes & Trends – European, US and Brazilian Comparisons on
the Key Drivers and Issues in L&D Today, October 2011
• Learning in the Cloud – Opportunities & Threats, September 2011
• Cegos/ASTD global learning trends research: A comparison between
what is happening among learners today and the perceptions of
learning professionals, July 2011
• Training Today, Training Tomorrow – An Analysis of Learning Trends
Across Europe and Global Comparisons, May 2011.
• Corporate Philanthropy: How Strategies are Changing and How Cegos
is Helping to Make an Impact, May 2011
• The Rise of Virtual Learning, April 2011
• What has L&D Learned from the Economic Slowdown, March 2011
• Informal Networks – How They Are Changing the World of Work,
December 2010 21
• Exploring and Interpreting the Most Important Learning Trends across
the Globe’, May 2010
© Cegos Group, 2012