Seventy-three percent of the companies that were surveyed in a Brandon Hall study expected to increase their focus on social learning last year, which means that by this year most of them have probably already implemented their social learning strategies.
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And research by ATD discovered that “social learning approaches have a 75:1 ROI ratio over web-based training.” So, to remain competitive and have successful learning and development programs, you’ll want to consider implementing social learning this year, too.
Here’s more information about why you should implement social learning this year.
It Increases Learner Engagement
When learners can casually ask questions and answer others’ questions about their learning material, they remain more engaged in their learning experiences because they are being active participants in their learning experiences.
If they interact with other learners or instructors in augmented reality or virtual reality environments in real time, they’ll be even more engaged in their learning environments and experiences.
Overall, social learning provides learners with an opportunity to learn from others while also testing their own knowledge as they interact with others and try to coach them or answer their questions.
It Increases Positive Workplace Collaboration
When workers are more social in their learning experiences, they become better at collaborating on other work projects, too. Social learning environments offer safe spaces for employees to ask questions and improve their skills and knowledge without being criticized or belittled by their bosses or peers, which will bring about more transparent and open communications that make collaboration possible and productive.
It Works Well with Existing Mobile Learning Platforms
Social learning is easy to implement if you already have an existing mobile platform for your learners. Many mobile learning apps already offer spaces for learners to interact with their peers or instructors and offer spaces for learners to post or answer questions.
All you need to do is notify your learners of where and how they can interact with others or direct them to your online forum, etc., and they will be able to engage in social learning. Even if you have in-person training sessions, you’ll still want learners to interact with others on mobile platforms and apps outside of in-person sessions.
It’s Usually Flexible and Convenient
Because learners can engage in social learning whenever they want via your dedicated platform or app, it’s convenient and flexible for them to do so. Social learning strategies don’t typically make virtual interaction with others mandatory but certainly encourage it.
This makes social learning apps and platforms flexible learning spaces that aren’t rooted in deadlines, assessments, or demands—paving the way for learners to learn more naturally and in less stressful environments.
It’s Cost-Effective
Overall, implementing social learning is cost-effective because it doesn’t cost much or anything to implement if you already have mobile apps and platforms with community boards, message boards, etc. All you need to do is direct your learners toward where they should interact with others and engage with others about their learning material or where they should post their questions.
Social learning has many more benefits, too, in addition to what’s listed above. So, you’ll want to consider implementing it this year to remain competitive and to increase your learning programs’ ROI.