Definition · Training and development
Social Learning
Definition
Social learning is learning by watching, talking to and working alongside other people, rather than only from formal courses. At work it covers peer coaching, side-by-side shadowing, communities of practice, team huddles and online discussion. It rests on Albert Bandura's social learning theory, which holds that people learn by observing others and the results of their behavior.
Also called: Peer learning, Collaborative learning at work, Social learning theory
The theory in brief
Bandura described learning through observation as needing four things: attention (the learner notices the behavior), retention (they remember it), reproduction (they are able to do it themselves) and motivation (they have a reason to). That explains why a new agent who sits beside a top performer for a day picks up phrasing and pacing that a slide deck never conveys, and why it fails if the person they shadow is a poor model.
In L&D planning, social learning is the middle of the 70-20-10 model: the share of development that comes from other people rather than from experience or formal training.
Workplace examples
- Side-by-sides and shadowing. A new hire in a contact center listens to live calls with an experienced agent during nesting before taking calls alone.
- Peer coaching. Two supervisors review each other's coaching sessions and give feedback.
- [Mentoring](/glossary/mentoring/) relationships, formal or informal.
- Communities of practice. Recruiters across sites share sourcing tactics in a monthly call or a chat channel.
- Call and case reviews. Teams listen to recorded calls together and discuss what worked.
- Shift huddles. Five minutes at the start of a shift to share one tip or one problem from yesterday.
- User-generated content. Short videos recorded by experienced workers showing how they do a task.
Making it work
Social learning happens anyway; the job of L&D is to steer it toward the right behaviors. Choose models carefully, because new hires copy whatever they see, including shortcuts that break policy. Give peer coaches a simple structure and a little training; train-the-trainer sessions of an hour or two lift the quality noticeably. Protect time for it on the schedule, especially in operations measured on occupancy and handle time, where informal learning is the first thing squeezed out.
Measure it through outcomes rather than activity. Compare speed to proficiency for new hires who had structured side-by-sides with those who did not, or track whether quality scores improve on teams running regular call reviews.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a chat channel will become a learning community without anyone to seed and moderate it.
- Using top performers as peer coaches without checking they can explain what they do.
- Treating social learning as a replacement for structured training on compliance and safety, where everyone must learn the same thing.
Frequently asked questions
What is social learning in the workplace?
Learning from colleagues through observation, conversation, coaching, shadowing and shared problem solving, as opposed to only formal courses.
What is Bandura's social learning theory?
A theory that people learn by observing others and the consequences of their actions, through attention, retention, reproduction and motivation.
What is the difference between social learning and peer learning?
Peer learning is one form of social learning, focused on colleagues at a similar level teaching each other. Social learning also includes learning from managers, mentors and experts.
How do you encourage collaborative learning at work?
Protect time for it, set up structured side-by-sides and reviews, train peer coaches, and recognize people who share knowledge.