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The way employees learn at work is rapidly changing.
Previously, learning and development (L&D) efforts were largely uniform and did not take into account individual learning needs or preferences. Rows of desks and long presentations were the norm.
Now, things are different—for the better.
Individuals want to learn in ways that are customized to their interests and career goals. Not only are employees increasingly pursuing educational opportunities outside of formal training, but in companies with positive learning cultures, employees are 44% more likely to showcase their strengths to stand out for future opportunities.
All of this creates an atmosphere that is ripe for peer learning.
At Together, we’ve seen a growing phenomenon of companies using our mentoring platform to start peer learning programs, because they recognize that employee growth starts with peer collaboration.
In this article, we unpack the compelling benefits of peer learning and how organizations can take advantage of it.
By the end of this article, you’ll be well-suited to start your own peer-to-peer mentorship program.
What is peer learning?
Peer learning in the workplace is when colleagues work together to share their expertise and knowledge to learn a new skill, concept, or process.
Peer learning can be formal or informal, but it always involves some sort of collaboration between two or more peers. From shadowing someone else at work to having lunch-and-learns with colleagues, its most significant benefit is that all employees involved learn something from the exchange.
It’s a great way to boost employee engagement and collaboration while also encouraging learning and development. Plus, it helps create an environment of trust between employees, which is essential for any successful business.
The roots of peer leaning within education
Not to be confused with collaborative learning, peer learning is an approach that has been around for centuries. Unlike traditional instruction, where the teacher is the only one imparting knowledge, peer learning allows students to learn from each other, which means that everyone is a teacher and everyone is a learner.
Peer to peer learning has been proven in certain areas to be more effective than traditional learning methods, as it allows learners to gain different perspectives on a subject and exchange and build upon each other’s ideas while staying focused on the task at hand.
Peer to peer training is beneficial in the classroom because it encourages active participation and helps build relationships between students. But this same concept is what makes peer learning such a powerful tool for employees at work.
How peer learning translates into the workplace
In the workplace, peer learning is all about collaboration. It promotes a sense of camaraderie among employees as they learn from each other and develop their skills together.
Peer learning creates a team dynamic where everyone’s ideas and opinions are respected, encouraging employees to speak up and share their thoughts without fear of judgment or reprimand. It also fosters an environment of mutual respect, as everyone is seen as an equal contributor to the learning process.
The benefits of peer learning go beyond just collaboration and respect, though. It also helps employees to become better problem-solvers by teaching them how to work together and think critically about their ideas. It encourages creativity, which can lead to innovation in the workplace that could otherwise be stifled with traditional methods.
What are the benefits of peer learning at work?
Peer learning is happening informally in a lot of workplaces. According to Degreed, employees are 147% more likely to connect with peers in companies with healthy learning cultures than in those without. The fact that employees turn to one another to learn is an important insight for people leaders to recognize.
Seeing that 79%of CEOs worldwide worry that skill gaps are “threatening the future growth of their organization[s],” peer-to-peer learning is becoming the lever for organizational growth. This is in contrast to traditional corporate training programs which are outdated and ineffective.
Team work
A peer-to-peer learning approach can be a more effective learning tool, particularly when peers are motivated to solve a problem or overcome a challenge together. In this type of scenario, there can be a lot of learning for employees.
Peer feedback loops
Peer-to-peer learning also helps employees get better at giving feedback. Knowing how to deliver constructive feedback to your peers, and understanding how to accept it are vital skills for modern workplaces.
Get your copy of our 360 Feedback Template
Gaining new perspectives
Collaboration that happens in peer-to-peer experiences also exposes people to different perspectives, which is key to supporting DEIB in the workplace.
Examples of companies using peer learning
For years, companies have been leveraging peer learning for professional development. Only about a quarter of the respondents to a Ceridian survey said that their organizations don’t have systems in place to encourage learning among employees.
Below, we outline three examples of companies that are maximizing the potential of peer learning.
Bridgewater’s culture of “idea meritocracy”
As one of the largest and most successful hedge funds in the world, Bridgewater has been built by its founder Ray Dalio with the goal of operating in what he calls an “idea meritocracy.”
At Bridgewater, all opinions and ideas are shared freely and debated through a process of peer feedback and learning. Employees don't have to worry about hierarchy or politics; instead, they can focus on learning from each other in order to push the company forward.
Buffer’s onboarding buddy system
From the start, Buffer has focused on fostering an open and collaborative environment. As part of their onboarding program, new hires undergo a six-week immersion called Bootcamp to learn the ins and outs of the company’s culture.
The buddy system is designed to help new hires get up to speed quickly by pairing them with three buddies—a leader buddy, a role buddy, and a culture buddy. This system allows for an open dialogue between newbies and experienced professionals, which helps build trust among team members and create a sense of belonging in a short amount of time.
Airbnb’s peer mentorship
With an extraordinary growth rate on its way to becoming the world’s largest hospitality company, Airbnb has put a big emphasis on peer-to-peer learning within its organization to increase employee retention and drive innovation.
In line with their "Belong Anywhere" mission, they strive to create an environment of trust, support, and collaboration by focusing on “belonging through knowledge.” This has been done in ways like peer mentorship, in which they reported a 10% sign-up growth just within the first year, and continued to scale years after.
Colleague Connect: A new approach to peer learning
Colleague Connect is changing the game when it comes to how we help each other grow at work. It's all about making it easier and more natural for everyone to share advice, learn, and support one another. Instead of traditional mentorship, where there's a mentor who teaches and a mentee who learns, this tool lets everyone teach and learn from each other on equal ground. Colleague Connect encourages everyone to join in, share, and learn together.
Here's how Colleague Connect makes peer learning faster, easier, and more accessible:
- Effortless and Casual Networking: Tailored to meet the varied needs of an organization's employees, Colleague Connect fosters easygoing interactions that encourage spontaneous exchanges of insights and support. This environment nurtures a more accessible and engaging way for individuals to offer and receive guidance, enriching the learning experience in a casual atmosphere.
- Egalitarian Social Learning: By eliminating traditional mentor-mentee hierarchies, Colleague Connect fosters an environment where learning is a shared journey, empowering every participant equally. This strategy cultivates a community where exchanging knowledge is everyone's privilege, creating a collective learning ecosystem.
- Broad-based Engagement and Networking: With its capability to connect individuals through common skills, ambitions, or characteristics like geographical location, department, or ERGs, Colleague Connect ensures that networking and educational opportunities are widely available, bridging gaps across the organizational spectrum.
- Leveraging Human Capital: Recognizing that an organization's greatest asset is its workforce, Colleague Connect enables individuals to form symbiotic partnerships for mutual professional advancement. This strategy not only bolsters personal development but also solidifies a unified, progressive company culture.
- Adaptable Templates for Immediate Implementation: Colleague Connect provides a variety of customizable templates, prepared with best practices for straightforward application across different needs, from facilitating introductions between departments to streamlining the onboarding process or catering to particular learning objectives. This feature allows for the rapid launch of programs specifically designed to meet organizational goals.
10 Benefits of peer-to-peer learning in the workplace
1. Peer learning facilitates knowledge sharing
Knowledge sharing is the process of exchanging information, skills, or expertise between individuals or teams. It involves sharing best practices, insights, or lessons learned to help others learn, solve problems, or improve performance. Peer-to-peer learning encourages knowledge sharing so critical know-how is kept within organizations.
Many high potential employees can benefit from participating in peer-to-peer learning because, as they coach others, they'll learn themselves. Moreover, these employees may also be able to share their knowledge with others in your company which will help develop future leaders.
Essentially, each participant in peer learning will be able to strengthen their skills through the experience of sharing them with others. Whether they teach their colleagues or learn from them, it’s a win-win for everyone.
Peer-to-peer learning also enables knowledge sharing among participants in a comfortable setting. Rather than planning and giving a formal presentation on a topic, sharing knowledge among peers is less intimidating.
Summary:
- Knowledge sharing keeps critical knowledge within the organization
- High potential employees will validate their knowledge by sharing it with others
- Hidden talent, or the “silent expert” will gain visibility for succession opportunities
- Knowledge sharing is more comfortable than a formal presentation
2. Peer learning provides cost-effective training
For employee development programs, peer-to-peer learning is an affordable option that requires less money than hiring instructors for workshops and training sessions.
Yet, it can still deliver great experiences for participants and the organization by leveraging the talent and skill you already have internally to cultivate employee development.
If you want to draw inspiration from Google, consider ways to make your high potential employees the top trainers within your company.
Implementing peer learning can happen very quickly in an organization with little support. Learn how to develop peer-to-peer learning in your workplace with Together’s step-by-step guide.
Summary:
- Peer-to-peer learning is more cost-effective than traditional training
- Rather than hiring outside consultants, leverage your in-house experts to train others
- Be like Google by facilitating peer development through high potential employees
3. Peer learning strengthens company culture
Learning from those that are at a similar stage in their career and have a success story can be inspiring. These peer teachers are often more relatable than higher-ups in the company or an external instructor.
This kind of connection with colleagues and the willingness of everyone involved to work together can build a stronger company culture. Employees exposed to a peer-to-peer learning program can grow from the experience and may start to be more ambitious as a result.
Employees that are treated as experts in their field by their company will naturally feel valued. Peers will be motivated to learn more and to share that with others in the organization. The result of this will improve productivity and company culture.
Summary:
- If you want a strong company culture you need to foster peer collaboration and learning
- Employees want to learn from each other rather than instructors
4. Peer learning can help with onboarding employees
Peer-to-peer learning quickly gets new hires up to speed and part of the team. It gives them people they can go to with questions and keeps them from feeling stuck.
One of the best onboarding techniques is to help the new hire feel at home quickly. Peer-to-peer learning can do this and help you create the best onboarding experience for your employees.
New employees can get to know co-workers in the company who can show them the ropes and guide them through those tricky first few weeks on the job. Companies don’t have to wait until the first day to employ peer-to-peer learning. Introducing a new hire to co-workers before they start can help ease any first-day jitters they may have.
Peer learning in the onboarding process can help new employees feel comfortable asking questions they don’t want to discuss with their manager.
Summary:
- Peer-to-peer learning will get new hires up to speed quickly
- New employees will always have someone they can go to with their questions
- Peer-to-peer learning should be integral to a successful onboarding program
5. Peer learning supports remote employees
Employees don’t have to be in the office to benefit from peer learning. There are a variety of ways to bring remote collaboration to your team's learning. There are several mentor models remote workplaces can leverage, such as one-on-one meetings or group mentoring.
Remote mentoring can be a great tool to help combat feelings of disconnect and isolation that come with working from home. It helps with employee engagement and helps them connect with team members on different teams they may not connect with as regularly.
So if you need to engage remote employees, peer-to-peer learning is an effective strategy.
Summary:
- Remote employees need to connect with each other but it can be more difficult
- Peer-to-peer learning formalizes collaboration
- Organizing remote mentoring programs is an effective way to foster collaboration between distributed team.
6. Peer learning supports employee development and career pathing
Peer learning helps employees take ownership of their career path and development. By connecting more with their colleagues they’ll gain a broader perspective on different career paths. In turn, they may find new opportunities and set new goals for their careers.
Using a peer-to-peer learning approach to employee development can help companies quickly respond and fill experience gaps. Organizations can struggle with abrupt skill loss if a senior employee quits or retires. Encouraging employees to learn from each other is an excellent way to overcome skill shortages and experience gaps.
Summary:
- Peer-to-peer learning encourages employees to take ownership of their career and expertise
- Employees can direct their own learning and broaden their perspective on paths their career can take
- Companies can quickly fill experience gaps with peer-to-peer learning
7. Peer learning boosts employee morale and well-being
In the modern workplace, employees need to feel valued to stay motivated and engaged. They want to take on challenges and develop their skills, but they may not feel supported to do so.
Peer learning can be a way for employees to encourage each other and build an environment of trust. This kind of collaboration between colleagues builds morale and promotes feelings of well-being throughout the company. Employees will have more confidence in their abilities as they learn from each other’s successes and failures.
The result? A healthier work environment that encourages growth, innovation, and productivity, where employees feel appreciated for their efforts as they are given a platform to share information that is valuable to their peers. This recognition leads to more responsible decision-making, which ultimately benefits the organization as a whole.
Summary:
- Peer learning can help employees to feel valued and connected within the workplace.
- Providing peer learning opportunities encourage employees to take on challenges and share information that is valuable to their peers
8. Peer learning increases your retention rate
One of the primary reasons why employees leave a company is because they feel like they’re not learning or growing. In fact, 94% of workers confirmed in a LinkedIn report that they would remain with a company longer if there were L&D programs.
Peer learning provides employees with access to the resources and support they need to do their jobs and stay up-to-date on the latest trends in their field. This can help reduce employee turnover rate, as employees are more likely to stay when they feel like their work is meaningful and their skills are being honed by peers who understand them better than anyone else.
This helps build relationships among employees, and this connection will often result in increased loyalty toward the organization, leading to higher retention rates over time.
Summary:
- Employees need to feel like they’re learning and growing all the time
- As peer learning strengthens relationships within the company, it also helps increase loyalty and retention
9. Peer learning boosts employee engagement and productivity
Unlike traditional methods of learning, peer learning is far more engaging and interactive. It encourages employees to discuss and debate ideas, work together on problem-solving, and share their knowledge with others.
This kind of collaboration can lead to increased employee engagement and productivity, as well as improved job satisfaction because of the idea that they’re part of a team working towards a common goal.
When employees are deep into the process, they’re likely to be more productive and efficient in their work because they’re working with people who understand the challenges they face and can offer real-world advice that applies directly to the job.
Summary:
- Peer learning is more engaging and interactive than traditional learning methods
- Engaged employees are more productive and efficient than those who lack motivation or don't feel connected to their work
- Increased employee engagement and productivity lead to improved job satisfaction
10. Peer learning improves knowledge retention
Learning from a colleague or peer can be more effective than learning from a book. That’s because it involves active dialogue and collaboration among the employees, which helps to cement the knowledge into their long-term memory.
In many cases, it's so much easier to remember something if you've discussed it with someone else because the discussion helps build a framework for understanding and recall later on.
Peer learning also encourages employees to ask questions, get real-time feedback, and explore different ways of solving problems, which can help them come up with innovative solutions they may not have thought of on their own.
Summary:
- Active dialogue between peers will help knowledge stick in the long term
- Peer learning encourages exploration and innovation in problem-solving
How peer learning fits into your L&D strategy
Not everyone learns the same way. For some, traditional methods of learning may be enough. But for others, a more collaborative and social approach to learning resonates better. That’s where peer learning comes in.
Peer learning is an important part of any L&D strategy to supplement traditional corporate learning methods. It is especially useful for teaching complex concepts that are difficult to explain in writing.
For one, it allows people to gain knowledge from one another in a manner that’s more engaging and interactive than a book or video. But it also provides employees with personalized support and development opportunities to help them reach their goals faster. Plus, it encourages collaboration among peers who may not otherwise interact.
Check out our guide on how to start a peer learning program to support your L&D initiatives.
Integrating peer learning as a part of peer mentoring
Learning in any sense is an integral part of any mentorship program. Specifically, integrating peer learning into the experience is quite simple but can yield fantastic results. Even if two peers are at similar levels professionally, there are most likely different experiences that each can draw on as a learning experience for the other. After all, the whole program is meant to foster personal and professional development.
For example, peer learning can become part of the onboarding experience by pairing entry-level employees with more experienced personnel. This not only helps new hires adjust to their new position and the company culture overall but also helps to immediately provide them with a network of support that they can rely on.
5 steps for setting up a peer learning and peer mentoring program
A peer mentorship program could take several different forms depending on a company’s size, industry, and aims. What may work for one company could come up short at another.
The best steps are ones that should be standard for any mentorship program and, yet, still provide flexibility outside of their parameters. There is a lot of freedom to customize the experience based on your knowledge of your teams and company culture.
1. Decide on goals
When beginning a mentorship program, it is important to establish what the desired outcome is for the employees involved and the company as a whole. For example, a fantastic goal would be to increase employee retention. It is important that the goals you choose are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound).
2. Find mentors and mentees
In order for a mentorship program to work, you need employees to volunteer as mentors and mentees. It would be unwise to force workers to join this program and, therefore, sending out some sort of notice of the upcoming programming and gauging interest would be beneficial. This would also be a good time to collect some information about their ambitions and backgrounds for the pairing stage.
3. Facilitate a mentor training session
Those that volunteered to be mentors may feel slightly unsure about their leadership qualifications. Even if they are not, it would be smart to facilitate a session where the participants are reminded that clear and respectful communication and actionable feedback are the best ways to engage with a mentee. Additionally, it would be good to remind them that mentors also benefit from the mentorship process themselves.
4. Pair participants
This should be done while keeping your overall goals in mind. If you want to increase retention, it would be a good idea to pair mentees who expressed a desire to grow in a particular area with mentors who can guide them in that way. This is why it is important to collect some preliminary information in the application stage so that you can accurately pair participants.
5. Track your progress
Lastly, you should measure mentoring success to ensure that your program is meeting its goals. After all, you want to make a difference by introducing mentorship, and this should be able to be demonstrated to leaders and key stakeholders. A good means of data collection is an exit survey for the participants. You can also measure larger metrics before, during, and after the program, such as employee retention rates, to see the difference that mentorship makes.
Connect employees and boost time to performance
Now more than ever, high-potential employees desire to develop their skill sets and leverage their networks to create new opportunities for growth and collaboration. These employees are already seeking new educational ventures, which presents an opportunity to employers to foster this desired environment.
Creating a positive learning culture and allowing for mentorship opportunities has been shown to increase employee retention and engagement. Peer-to-peer mentorship is perhaps the most accessible version of this as it focuses on pairing coworkers with an established knowledge of one another.
However, we know that starting a mentorship program for the first time can be overwhelming. The rewards for success are high, but there are many factors that can negatively contribute to the mentorship experience. That’s why Together’s mentorship software has been utilized by over 150 companies to facilitate mentorship programs.
Book a demo to find out how Together can help you create a successful peer-to-peer mentorship program.
