The growth of available online learning programmes has created a wide range of new ways for global organizations to train their staff effectively. Previously, global training entailed substantial costs for organizations – costs that had to be endured if the knowledge and skills of the workforce were to be updated. In this context, virtual ‘communities of learning’, defined as groups of people engaging in the collaborative learning and reflective practice involved in transformative learning, are of increasing interest for global organizations because of their potential usefulness in workplace practice and training. This article examines how a community of learning has been developed and implemented for 174 staff from 81 offices worldwide of a large international organization by facilitating the collaborative exchange of knowledge and experience. Based on the participants' perceptions, several key insights are provided that should be taken into account when engaging in community of learning initiatives.
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