Social learning theory

In this article, you will learn about Social Learning theory and the advantages and disadvantages of applying this learning technique in your organisation. You will also read examples of ways you can integrate social learning into the workplace to encourage and improve success in your learning environment.

Discover:

• What is social learning?
• Main idea of social learning theory
• Components of social learning
• Social learning theories
  1. Early forms of social learning and social pedagogy
  2. Albert Bandura (1977)
  3. Lev Vygotsky’s social learning theory
  4. John Krumboltz (1976-1996)
• Advantages of social learning
• Disadvantages of social learning
• Social learning methods

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What is social learning?

Social learning is a concept automatically and instinctively applied by humans throughout their lives, which they implement from childhood in order to find their place in the world and society. Fundamental beliefs and worldviews, such as gender roles, religion, political views, and self-worth, are initially shaped through social learning. This happens by observing how those around us react to different opinions.

Main idea of social learning theory

Social learning is learning by observing other people with the goal of adapting one’s behaviour in social contexts.

People typically don’t adopt worldviews that make the most logical sense, but we are influenced to adopt behaviour that earns the least amount of criticism in our unique environment.

It is human nature to want to be accepted by others, so we automatically observe how others behave and what the consequences are in order to adapt our behaviour.

With social learning, we use this technique to adopt the behaviours with which another person has been successful in order to achieve the desired result. While social learning is usually associated with learning specific content, it is actually a process that we naturally use subconsciously every day of our lives.

The term social here refers to the fact that one questions and adjusts one’s behaviours based on observation of other people in a social setting to achieve a desired outcome. Motivation, work ethic, and learning techniques are examples of observed behaviours you can imitate to achieve a desired result. Behaviours learned through social environments can have a circular impact and inspire others in the same social setting.

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Components of social learning

Observation

Social learning works by observing the behaviour of other people. The consequences of specific situational actions are observed, then that behaviour is mirrored depending on the outcome of the consequence.

In this way, people learn which behaviours are socially acceptable and which behaviours are usually criticised. Observational learning allows people to adapt and approach situations more confidently quickly.

Assessment

Next, we assess whether the observed person’s behaviour fits our personality and whether the results and reactions of others are desirable. If we decide that we would like to be praised and recognised for something, we analyse how the observed person came to this result.

There is often not enough data to know on which factors the desired reaction depends. Therefore, it is often necessary to observe similar situations repeatedly to develop a better understanding.

Imitation

After observation and assessment of a particular behaviour, imitation follows to achieve the desired consequence. Imitation can only happen within our personal limitations, e.g. physical traits, characteristics, and experiences.

In most cases, the consequences of a behaviour depend on several factors. The views of the other person, place, time, one’s character, the situation, everything can play a role in how others react to something.

Therefore, it usually takes repeated positive feedback for a behaviour to become a habit, but it only takes a little criticism to avoid it in the future.

Identification

A large part of social learning is based on the idea that people want to identify with others and their achievements, or earn the appreciation of those role models. As it is understood in social learning, identification is comparable to the Freudian notion of the Oedipus complex. A part of this concept is about internalising or adopting the behaviours of other people.

While the term imitation refers to only a single aspect, identification is about several learned behaviours coming together. Imitations, such as language use, attitude, habits, or views, help people achieve feeling similar to role models.

It is important to emphasise that while social learning is based on imitating another person’s behaviour, it can have completely different consequences. People are individuals, and so are the results of behaviour. Social learning should serve as a way to help you see if others’ successful behaviours work for you as well. However, it should not become a direct comparison of results. It is about trying new techniques, habits, and behaviours for yourself, but you should not expect to get the exact same results as your role model. Social learning is not about becoming a different person or modifying your personality to be more like someone else. It is about improving your skills and thus becoming better than you were yesterday.

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Social learning theories

Early forms of social learning and social pedagogy

There are various approaches to social learning that have been formulated and tested as hypotheses by several scientists and experts over time. However, the actual term was coined by Canadian-American psychologist Albert Bandura. Social learning is based on Social Pedagogy, which also focuses heavily on children’s education. The first mention of a children’s character influenced by society’s social environment was by 18th century Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who claimed that human beings are fundamentally good but are unnaturally altered by society.

Building on this, Social Pedagogy emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries in Germany through the known educationalists and philosophers Karl Mager, Paul Natorp, and Herman Nohl. They took ideas from great philosophers such as Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, and Plato and studied and defined the influence of the social environment and society on human beings and their development.
Social pedagogy is the idea that the upbringing of individuals is the responsibility of both parents and society. It is a relationship-centred approach of using learning, interpersonal connection, and well-being to overcome social inequality, also on a community level.

American psychologist Robert Richardson Sears investigated how children acquire values, views, and beliefs, and the influence parents have in this process. Among other things, he focused on stimulus-response theory – how people react to certain external stimuli. Reactions Sears investigated included aggression, resistance to temptation, and culturally determined values such as traditionally accepted gender roles. The influence of parenting methods, such as reward, warmth, punishment, and power structures, were also considered. This research provided an important foundation for work on social learning theory.

Albert Bandura (1977)

Bandura’s theory emphasises observing, modelling, and imitating other people’s behaviour, attitudes, and emotional reactions. It is about the influence of both environmental and cognitive factors on learning success as well as the overall behaviour of a person.

His theory is based on two concepts of behavioural psychology:

1. The American psychologist B.F. Skinner‘s operant conditioning describes that the consequences of a response or reaction influence the probability of repetition. Put simply; this refers to reward and punishment as controlling human behaviour. This teaching method is commonly found in everything from raising children to training an AI.
2. The Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov‘s classical conditioning deals with linking two stimuli to create an association in the learner’s mind that can even have a physical effect. The most famous example is Pavlov’s dogs. In the 1890s, several dogs were given food whenever a bell rang. Later it could be measured that the sound of the bell already provided for increased saliva production since the dogs associated it with eating. The same principle can be applied to humans and can assist in learning.

Based on these two concepts, Bandura put forward two hypotheses:

1. The mediation process occurs between stimuli and response

In contrast to Skinner, Bandura considers humans to be active information processors who think about the relationship between their behaviour and its consequences.

A person does not constantly observe their environment and learn. It requires an upstream thought process that activates learning through observation. We do not actively observe others in order to learn until we have concluded that our previous behaviour needs to be changed in a particular context. This process of considering whether or not we imitate a behaviour is what Bandura calls the mediation process.

According to Bandura, there are 4 processes that influence learning:

1. Awareness
   For us to imitate behaviour, we must first notice it. It must therefore be something that stands out from the mass of our surroundings. Only then do we decide to observe the consequences of this behaviour more closely.
2. Retention
   We can imitate a behaviour only if we remember it. It is necessary to observe a behaviour often and possibly apply it ourselves in order to form a clear memory. This point is particularly important in social learning.
3. Reproduction
   To imitate a behaviour, we must also be able to perform it. We cannot always physically or mentally imitate every behaviour, even if we would like to. Our knowledge of our limitations influences whether or not we try to imitate something.
4. Motivation
   The expected reward of imitation must be appealing enough and exceed the cost. The more positive and desirable a consequence, the more likely someone will adopt a new behaviour. It should be noted that not all people respond strongly to vicarious reinforcement. Some individuals do not focus on the consequences of other people’s behaviour as much and instead focus on themselves. Such people are less receptive to social learning.

2. Behaviour is learned through the environment and is based on learning by observing

Learning through observation is a fundamental component of the human mind. Young children use this technique to imitate and understand the behaviour of other people, especially their parents. Later in life, children, adolescents and even adults continue to use other people as role models to influence their actions and behaviours. This includes parents, teachers, influencers, or even friends. We observe their behaviour and classify it into learned categories. For example, authority, dominance, and strength are classically masculine attributes, while empathy, gentleness, and subtlety tend to be classified as feminine, even though these are all gender-independent. Nevertheless, children automatically imitate the behaviour that society or their environment considers appropriate for their gender.

Initially, children imitate people who are more similar to them, i.e. initially of the same sex. The reactions of other people are then decisive in determining whether this behaviour is retained or relearned. Humans are always looking for recognition, so they choose their behaviour whenever possible to be praised for it. We also observe the reactions that are triggered by behaviour. The more we want to identify with the other person, the more likely we will imitate their behaviour. In technical jargon, this is called vicarious reinforcement.

However, reward and punishment only work if the type of recognition meets the person’s needs. Otherwise, it does not affect his or her behaviour. In the context of a workplace environment, offering someone the prospect of a promotion will not result in a behaviour change if the person is satisfied in his or her current role.

In 1986, this social learning theory was further developed into the Social Cognitive Theory. It states that learning occurs within a social framework. This social framework involves the constant change of individuals, shared interactions within an individual’s environment, and observing others’ behaviours.

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Lev Vygotsky’s social learning theory

Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky formulated his own theory about social learning. His focus was about how conversation and community are integral parts of learning. He thought that without the input of other human beings, we would not develop. This also includes the importance of the spoken word for learning and thought processes.

Vygotsky’s theories are more known in the field of collaborative learning.

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John Krumboltz (1976-1996)

Krumboltz is a known American psychology professor at Stanford University. He is not directly involved in the scientific hypothesis of social learning, but his name is often mentioned concerning professional social learning. He became best known for his work on social learning theory in relation to career development, on which he worked for two decades with other experts. Two hypotheses emerged, one of which is related to social learning.

The social learning theory of career decision making (SLTCDM)

This concept describes the basis on which we make career decisions. According to Krumboltz, there are four factors that we incorporate into decision-making processes. These factors influence each other in thousands of ways in unpredictable ways, shaping our beliefs and how we view the world and ourselves. These four factors are:

1. Generalised self-observation
   Conscious and unconscious consideration of our abilities, strengths, weaknesses, achievements and views, and the resulting conclusions about ourselves. Or to paraphrase: We define ourselves by what we can do and have accomplished. The results of these observations influence our future thoughts and actions – including career decisions.
2. Generalised world view
   Conscious and unconscious observation of the environment and resulting assessment of how it will behave in the future. In other words, we form our view of the world and make assumptions about how the world and our environment are likely to develop.
3. Task approach skills
   The way we approach a task. An interplay of genetic factors, environmental influences, and learning experiences that we understand and incorporate into decision-making processes as our cognitive and behavioural abilities. When we have a task, we use our self-assessment and experiences to define the right approach.
4. Actions
   Learning experiences ultimately lead to career decisions. The more we learn about ourselves and the world over time, the more it affects our decisions, including our careers.

This theory supports and promotes social learning as an important factor in forming one’s own decisions since observing other people makes up a large part of our daily experiences. The point is that people should not commit to a career path, but act, perform, and learn. Based on the resulting experiences, our paths can be adapted and changed. The world, our work, and we, as individuals, are subject to constant change through learning and experience. Our path through work and life must also be able to change flexibly to address this.

Pros and cons of social learning theory

Advantages of social learning

1. Natural way to learn
   The most significant advantage of social learning is that everyone uses it naturally every day, consciously and unconsciously. You don’t have to plan it separately or set aside time for it because it happens automatically over time. In the working world, this means that we observe our colleagues and notice what they do and how they do it. When a colleague is particularly praised for performance or receives a bonus, other employees analyse all by themselves what action led to it in order to work towards the same result.
2. Better skills
   These tendencies are great for leverage in organisations. By encouraging sharing thoughts, ideas, experiences, and best practices, you strengthen your employees’ productivity and skills.
3. Higher learning retention
   It is scientifically proven that we only remember 10% from formal learning sources, while the remaining 90% comes from informal sources and social learning. By learning something directly from a person, we are able to remember it better because we remember things like voice pitch, images, memories, or even a joke during learning that we associate with learning content.
4. Lower costs
   Bringing employees together to share subject matter expertise costs less than a seminar or learning content on the same topic.
5. Productivity and sustainability
   When employees know who to ask about a topic, the information spreads, and, over time, a mentoring network is created within the company. This encourages sharing and reduces the need to learn from other sources.
6. Employee retention
   Many employees want to continue their education, and they want to share ideas with colleagues. Social learning enables them to do both, creating stronger bonds with each other at the same time. That, and the awareness that the company allows or even encourages this type of exchange, increases loyalty.
7. Better informed
   The more frequently employees exchange ideas with their colleagues on a wide range of topics, the more often they look beyond their horizons. This broadens their perspective and gives them impressions that help prevent mistakes and increase efficiency.
8. Collaboration
   Learning is not the only thing that is collaborative in this case. Other factors are naturally included as well. Employees help each other more often, seek advice and help, collaborate better, and learn along the way. The best time to learn is when you need the knowledge.
9. Capture organisational knowledge
   By sharing knowledge within the organisation, there is a greater chance of certain pieces of information being saved even after crucial employees leave the organisation.
10. Problem solving in real time
    Many employees are looking for learning opportunities in a moment of actual need. The urge to solve a problem they cannot solve on their own requires collaboration. Usually, the first thing humans will do in this situation is asking others for their ideas. This is much faster than searching for answers online.
11. Inclusion of passive employees
    There are lots of people that are quiet or even afraid to ask questions. Social learning in a context of learning groups or any other group larger than 2 people makes it easier for introverts to learn by listening to other people discussing their questions.
12. Shorter onboarding times
    Having colleagues showing you around, answering questions, and providing us with useful tips helps us to get used to a new job and environment much faster than an online course on company culture or responsibilities.

Disadvantages of social learning

Social learning also brings professional and psychological risks, which should be mentioned.

1. Inner conflicts
   Since social learning is based on the idea of adapting what is perceived as successful and positive behaviour in others, you are learning to behave more like someone else. If you use this tactic too often and too intensely, it can result in inner conflict if the new behaviours are contrary to your own views. In the long run, this leads to active internal resistance and prevents any learning process.
2. Less authenticity
   Contrary to what behavioural scientists have feared, social learning does not necessarily affect a person’s personality. In most cases, it would take long-term, repeated imitation to adopt a new behaviour as one’s own or lose one’s connection to one’s personality. Moreover, people often notice it themselves when something doesn’t feel authentic.
3. Loss of innovation
   Personal thought processes, opinions and views are often neglected, favouring behaviour that promises the greatest success. However, since new and unconventional ideas tend to bring progress and innovation, this learning technique should not be used too much.
4. Unexpected obstacles
   Very few people know their limits, strengths and weaknesses really well. It is often not possible to imitate the behaviour of another because unknown obstacles can arise. This can result in frustration, which leads to resignation.
5. Consequences for self-esteem
   Most people cannot tell the difference between observation or imitation and a comparison to themselves. If we compare ourselves with others, we usually compare visible indicators like performance and results. This leads to frustration and disappointment in most cases. We typically compare ourselves to people who can do something better than us in order to learn from them. As a result, such a comparison will always be to our disadvantage. For people without a solid self-esteem, such a thing can have psychological consequences in the long run. Therefore, care should be taken to distinguish social learning from personal comparison clearly and to incorporate positive reinforcement.
6. Self-doubt
   If everyone is a teacher and a student simultaneously, there is uncertainty about quality standards, and there can be self-doubt.
7. Measuring requires modern solutions
   There are few ways to measure social learning apart from content usage unless you use a modern learning platform.
8. Negative assumptions
   Social media and videos are considered a waste of time and leisure time in many minds.
9. Necessary intervention
   Group discussions need to be led because otherwise, they quickly digress and turn into random private conversations, losing focus on the topics at hand.
10. Requirements
    Attention, retention, replicability and motivation must be present in each participant for it to work.

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Social learning methods

There are various ways in which social learning can be implemented in companies. If social learning techniques are naturally integrated into everyday life, it can be a time-saving way to learn. Social learning can also be an enormous relief for people who learn well in social settings, which offers additional benefits to companies who are looking to adopt this learning concept into their organisation.

In order to use social learning in corporate learning, various options involve varying degrees of effort.

Learning groups

The most obvious method is to form learning groups, as is often the case with face-to-face seminars. Several people are in the same room, learning about a new topic. There are different ways to learn more effectively through social interaction and observation:

• Questions from individuals improve the understanding of all participants.
• Group tasks encourage direct exchange.
• Defending a point of view enhances learning for all present.
• Instructors can use focused questioning to help learners reach an understanding of their own and make connections.

This classic application of social learning is still the basis of schooling in most educational systems for children.

Examples for learning groups

There are various ways to incorporate group learning into an organisation.

• Recurring learning group meetings during or after work for specific topics.
• Focus groups to solve defined problems.
• Online learning groups to improve skills.
• Presentations with discussions.

Brainstorming sessions

This is a special form of a learning group. One of the most effective methods to ignite one’s creativity and find innovative approaches to solutions is the so-called “spitballing”. Several people throw ideas and immature thoughts into the room and thus open a discussion. In later stages, this technique develops into more specific brainstorming, where well-founded ideas are further thought out in concrete terms and ultimately develop into strategies, processes or even products. There is no need to have a specific goal in mind at the outset, just a topic or problem.

Such sessions can be of any length and scope, with small groups of knowledgeable people being the most effective. Still, outsiders can often bring fresh ideas that others can’t see because of technical blindness. Even two colleagues at work can use this technique to reassess acute challenges and seek solutions. Occasionally, such sessions result in disputes, but if conducted in a civilised and professional manner, they can be enormously helpful in solving problems.

The point of such sessions is to think and discuss outside of otherwise pervasive structures and rules, to create space for innovation and creativity, and to learn from other employees.

Benchmarking

Human behaviour is predictable in many areas. This knowledge can be used positively to promote learning. It is human nature to want to compare oneself with others, be better than others, or simply keep up.

With the right learning technology, things like gamification and internal networking can be used to share your learning progress with others.

Benchmarking also creates an internal competition that encourages other employees to acquire new skills to have a say, see themselves ranked higher than others, or catch up with colleagues’ progress. It is important to keep the meaning and rewards of results within reasonable bounds so that motivation to learn does not turn into competition and envy, affecting morale and ultimately damages productivity.

Examples of benchmarking in social learning

Benchmarking is all about comparing things, people, performance, results.

• Learning-based leaderboards can create a healthy competition between colleagues with similar roles, in the same team, department, or subsidiary. This can even become a regular competition between countries or business areas that encourages people to improve.
• Rewards are a common way to commemorate the results of a person or team. Usually, this kind of appraisal is granted based on comparing performance or certain results, which causes other employees to benchmark the winners.
• By sharing best practices or success stories of won customers, awards, or successful projects, employees are motivated and can use the information to learn what was done right, and what needs to be improved.
• Badges are a rising trend in organisations to utilise gamification for enabling internal benchmarking by comparing them with colleagues. This way, people challenge each other and themselves to get more badges.

Leading by example

Leading by example is a unique form of internal benchmarking. It is not a novelty that superiors always have a specific role model function in addition to the distribution of work and leadership tasks. Many employees hope to move up to this or a comparable position themselves one day, so they automatically pay attention to how their supervisor behaves. At this point, social learning takes place quite naturally. The more positive, likeable and popular a superior is, the more likely their employees are to try to analyse and, if possible, imitate their behaviour.

When managers and people in senior positions do something, it is usually observed. Therefore, to motivate colleagues to learn, supervisors should use the available learning opportunities themselves and communicate this openly. Successful people, especially those in a person’s immediate environment, are always copied. To put this idea into practice, if a manager learns for half an hour every day, the employees will also learn more to adapt and strive for success.

Social Media

People often associate social media with social learning. However, social media is not a form of social learning but a tool for facilitation. Because of the ubiquitous presence of technology and the internet, social media and video platforms give us the opportunity to share our experiences and knowledge with the whole world in the form of videos or texts. People from anywhere can learn from our experiences at any time. This concept has become so powerful that younger generations prefer it to the tried and true direct interaction with other people. However, many things are lost in the process, such as interpreting tone of voice, facial expressions or subtle cues.

Even in companies, intranets and chats can stimulate exchanges between colleagues who are otherwise physically distant and unlikely to ever meet in person. This supports and accelerates social learning, as long as it does not become the sole source of learning. Care should be taken to always view social media as a tool, not a universal solution.

Platforms such as YouTube, Facebook or Twitter do not just provide content for diversion. Specialist groups, explanatory videos or forums for solving complex problems enable social learning even beyond the boundaries of the company or entire countries. As long as sensitive information is not shared, this can be incredibly helpful. In addition, sharing one’s own experiences on social media and forums has a practical side effect; it strengthens the company’s reputation as a subject matter expert and also offers new marketing options because it increases reach.

Example: Integration of Social Media

Social media gives us a myriad of ways to interact with other people around the globe on a professional level. Every company and person has to find the most useful options for themselves.

• Internal sharing platforms like intranets can help improve employee loyalty by creating a stronger sense of community and accelerating the exchange of information.
• A perfect example of social learning is participation in forums. Forums can be about every possible topic or area. There are forums hosted by companies, organisations or open forums that allow discussing just about anything. Great examples for general discussions are famous forums like Stackoverflow and Reddit.
• Quite similar is the joining of societies. Many groups are discussing rather specialised topics on a high level, e.g. technology or scientific topics. This can happen online or offline. Societies require registration and usually some proof that a member has a certain level of expertise to participate in the talks. For company experts, such groups can be quite a valuable learning experience.
• For less specialised but still goal-oriented discussions, there are social groups. Such groups usually also require registration but with fewer expectations. Talks are more general, but they can also be helpful for learning about other perspectives.
• Many employees consume videos or other internet content to learn the things they need for completing a task. If those contents are shared or found via social media (internal or external), we call it social learning

Sharing internet resources

Sharing information doesn’t always have to involve social media. Many people spend a lot of time searching the internet for educational opportunities and informative content. There is now more learning content out there than anyone could count, let alone consume. Finding valuable information in this mass of data is not always easy.

So it pays to encourage sharing of such sources within your organisation. Regardless of the form of sharing, motivating employees to consume blogs, technical articles, videos or podcasts on relevant topics and share the best of them with their colleagues can be a great way to share knowledge and encourage skill improvements. An internal library of external knowledge sources can be just as valuable as a collection of eLearning content. If you can measurably incorporate these external sources into your learning platform, it’s even better. This way, you can additionally see which sources are most popular and draw conclusions about your learning content.

Exchange

Social interactions with others have been an integral part of our being since the Stone Age. It is a constant need to communicate and exchange with others to feel accepted and comfortable and learn. Even completely mundane conversations can contain added values that help us move forward in life. The more companies encourage employees to interact with each other, the happier they will be, and the more often they will learn something from those interactions. When people work physically close together, they automatically talk about it when there are problems. Employees help each other find solutions, improve their work or make processes more efficient. The more opportunities there are for the contact between team members, the better the exchange works in a professional environment.

Examples of social learning through exchange

General exchange doesn’t have a fixed learning goal. Simple conversations between colleagues can benefit learning and increase social skills. Any kind of social activity within an organisation can serve as a starting point for this.

• Coffee breaks bring co-workers together to talk about current tasks, colleagues, managers, the company, or just about life. This improves networking and sympathy, which are both essential for social learning.
• Events like anniversaries, department parties, after-work get-togethers, barbecues, or other opportunities that allow employees to mingle and meet co-workers from other departments or even different locations usually have a significant impact on social learning. Imitation starts with awareness, so the more successful people we meet, the more motivated we become to improve.
• Informal chats between colleagues are traditionally viewed as wasted time or dodging work. Often, co-workers talk about work-related topics to share their views or just release frustration about specific tasks. Instead of telling them to get back to work, leaders can join the chat and steer the conversation in a useful direction.

Social learning through knowledge management

In addition to classic group projects with regular meetings, there are many more ways to collaborate in teams without leaving the workplace in today’s digital age. There are numerous software solutions such as Google for Business, Microsoft 360 or Dropbox that enable teams and workgroups to collaborate on the same documents at the same time, and contribute their knowledge and expertise. This saves time because everyone can work on it simultaneously, and it allows colleagues to work together effectively even if they are working in separate countries.

Using the communication tools included in digital solutions, such as Hangouts, Teams or Slack, spontaneous video chats and meetings on current topics and challenges can be implemented immediately and spontaneously, even if it only takes a few minutes. This type of networking strengthens the sense of community and reduces the inhibition threshold to approach previously unknown colleagues for information exchange.

Examples of knowledge management for social learning purposes

Although Knowledge Management is mainly supposed to make use of internal information as effectively as possible, there are social learning benefits included.

• By utilising comments, suggestions, or even simultaneous editing, social learning can take place by receiving input from others. This can even happen over the course of days or weeks by checking the latest comments from yesterday and responding to them, so the colleague from another time zone can read it the next day.
• Communication tools like Slack or Teams allow employees to easily find subject matter experts and ask questions in the flow of work. Quick communication improves networking between departments and employees, and it also accelerates knowledge sharing even in small bits, similar to microlearning.
• Chat tools also allow for sharing documents and links with team members, turning them into a form of internal social media.
• Although internally created wikis count as knowledge management in the first place, these articles are usually written by experts in the organisation. Unlike external wikis, employees can contact internal authors for more details or specific questions and even add experiences to the article later. This is also a form of social learning.

Interactive learning platforms

Many organisations already have systems and platforms that manage content and report back usage data when it comes to learning. This makes sense for a controlled learning environment, but it usually excludes the interpersonal part. Modern learning platforms or learning ecosystems, like Valamis, enable collaborative content such as digital group work and collaborative learning paths and courses with fixed participants and known colleagues. These platforms allow employees to work together on learning tasks, exchange ideas, and enhance the learning environment.

In addition, platforms such as Valamis enable a social learning network. Employees can recommend content to each other, track their colleagues’ progress, exchange specific information, and even compete against each other in leaderboards. This makes it much easier to follow a colleague’s steps toward a promotion, bonus, or skill. Instead of envy, you give employees a clear path by which they can also achieve their goals. Platforms like Valamis are continually improving to be a one-stop-shop for all possible kinds of social learning in a digital solution.

Combine features like personalisation, analytics, or skills matrices with sharing or integrating external learning sources, using digital collaboration tools for group tasks, incorporating content from other social media, and enabling video or chat sessions for brainstorming. You can have powerful solutions that combine many proven and modern social learning approaches to improve your organisation’s chances for success.