How to upskill employees through community-based learning

Sponsorship note: This article was produced in partnership with LinkedIn.

Ksenia Stepanova of HRD Australia caught up with Adam Gregory of LinkedIn Talent & Learning Solutions to discuss community-based learning in the virtual age.

The Great Reshuffle has made employees re-evaluate many aspects of their working lives, and new research suggests that professional development and learning is now a top priority.

LinkedIn’s recent Workplace Learning Report showed that opportunities to learn are highly valued by employees, and were the top factor in defining an ‘exceptional work environment’ – even beating out factors like wellbeing, organisational values and a sense of belonging. But with everything moving into a remote environment and with in-person gatherings becoming less frequent, keeping learners engaged and connected has become more of a challenge.

According to Senior Director, LinkedIn Talent & Learning Solutions Adam Gregory, combining learning with that sense of connection can produce some excellent results – and that’s where community-based learning comes in.

“Community-based learning connects learners to colleagues, peers, and experts to drive higher engagement and inspire skill-building,” Gregory explained.

“It uses blended online learning, supported by social features – such as course recommendations, sharing learnings on chat software, participating in online groups, or asking questions.

“The goal is to create a sustainable and intentional learning loop where learners are inspired to learn by someone they respect, encourage others to learn with them, and instruct those who have asked for help.”

In a survey of learning and development (L&D) professionals, 98% of ANZ participants agreed that people generally learn better together, and are much more engaged when learning in a group of peers. With more organisations needing to upskill and reskill their employees, Gregory says that community-based learning is quickly emerging as the go-to strategy to meet those goals.

“When people lost the ability to collaborate in person, they found other ways to connect, largely online, leading to an increase in the use of LinkedIn Learning’s social features since the pandemic hit,” Gregory said.

“We’ve seen a 1,100% increase in people joining Learning Groups and a 121% increase in activity in course Q&As. We also found that learners who use social features watched 30 times more hours of learning content.”

“With a shift to virtual during the pandemic, we also saw new ways of culture-building emerge, with ‘opportunities to learn and grow’ and ‘belonging’ rise as top drivers of great work cultures,” he added.

“L&D pros can achieve both with community-based learning because community builds belonging and belonging builds engagement.”

To start engaging your employees with community-based learning, Gregory says that it all needs to begin at leadership level. Managers have an in-depth knowledge of what skills are needed in their industry, and this makes them a valuable partner in creating an engaging team environment, and in delivering personalised learning.

Technology is also a vital enabler of learning, but Treasury Wine HR Director Kirsten Dale says it’s not just about converting in-person conferences into zoom calls.

“Start fresh and bring a new perspective to building for live virtual,” Dale said.

“Can you drop the slides and just have a conversation? Is the content sufficiently modular? Is it too long for online consumption? Should we have virtual breakouts? Chat is where learners are hanging out these days, so make it a home for learning, too.

“Blending these online experiences helps keep learning social, and can help build a community centred around learning.”

LinkedIn is bringing its own tools to the table with the launch of the LinkedIn Learning Hub, which matches learners’ skills gaps and professional goals, and delivers personalised learning content. The Hub now has over 16,000 online courses run by industry experts in 7 languages, and L&D leaders have access to data insights on the demand for different courses and skills.

Gregory says that the potential of community-based learning is huge, both for business strategy and for company culture. It gives employees the opportunity to develop their core competencies and acquire new skills, while also socially engaging with their team and the industry experts – a win-win on every side.

“In today’s climate, businesses need to be agile and dynamic to keep up with the pace of change. That means that traditional learning paths and courses aren’t enough anymore,” Gregory said.

“Community-based learning exceeds the boundaries of the virtual classroom and becomes woven into the fabric of your organisation’s culture. When L&D pros tie learning goals to business goals, learners experience higher levels of engagement because learning becomes more tangible.

“This helps each learner understand how their efforts are helping the organisation achieve its mission, and it builds a sense of community and belonging.”

Adam Gregory

Adam Gregory is the ANZ Senior Director of Talent and Learning Solutions at LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network. Adam and his team help organisations think across the full employee lifecycle, transforming the way they plan, hire, and develop talent. This is possible through the disruptive technology and unique data and insights from LinkedIn’s 800 million members and 57 million companies.