4 Key Benefits of Social Learning at Workplace

L&D teams acknowledge the significance of collaborative learning. As a result, the measures that can foster this spirit are being increasingly being factored in corporate training delivery.

In this blog, I begin with the definition of Social learning and then move on to outlining its top 4 benefits. I hope that these pointers, will help you assess how adding Social Learning in your learning strategy can increase its impact.

What is Social Learning and how relevant is it for corporate training?

Put simply, Social Learning is learning with and from others.

While its significance and usage in corporate training is a relatively new concept; it is intrinsic to the way we learn.

• As children, we learn through observation as well as through our interactions with others.
• As we grow older, we add learning through collaboration (the group projects and assignments at school).
• During work, we are learning through the same approaches – during our interactions with peers or seniors over a cup of coffee or during a quick huddle of the project team.
• Let us not forget the interactions we continuously have on social media and the reading we do of the assets that we subscribe to or are shared by friends/colleagues.

The learning through collaboration always creates a positive impact and it comes as no surprise last few years have seen a momentum in its usage in corporate training.

Today, Social Learning platforms are available that offer a single source to learn, share, collaborate, mentor and coach. They also offer an avenue that can continuously be enriched by further a contribution from learners.

What are the key benefits that Social Learning offers for corporate training?

The Benefits of using Social Learning in the Workplace is directly linked to the way we learn. As we know, the learning happens through multiple channels and includes learning from on the job experiences, from others as well as through structured, formal training.

For instance, the 70/20/10 Model for Learning and Development pegs this as:

1. 70 percent of their learning from on-the-job experiences.
2. 20 percent of their knowledge from interactions with others.
3. 10 percent of the learning from structured or formal training.

From this, it is evident that Social Learning is an extremely crucial component of how we learn and should be leveraged heavily in the workplace.

Social Learning, when integrated effectively into your overall corporate training delivery offers following benefits to learners and business:

The benefits for the learners

1. Appeals to learners: Social learning is learner centric and aligns to the way we prefer to learn.
2. Appeals to millennials
3. Can create higher impact: Collaboration and interaction help learners learn better.
4. Offers flexibility in the application: Social learning can be used to support formal learning and more significantly to foster informal learning and “learning as a continuum”.

The benefits for the business

1. Facilitates learner engagement
2. Brings about self-organisation among learners
3. Triggers collaboration
4. Can be used to supplement various corporate training needs

I hope this blog provides the cues on what are the benefits of using Social Learning in the workplace. These pointers should help you in using this to enhance the impact of your corporate training. If you have any specific queries, do contact me at apandey@eidesign.net.

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Read More

• 5 Steps To Implement The Social Learning Strategy In Your Corporate Training
• How You Can Use Social Learning To Engage Your Learners
• How Can Social Learning Spice Up Your Existing Learning Strategy?
• Free eBook: How Can You Leverage Social Learning for Corporate Training