{"id":71439,"date":"2025-12-03T21:00:54","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T21:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/articles\/social-learning-in-the-workplace-how-to-drive-continuous-development\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T21:50:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T21:50:29","slug":"social-learning-in-the-workplace-how-to-drive-continuous-development","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.totara.com\/us\/articles\/social-learning-in-the-workplace-how-to-drive-continuous-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Social learning in the workplace: how to drive continuous development\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Think about the last time someone in your team really developed a new skill.\u00a0Chances are, it\u00a0didn’t\u00a0just\u00a0happen in a training room.\u00a0It\u00a0likely\u00a0happened\u00a0through\u00a0<\/span>social learning<\/span><\/b>: watching a colleague work through a problem, asking questions, sharing ideas, or collaborating on a project.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While technology and training programmes have their place, most workplace learning happens informally, through experience and interaction. The\u00a0<\/span>CIPD’s Learning at Work 2023 survey<\/span><\/a>\u00a0found that peer collaboration has risen from around 30% to 36% among L&D practitioners, and 63% now collaborate with other business functions on learning, showing that inter-team learning is becoming an established part of workplace development.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To explore these concepts in greater depth,\u00a0the\u00a0Totara Community recently\u00a0welcomed\u00a0Charles\u00a0Jennings, co-founder of the 70:20:10 Institute, to their Learning with IMPACT event.\u00a0Drawing on his insights, this article examines how social learning works in practice and how teams can use it to strengthen collaboration and continuous development.<\/span>\u00a0This is part one of a three-part series on social learning<\/span><\/b>, with upcoming articles\u00a0featuring insights from Mitchells & Butlers and Anamaria\u00a0Dorgo, founder of L&D Shakers, on applying these principles to real workplace contexts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is social learning in the workplace?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Social learning refers to the process of learning with and from others<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>build a culture of shared growth<\/span><\/a>. It happens when employees collaborate on a project, share ideas in meetings, or\u00a0observe\u00a0how colleagues handle situations. The concept builds on the idea that people learn best through observation and interaction.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a workplace setting, this could look like:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n