3 High-Impact Social Learning Strategies

Struggling to make learning engaging when social interaction is still…limited? Introducing new social learning opportunities is a great way to help our organizations combat isolation and change fatigue. Social learning brings a fun energy to our never-ending need to learn and accommodates our innate desire to learn with and from the people around us. If you’re looking to take social learning to the next level, we have three innovative ideas for you.

1. Create a Learning Channel

Learning is happening every day, all around us! Rather than always trying to force your learners into a formal learning platform, meet them where the work is happening. If you use a workplace collaboration tool like Slack or Teams, start a Learning Channel. Invite learners to share things they’re learning on the job such as tips and tricks, or to ask questions they need support with. You may ask, Who will moderate the forum? The learning team can serve as the general moderators — we recommend doing this on a rotational basis to spread the love — but you can also tag functional contributors to answer specific questions.

2. Be a Coaching Matchmaker

Good coaching delivers a personalized and supportive learning experience. At some organizations, these coaching relationships happen naturally on teams or may be facilitated as part of a formal program. But what if your organization isn’t leveraging this type of social learning?

We’ve been inspired by stories of learning teams facilitating the pairing of experts with novices and other coaching arrangements for their organization. This matchmaking process can work in multiple ways:

• Invite employees to indicate their expertise — the area and the level of knowledge. This sharing can be done through a survey or in a collaboration tool.

• The type of knowledge can vary widely:

  • Functional skills for a specific part of the organization

  • Core skills: presentation skills, effective communication, design thinking

  • Leadership skill development

• If applicable, L&D can serve a TTT role and develop guides and other resources for coaches to reference. We’ve even seen organizations where coaches are certified for certain skills.

• Invite employees to indicate their desired coaching area and personal goals.

• For the matchmaking, L&D can organize the first meeting of the coach and coachee, or a simple email introduction can be effective.

3. Start a Learning Community

If you’re looking to increase the reach of your learning team and build a strong learning culture at your organization, we highly recommend starting a learning community. Here are some great ideas to get you started!

Let’s use our knowledge of adult learners and get creative about how to make this happen at our organizations. We’d love to hear the social strategies you’re trying in the comments below!