How To Boost Social Learning In Your Training Strategy

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Whether you’re rolling out a new strategy or simply enhancing your existing one, now is a good time to review some well-researched learning theories that can improve your training programs.

One of those theories is the Social Learning Theory, which emphasizes the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Since humans learn best when they collaborate with peers, we can’t forget to include social learning in training strategies and programs.

Sure, some of your employees may only need to stand up and walk to another office or talk through a cubicle wall to learn from and with their colleagues. But what about your remote workers or working on a job site? What about your veteran employees who need to transfer knowledge before they retire or new hires who could use a mentor?

At Roundtable Learning, we know that integrating social learning concepts into your training strategy will not only help your learners collaborate to create shared knowledge, but will also capture knowledge that may otherwise leave your organization.

This article will cover 5 tips on how to boost social learning in your existing training strategy.

1. Re-Examine Your Current Tools

You may already offer social learning aspects through your LMS. Discussion rooms and threads, email and text notifications, question and answer tools, and more, are standard, albeit underutilized, features in most learning management systems. If you have a good relationship with your LMS vendor, call them to see what social features exist that your learners may not be using.

2. Gamify Your Content

You know that your LMS is only as effective as the training content it delivers. Take social learning beyond your LMS and into your courses with custom content. Most modern games are rooted in social sharing. When you finish playing a game on Facebook, you’re often prompted to share your score or your results with your Facebook friends.

The same is true of gamification in eLearning. Your learners will want to share their results on social media channels. We create badges that learners can add to their social channels after they complete a course.

Read More: Pros And Cons Of Corporate eLearning

3. Reward Collaboration

While social learning occurs naturally, your learners still may need a nudge. Incentivize collaboration by awarding badges or “expert status” to employees who comment most on message boards. Consider promoting employees who are invested in learning and who collaborate with their peers.

4. Create An Experts Corner

Develop your more senior or more knowledgeable employees into experts. Create a board or area of your LMS to capture “expert” knowledge, and make sure to give the expert employees credit. This corner can serve as additional ROI, as your experts are creating valuable learning content for you.

Read More: Training Metrics and ROI: Formulas and Descriptions

5. Capture Feedback

Surveys are social tools that capture information that can drive your learning strategy and improve ROI. Whether through a 10-question survey, or a simple “like” button on your content, you can determine what type of content your learners most enjoy.

By using social feedback, you can determine what type of content to release, what skills or information your employees want to learn next, and how they use your LMS.

Are You Ready To Let Your Employees Socially Learn?

We’ve discussed 5 tips that can help your organization boost social learning theory in your existing training program.

Are you ready to learn more? Book a meeting with one of our learning and development experts today or join the community to receive updates on all things training.