Social learning and employer branding are generally a winning combination, for several reasons. With a strong impact of the training strategy on the employer brand, companies have everything to gain from focusing on social learning for the benefits it brings.. Indeed, we must not forget that the employer brand is now an essential criterion for candidates in their job search, but also in the context of talent retention. The learning company is sexy, social learning has a lot to do with it. So here's the why and the how!
What is social learning?
The subject of Social learning has now become an ultra-recurrent subject in learning and training environments. A quick reminder, therefore, social learning can be opposed to formal training or “traditional” training methods. It favors the sharing of knowledge between peers, in a horizontal dynamic and a co-construction of knowledge. It is based on interactions between learners and on how they share knowledge and knowledge sources with each other. The Social learning in this is not so new, since it has been observed since the beginning of learning in history, especially in group activities. However, digital tools now allow it to take on a whole new dimension, richer and more extensive.
What to remember
1 - Social learning is based on a horizontal learning dynamic, between peers
2 - Social learning has always existed, but today digital tools make it possible to increase its possibilities tenfold.
Social learning to strengthen talent engagement and retention
Linkedin has been saying this in its “Workplace Learning Report” for at least the last three years and reiterated in its 2021 report: Social learning increases learner engagement by 30. This is all the more true after more than 1 year and a half of employees being away from each other, there is no need to remind you why. 30 times more time spent on training content thanks to the Social learning, this therefore means that it helps learning employees to be more successful and motivates them to continue in the training process. CQFD: more time and commitment to training means better skills development. In this way, social learning and employer brand come together thanks to higher rates of performance and job satisfaction that are reflected when employees talk about their work outside the company.
What to remember
1 - Thanks to social learning, learners spend an average of 30 times more time on training content
2 - Social learning therefore allows better skills development, and therefore higher rates of performance and job satisfaction, which are evident when employees talk about their work outside the company.
Social learning and employer branding: creating a sense of belonging to a community
Social learning puts people back at the center of training. And by “the human”, we do not mean the trainer, but the learners themselves. Social learning reinforces learning communities around topics of expertise, but also within the company. “Man is a social animal”, said the friend Aristotle, a truth to keep in mind in his training strategy. With this potential for learning in a community, social learning helps to build a solid employer brand, supported by the sense of belonging of learning employees.
What to remember
1 - Social learning strengthens learning communities within the company
2 - Social learning helps to build a solid employer brand, supported by the sense of belonging of learning employees
Social learning contributes to the creation of a learning culture
“It was me who did it!” This same feeling of pride, recognition and appreciation can be found in social learning, which values the experience of employees by allowing them to share their expertise or their own sources of knowledge. By giving the power to transmit knowledge to learning employees, the company creates a learning culture that is visible at all levels of the company and in all types of situations. In this context, social learning and employer brands come together by conveying the image of a company in which learning is collective, participatory and everyone's knowledge is valued within the community.
What to remember
1 - Social learning values the experience of employees by allowing them to share their expertise or their own sources of knowledge
2 - Social learning and employer brand come together by conveying the image of a company in which learning is collective, participatory and everyone's knowledge is valued
Social learning and employer branding: the learning company in tune with the times
This learning culture, supported by social learning, belongs to a more global image of a learning company that “lives” in its time and knows how to embrace the cultures of all generations of employees present within it.. Without going so far as to surf all the trends in training, the company that uses it projects an employer brand characterized by innovation and openness. Indeed, the most innovative learning platforms (LXP) allow for example, as part of the Mobile learning, to share sources and content from external platforms such as YouTube in order to enrich learning.
What to remember
1 - Using social learning reflects the image of a learning company in tune with the times
2 - The possibility of sharing sources of knowledge from outside reinforces the image of an innovative and open company.
