The Power of the Lunch-n-Learn

Over the years, I have been keeping track of the various learning opportunities out there, as I know that while an employer is responsible for a job, I myself am personally responsible for my career. Being in the ever-changing field of technology, I need to stay up on what's going on around me. I need to look out for me, and being a mentor to some amazing up-and-coming talent, I am going to share some of my resources here.

One of the ways I take advantage of learning about new technologies is through lunch-n-learns.

What is a Lunch-n-Learn?

As the name suggests, a lunch-n-learn is a session where attendees can eat lunch and learn about a new topic. Typically, employees are responsible for their own lunch; however, companies may provide lunch if there is a special occasion. The speaker may be someone within in the company or an outside speaker. Since lunch-n-learns are typically done in a lunch period, topics are typically short tidbits of knowledge. Sometimes, lunch-n-learns are sessions where multiple people deliver lightning talks - 5-10 minute talks on something they are passionate about. Lunch-n-learns could also be a single speaker spending up to an hour on a topic.

What topics are good for lunch-n-learns?

Since attendees are typically eating while learning, you want topics that are easy to digest. Some topics may include:

• Intro to JavaScript Testing with Jasmine
• Responsive Web Development - Why You Should Care
• SQL Profiler - How to Troubleshoot Unhappy SQL Servers
• NoSQL vs SQL - Understanding the Data Appoaches
• Behavior Driven Development - Getting the Business More Involved in the Development Process
• DevOps - How IT and Developers Can Happily Work Together

Where should a lunch-n-learn be hosted?

Host it some place that is conducive to presentations. I have participated in lunch-n-learns as small as a break room to as large as a cafeteria. Each place tailors their lunch-n-learn locations based on topics and resource availability. For example, if there is a lot of interest in DevOps and a larger conference room is available, then the lunch-n-learn is held there. However, if there is little interest in an advanced debugging tool, then the lunch-n-learn would be held in a smaller room.

Who is responsible for organizing the lunch-n-learns?

It depends on the company's ecosystem. In a company with self-organizing teams, there may be a couple team members who will step up to lead the lunch-n-learn initiative. In a more structured company, managers, team leads, or even senior members may take the lead in organizing the events.

What are the benefits of lunch-n-learns?

Lunch-n-learns can be beneficial in many ways:

• Teammates start to learn more from each other and understand each other better, especially if teammates are the presenters.
• It's an hour where employees are learning about things that typically can increase their productivity and/or creativity.
• It's an affordable way of providing training to employees in a relaxed environment.
• It's a way to encourage employees to learn and share their knowledge with others.

Implement lunch-n-learns today, and you'll reap the rewards. Not sure how to get these started in your company? I can help you with that! Email me at sarah@cletechconsulting.com.