Social learning in the modern workplace: New possibilities with on-demand group learning
The power of social and collaborative learning cannot be overstated. The opportunity to learn alongside peers, share experiences, and engage in discussions fosters a deeper understanding and accelerates skill development. However, creating environments that truly support social learning can be challenging. Traditional approaches often involve facilitators, physical spaces, and coordination, leading to logistical hurdles and limitations in scale.
This reality has often forced organisations to choose between delivering impactful but limited-reach programs or scalable but less engaging methods. Another common solution is asynchronous social learning platforms. While valuable, these tools don't fully replicate the richness of live interaction and discussion.
During my conversations with learning leaders worldwide it’s become clear that the critical importance of social learning is widely recognized, yet the strategies to foster it often fall short. This gap presents a tremendous opportunity for new ideas to surface.
New and reimagined group delivery
Let's reimagine some approaches modern organisations can utilise to enhance and encourage social learning.
Leader-led delivery
Leaders are ideally positioned to champion learning within their teams, but they often face challenges. These include:
- Limited time: Leaders are busy. Any learning initiative that requires extensive preparation isn't likely to happen.
- Varying skills: Not all leaders are natural facilitators. Many lack confidence or experience in leading group learning experiences.
Leader-led delivery becomes far more feasible with on-demand formats requiring minimal preparation and facilitation skills. This empowers even less confident leaders to successfully host impactful learning experiences, overcoming the barriers of time constraints and skill gaps.
Microlearning for teams
Microlearning is well-established for individual learning, with research supporting the effectiveness of learning in smaller, spaced-out chunks over cramming into a small period. However, when it comes to learning socially, this wisdom often gets overlooked. Training calendars remain filled with half-day, full-day, and even multi-day events, largely due to the impracticality of shorter durations given the costs and logistics of facilitation.
Break down the barriers of traditional facilitation by leveraging on-demand, web platforms that enable short, impactful team learning sessions. Imagine empowering your teams to engage in frequent, high-impact microlearning sessions—even as brief as 15 minutes each—fostering a culture of continuous learning and opportunity for spaced retrieval and practice.
Learning circles and huddles
Peer-to-peer learning, in the form of learning circles or huddles, is a powerful way to support learning transfer. It provides space for reflection, practice, and applying knowledge to real-world challenges. The challenge with these formats is often a lack of visibility, making tracking participation difficult, as well as limited ability to control what actually takes place during the session.
Digital solutions start to solve this issue by providing real-time analytics and engagement tracking. Makeshapes further enhances this approach by enabling a more structured experience that leaves less to chance than a discussion guide alone.
Just-in-time learning for teams
Just-in-time learning empowers teams to address skill gaps and knowledge needs precisely when they arise, leading to improved performance and productivity. However, teams often face challenges in accessing training that aligns with their specific needs and timing.
By investing in the creation of on-demand experiences for key topics and stages of team development, organisations can equip their teams with a readily available suite of relevant training experiences. This approach ensures that learning opportunities are not only timely but also tailored to the evolving requirements of each team, fostering a culture of continuous growth and development.
Embracing the future of workplace learning
In today's dynamic workplace, adaptable and impactful learning experiences are essential. Traditional approaches to social learning often require trade-offs that limit impact, but by embracing innovative methods supported by on-demand platforms, organisations can foster a truly collaborative learning culture.
The future of workplace learning lies in these reimagined approaches, where technology enables organisations to overcome the barriers of the past and foster a truly collaborative learning culture.
challenge
solution
Social learning in the modern workplace: New possibilities with on-demand group learning
The power of social and collaborative learning cannot be overstated. The opportunity to learn alongside peers, share experiences, and engage in discussions fosters a deeper understanding and accelerates skill development. However, creating environments that truly support social learning can be challenging. Traditional approaches often involve facilitators, physical spaces, and coordination, leading to logistical hurdles and limitations in scale.
This reality has often forced organisations to choose between delivering impactful but limited-reach programs or scalable but less engaging methods. Another common solution is asynchronous social learning platforms. While valuable, these tools don't fully replicate the richness of live interaction and discussion.
During my conversations with learning leaders worldwide it’s become clear that the critical importance of social learning is widely recognized, yet the strategies to foster it often fall short. This gap presents a tremendous opportunity for new ideas to surface.
New and reimagined group delivery
Let's reimagine some approaches modern organisations can utilise to enhance and encourage social learning.
Leader-led delivery
Leaders are ideally positioned to champion learning within their teams, but they often face challenges. These include:
- Limited time: Leaders are busy. Any learning initiative that requires extensive preparation isn't likely to happen.
- Varying skills: Not all leaders are natural facilitators. Many lack confidence or experience in leading group learning experiences.
Leader-led delivery becomes far more feasible with on-demand formats requiring minimal preparation and facilitation skills. This empowers even less confident leaders to successfully host impactful learning experiences, overcoming the barriers of time constraints and skill gaps.
Microlearning for teams
Microlearning is well-established for individual learning, with research supporting the effectiveness of learning in smaller, spaced-out chunks over cramming into a small period. However, when it comes to learning socially, this wisdom often gets overlooked. Training calendars remain filled with half-day, full-day, and even multi-day events, largely due to the impracticality of shorter durations given the costs and logistics of facilitation.
Break down the barriers of traditional facilitation by leveraging on-demand, web platforms that enable short, impactful team learning sessions. Imagine empowering your teams to engage in frequent, high-impact microlearning sessions—even as brief as 15 minutes each—fostering a culture of continuous learning and opportunity for spaced retrieval and practice.
Learning circles and huddles
Peer-to-peer learning, in the form of learning circles or huddles, is a powerful way to support learning transfer. It provides space for reflection, practice, and applying knowledge to real-world challenges. The challenge with these formats is often a lack of visibility, making tracking participation difficult, as well as limited ability to control what actually takes place during the session.
Digital solutions start to solve this issue by providing real-time analytics and engagement tracking. Makeshapes further enhances this approach by enabling a more structured experience that leaves less to chance than a discussion guide alone.
Just-in-time learning for teams
Just-in-time learning empowers teams to address skill gaps and knowledge needs precisely when they arise, leading to improved performance and productivity. However, teams often face challenges in accessing training that aligns with their specific needs and timing.
By investing in the creation of on-demand experiences for key topics and stages of team development, organisations can equip their teams with a readily available suite of relevant training experiences. This approach ensures that learning opportunities are not only timely but also tailored to the evolving requirements of each team, fostering a culture of continuous growth and development.
Embracing the future of workplace learning
In today's dynamic workplace, adaptable and impactful learning experiences are essential. Traditional approaches to social learning often require trade-offs that limit impact, but by embracing innovative methods supported by on-demand platforms, organisations can foster a truly collaborative learning culture.
The future of workplace learning lies in these reimagined approaches, where technology enables organisations to overcome the barriers of the past and foster a truly collaborative learning culture.
challenge
solution
Social learning in the modern workplace: New possibilities with on-demand group learning
The power of social and collaborative learning cannot be overstated. The opportunity to learn alongside peers, share experiences, and engage in discussions fosters a deeper understanding and accelerates skill development. However, creating environments that truly support social learning can be challenging. Traditional approaches often involve facilitators, physical spaces, and coordination, leading to logistical hurdles and limitations in scale.
This reality has often forced organisations to choose between delivering impactful but limited-reach programs or scalable but less engaging methods. Another common solution is asynchronous social learning platforms. While valuable, these tools don't fully replicate the richness of live interaction and discussion.
During my conversations with learning leaders worldwide it’s become clear that the critical importance of social learning is widely recognized, yet the strategies to foster it often fall short. This gap presents a tremendous opportunity for new ideas to surface.
New and reimagined group delivery
Let's reimagine some approaches modern organisations can utilise to enhance and encourage social learning.
Leader-led delivery
Leaders are ideally positioned to champion learning within their teams, but they often face challenges. These include:
- Limited time: Leaders are busy. Any learning initiative that requires extensive preparation isn't likely to happen.
- Varying skills: Not all leaders are natural facilitators. Many lack confidence or experience in leading group learning experiences.
Leader-led delivery becomes far more feasible with on-demand formats requiring minimal preparation and facilitation skills. This empowers even less confident leaders to successfully host impactful learning experiences, overcoming the barriers of time constraints and skill gaps.
Microlearning for teams
Microlearning is well-established for individual learning, with research supporting the effectiveness of learning in smaller, spaced-out chunks over cramming into a small period. However, when it comes to learning socially, this wisdom often gets overlooked. Training calendars remain filled with half-day, full-day, and even multi-day events, largely due to the impracticality of shorter durations given the costs and logistics of facilitation.
Break down the barriers of traditional facilitation by leveraging on-demand, web platforms that enable short, impactful team learning sessions. Imagine empowering your teams to engage in frequent, high-impact microlearning sessions—even as brief as 15 minutes each—fostering a culture of continuous learning and opportunity for spaced retrieval and practice.
Learning circles and huddles
Peer-to-peer learning, in the form of learning circles or huddles, is a powerful way to support learning transfer. It provides space for reflection, practice, and applying knowledge to real-world challenges. The challenge with these formats is often a lack of visibility, making tracking participation difficult, as well as limited ability to control what actually takes place during the session.
Digital solutions start to solve this issue by providing real-time analytics and engagement tracking. Makeshapes further enhances this approach by enabling a more structured experience that leaves less to chance than a discussion guide alone.
Just-in-time learning for teams
Just-in-time learning empowers teams to address skill gaps and knowledge needs precisely when they arise, leading to improved performance and productivity. However, teams often face challenges in accessing training that aligns with their specific needs and timing.
By investing in the creation of on-demand experiences for key topics and stages of team development, organisations can equip their teams with a readily available suite of relevant training experiences. This approach ensures that learning opportunities are not only timely but also tailored to the evolving requirements of each team, fostering a culture of continuous growth and development.
Embracing the future of workplace learning
In today's dynamic workplace, adaptable and impactful learning experiences are essential. Traditional approaches to social learning often require trade-offs that limit impact, but by embracing innovative methods supported by on-demand platforms, organisations can foster a truly collaborative learning culture.
The future of workplace learning lies in these reimagined approaches, where technology enables organisations to overcome the barriers of the past and foster a truly collaborative learning culture.
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