You want to set up effective training for your ephemeral populations, but have you thought about social learning? In the same way as “long-term” employees, ephemeral populations can benefit from social learning.
The Social learning is a concept that is increasingly present in the world of vocational training. It is a participatory and active learning system that allows you to learn from others (collaborators, mentors, etc.) through the exchange and sharing of experiences.
Thanks to the numerous collaborative interactions, the learner is an actor in his learning and that of the members of the group. This method differs from traditional methods where the trainer is active and the learner is much more passive.
Theorized by the Canadian psychologist Albert Bandura in the 70s, social learning is based on three main principles:
- Learning results from imitation by observation
- learning is stimulated by the presence of one or more observers
- Reasoning learning is based on similar situations
According to the psychologist, social training is active learning that mobilizes attention, retention (memorization), reproduction and motivation at the same time. Information is also better integrated when it comes from someone around them.
Ephemeral populations, the answer to a new challenge
With a constantly changing job market, temporary populations (fixed-term contracts, temporary workers, interns, etc.) are responding to the challenges of tomorrow's world of work and to a desire for professional retraining, a desire to combine personal projects and professional life, as well as a search for meaning in their professional activity. For a company, it is also an opportunity to respond to a temporary increase in activity. Employees and businesses need flexibility that ephemeral populations can meet.
In this context, Businesses need to adapt their training methods, especially since some ephemeral missions are now carried out remotely and concern a plurality of talents: managers, intermediate professions, etc.
The benefits of social learning for ephemeral populations
For ephemeral populations, social learning is a method whose effectiveness has been demonstrated: being part of a group reinforces involvement and motivation. Indeed, learning in contact with others facilitates acquisition and memorization, so new skills are more entrenched. In addition, exchanges between members of a group promote the emergence of new solutions and the exchange of points of view.
Although it is present for a relatively short period of time, The ephemeral collaborator is none the less looking for an apprenticeship. Social learning is a particularly interesting way of transmitting knowledge, while developing new skills. Rubbing shoulders with varied profiles, coming from different organizations and with heterogeneous backgrounds is very enriching and opens up the horizon.
To train ephemeral populations through social learning, you must start by integrating them into a learning community by offering groups according to professions, their training courses or even locations. Upon arrival on the platform, invite learners to introduce themselves so that they feel fully integrated into the community. Then propose group work combining “long-term” and ephemeral populations to get to know each other better and to work together.
