Taking peer-to-peer learning to the next level as fast-paced modern workplace demands a constant skills reboot

Award-winning collective TBWA\South Africa says education and learning need to become key pillars of growth for the economy to thrive - but this requires corporate SA to do more to keep its staff at the cutting edge of digital change and development.

Sean Donovan

"One of our key jobs as leaders throughout the business is to make sure we consciously create and promote an environment that gives our team-mates opportunities to grow and to support them as they take advantage of these opportunities. Education and learning programmes are a key pillar of this approach, and we have worked hard to develop a comprehensive programme of structured as well as peer-to-peer learning opportunities," says Sean Donovan Group CEO of TBWA\SA.

The company recently piloted and launched its own proprietary e-Learning platform called D\Learn (or Disruption\Learn). The platform was developed by TBWA\SA and is now being deployed across other offices in the TBWA\ Global Collective.

According to Donovan, developing and launching this cutting edge platform provides growth opportunities "at a scale that physical event-based teaching can’t provide". It also offers the benefit of making learning easier for time-pressed team-mates as they access the course material at a time and pace that suits them individually.

The rapid development and deployment of D\Learn was enabled by TBWA\SA Regional Head of Data and Digital, David Uribe’s experience as a founder of smartBeemo, one of Latin America’s leading eLearning Platforms.

Initial course content focuses on entrenching the building blocks for the future that TBWA\SA have put in place over the past 18 months – group wide digitization, data driven creativity, strategic consultancy and fit-for-purpose content generation. Course content is developed and presented by subject matter experts across the Global TBWA\ Collective, many of whom are recognised amongst global leaders in their fields.

Melissa Daniels

"What’s been a really pleasant surprise is the interest that has been shown in D\Learn beyond its original intentions," says Melissa Daniels, Chief of Staff of TBWA\SA and project lead for D\Learn. "We developed the platform for use within our TBWA\ collective in South Africa but have received requests for access from offices around the world including Russia, Ireland, India, Turkey and the US to name a few. What’s especially gratifying is that clients are showing interest as a means to upskill their staff."

D\Learn will also fit into TBWA\’s education led social initiatives like its Room 13 programme, giving schools it sponsors access to the platform to augment the teaching learners receive and assist in providing content beyond the current curriculum.

"Education should never stop and as digital complexity increases, it is imperative corporate South Africa steps up and does more to ensure it is not left behind. We need to ensure that the advice we provide to businesses keeps pace with change and exceeds expectations," concludes Donovan.