Social Learning to empower your staff and improve your engagement

In general, social learning is based on information sharing, collaboration and co-creation. The value of social learning is becoming increasingly recognised within many organisations. It cannot be denied that technology is shaping our daily life and it is changing the way we share and create new knowledge. This means that online based social learning is a way to go for any modern organisation. 

The makeup of the workforce is changing, and with that change comes a new expectation.  Social tools are changing the way employees learn. Employees have moved away from the formality of how they learn; you’re more likely to find a learner glued to their smartphone than a textbook. The way we learn has drifted from codified sources found in different organised documents and into the hands of the search engine which allows learners to have more freedom with the resources they use for learning.

However, this means that we have a new problem when it comes to self guided learning – information overload. It can be impossible to find exactly what you’re looking for online, because the number of options becomes overwhelming. Plus, specific information always loses out to general information, as it’s more likely to be viewed and applied to multiple categories.

According to Deloitte survey: ”Millennials, who are already emerging as leaders in technology and other industries and will comprise 75 % of the global workforce by 2025, want to work for organizations that foster innovative thinking, develop their skills, and make a positive contribution to society”.

Organisations must gain an understanding of how a new generation of workers likes to learn, how they use technology and what are their preferred means of communication. This information can be used for creating training curriculum, development programs and succession plans.

What you need is an online space that is curated to your  employee’s needs, that allows them to use their quick search learning, but always delivers the correct information. This type of highly refined, quick access resource library is ideal for micro-learning, as it’s fast, easy to learn content. If we want to create a space for learning that reflects the modern method of acquiring knowledge, then we need to start making the learning fit the learner. If we can leverage the microlearning, ‘’search to learn’’ attitude of millennials into workplace learning, you can habituate education, and make learning fit with the learner.

”69 % of millennials get their news from Facebook. It’s where they expect to learn new things”

The advantage of this method is that it has a viral effect. This means that if one learner finds a good resource, a social network allows them to share it, making others within the network informed of the same materials. This creates a self cultivating culture, where people act as each other’s filter, and stake their reputation on sharing good content.

Webanywhere has experience delivering social learning platforms and we are proud to be a Platinum Partner of Totara LMS which can be used to build a bespoke social learning platform for your business.