Technological evolution is revolutionizing the contours of our present. From culture communication society to relationships, nothing seems to be safe from it. For companies, riding the wave of innovation without being overwhelmed by it means redefining the roles and skills of resources.
Because it is precisely from them that the change starts, it is for this reason that yesterday’s training and refresher systems are changing their face and becoming more social. Among these, social learning is a collaborative training method that arises from e-learning. Let’s see in detail what it is.
What Is Social Learning?
Daughter of the Canadian psychologist Albert Bandura, the theory of social learning starts with the idea that individual learning occurs through observation in a social context without necessarily needing a stimulus-response mechanism. Learning, therefore, is shared based on the interaction of members. Interaction is the basis of social formation, as it is the basis of human life. From the first cry, human beings need to interact with the outside world and those who are part of it. This need continues into adult life, even at work.
Not just lessons; with social learning, culture, and knowledge are shared within the company system. In this way, knowledge, especially non-academic knowledge, will be free to circulate; it will pass from boss to employee, and vice versa; it will be the one shot capable of guaranteeing higher performance. There are no longer teachers on one side and students on the other; social learning breaks down barriers and removes the veneer of formality from company training processes thanks to the digital platforms on which it feeds.
What Are The Advantages Of Social Learning?
Considered one of the most effective ways to spread knowledge in a company, social learning brings with it significant advantages. Here they are:
- With social learning, the update is always at hand; it is engaging and stimulating.
- When you participate in a course, in the most traditional sense of the term, the information received is easily lost. Social learning, however, tends to reverse this trend because it promotes the conservation of knowledge.
- Increases the employee’s motivation because it places him at the center of the learning method; he is a teacher and student simultaneously.
- facilitates the onboarding of new hires into the company because it pushes them to have more interactions with more senior profiles;
- Social learning is collaborative and, therefore, constructive, allowing everyone to be more proactive.
- Stimulates communication in the work team, with apparent benefits at an organizational level.
How To Integrate Social Learning Into The Company
Social learning includes four basic principles: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. It is not a concept we can define as new in the strict sense of the term. Indeed, however, with the advent of digital and other technologies, it is experiencing a new spring. Companies can develop a series of tools to implement a training model based on social learning.
For example, they can create virtual environments that stimulate interaction, such as discussion forums and internal Wikipedias, that everyone can help grow. They can also exploit expert knowledge and promote gamification activities and rewards. Social learning creates value, transforms critical moments into growth opportunities, rewards, and motivates resources. In short, a social training system within a company is becoming a necessity rather than an alternative.
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