Imagine being stranded on a desert island. One of the first things that you would probably do is look for company. Science has proven again and again what Aristotle once said about us: “Man is by nature a social animal.” We tend to believe that we can overcome any adversity as long as we do not have to face it alone, and we learn a lot from our interactions with others.
When we’re young, we learn by observing people in our families. At our jobs, we work alongside and observe our peers to learn more effective and efficient ways of working. In our personal lives, we subscribe to our favorite online channels and follow our favorite blogs to learn new ideas about cooking or gardening or writing. We watch videos to learn creative hacks and sign up for online classes to learn new languages. Basically, we are learning “socially” almost continuously.
What is social learning?
Social learning is the continuous process of learning by observing and imitating other people. When we observe other people’s actions, ask questions, and share knowledge resources, we are engaging in social learning.
In a corporate setting, social learning echoes the 70:20:10 learning framework, which suggests that 70% of an individual’s learning occurs through on-the-job experiences, 20% through peer interactions, and 10% via traditional classroom techniques.
Why do businesses see a need for social learning?
Members of the global workforce are constantly connected to networks of friends and acquaintances. They are more likely to learn new information from a forwarded message on a social media platform than from a formal course. They expect learning to be collaborative, online, and personalized and to include the use of cutting-edge technologies. Using an on-demand approach, social learners get the exact information they need exactly when they need it to complete a task. As young members enter the global workforce, investing in social learning could prove to be a turning point for many businesses.
How can organizations enable social learning?
Businesses that champion social learning encourage their employees to engage in conversation and collaboration. Technologies—including online collaborative platforms for sharing information; “gamified” learning experiences; virtual reality simulations; and learning management systems that include video-capability, scores, and lesson responses—can make social learning happen in real time. For example, hospitals can use virtual reality simulators to record a surgical procedure being performed by an expert surgeon and then use the simulation to teach students.
Gamified learning can be implemented using mobile games that learners can use to learn, for instance, the different steps involved in safety harness checks. The game may require them to learn the fundamentals of a typical harness safety check, and then test if they have got all the steps right by throwing an avatar off a building. Platform-based learning systems are gradually incorporating machine learning algorithms that tailor learning content based on the learner’s responses.
In addition to technological means, organizations can invest in various non-technological means to implement social learning. For example, an organization could organize role-playing sessions where colleagues participate in real-life scenarios and solve problems together, working through disagreements and differences of opinion in a “safe” setting. This type of session could bring to light less-than-ideal behaviors and give colleagues the chance to address these behaviors respectfully, providing an opportunity for listening and learning. As a follow-up, each employee could be assigned a partner and together, these couples can track each other’s progress and help change behaviors. Another example of non-technological means to implement social learning could be a corporate mentorship program. Such a system may lead to employees modeling good behaviors and practices that they observe in their leaders and mentors. The system could even be incentivized by rewarding employees who successfully model positive behaviors and encouraging other employees to try harder.
Organizations can use social learning to improve corporate culture and promote workplace collaboration. By nature, we humans are social beings who want and need to belong to a group. When encouraged through social learning, members of the current workforce are likely to develop into learners who can assist and be supported by other learners. This, in turn, will give them a sense of belonging and motivate them to inspire others.
