Introduction
Social learning is based on a simple reality: 90% of employees report learning most effectively from their peers at work. In other words, learning is already happening in the field—through daily interactions with supervisors and colleagues.
A technical gesture shared between colleagues, a sales tip shared in real time, a solution found collectively in the face of a customer problem: this informal knowledge is valuable but rarely structured or inventoried.
By making these exchanges of information visible and accessible, social learning transforms these exchanges into a real driver of performance: more engaging, more concrete, and above all more rooted in operational reality.
Here are 10 key benefits—and how to activate them in your organization.
What is social learning?
Social learning is a pedagogical approach that places human interaction at the heart of knowledge acquisition. Discover our Social Learning Guide.
Inspired by the works of Albert Bandura, this concept suggests that learning is a social process in which individuals grow by observing, imitating, and interacting with others.
Rather than relying solely on vertical transmission (from teacher to student), It emphasizes collective intelligence, shared experience, and real-world know-how.
📌 Today, with the rise of collaborative platforms, this method makes it possible to transform every daily interaction - whether it is a forum, a practical workshop or advice between colleagues - into an immediate and engaging opportunity for skills development.
The 10 benefits of social learning for field teams
1. Reduced training costs
For the company: No more travel expenses for expensive face-to-face seminars. Social learning capitalizes on internal expertise to share high-value knowledge while keeping costs low.
For employees : The training no longer requires blocking an entire day. It fits directly into the workflow, between two missions or during periods of lower activity, via short formats that are accessible on mobile.
Concrete example : A major retail chain can thus replace part of its face-to-face training courses with a collaborative micro-content flow broadcast on its LMS. In-store teams share their best practices (merchandising, customer relationships, internal procedures), validated by business experts.
Key figure: Businesses using social learning reduce their training costs by 30 to 40%
2. Increased employee engagement
For the company: Engaged employees are more productive, more loyal to the company and less exposed to turnover. Social learning turns training into a collective dynamic, rather than a purely top-down obligation.
For employees: Learning from peers, sharing business tips and receiving feedback in real time makes the training more motivating and more grounded in real-world practice, far from theoretical, top-down training.
Concrete example: On the Beedeez collaborative flow, sales reps directly share their field tips (product arguments, effective shelving, responses to customer objections) and recognize each other through reactions and comments.
—> This culture of peer recognition transforms training into a living space for exchange, grounded in the everyday reality of stores.
—> Result : content is consulted more regularly, best practices circulate more quickly and team engagement improves sustainably compared to traditional e-learning modules.
Key figure: Highly engaged teams have 78% lower absenteeism.
3. Sharing field expertise between peers
For the company: Informal skills — those practical insights only experienced employees master, are finally captured, structured and disseminated. The result: less loss of knowledge when leaving and a more homogeneous increase in skills within teams.
For employees: Access to real-world feedback from colleagues—and sharing their own expertise—gives everyone recognition. The training becomes a peer-to-peer exchange, not something to memorize.
Concrete example: At Würth, field salespeople film their sales techniques and share them on the Beedeez LMS via their smartphone. New hires develop skills 50% faster thanks to these authentic, relevant resources.
Key figure: 63% of employees say they learn more from their colleagues than traditional training (IFOP for Beedeez, 2025).
4. Fast onboarding for seasonal workers and new hires
For the company: Thanks to structured and personalized support, onboarding can be up to twice as fast, while reducing the pressure on managers and supervisory teams.
For employees: Less stress, integration both social and operational, and the feeling of being supported from the very first hours in the company.
—> Newcomers adopt faster good business practices, thanks to concrete feedback from their peers and to content that is accessible from day one.
Concrete example: Amorino (homemade ice cream) relies on social learning to onboard seasonal staff in 48 hours, down from a full week. Result: faster ramp-up and better retention.
Key figure: Collaborative onboarding can cut onboarding time by 30% (Beedeez/Amorino study, 2024).
5. Better knowledge retention with social learning
For the company: Fewer training modules to design and skills permanently anchored through exchange, practice and simulation.
For employees: Explaining to a peer means learning twice. Training becomes active: we share, we reformulate, we demonstrate instead of simply consuming training content.
Concrete example: A technician who films and explains a task to help a colleague is consolidating their own knowledge in the process: this is the "learning by teaching" effect.
Key figure: An employee retains twice as much information when they explain or teach a concept to a colleague in a real-world situation.
6. A culture of continuous learning, even when on the move
For the company: Training is naturally integrated into the schedule of employees, without disrupting their activity. Teams learn on the job, right in the context where the work actually happens.
For employees: Being able to consult practical advice between two customers or during a transport time makes the training more flexible, more accessible and immediately actionable.
Concrete example: A delivery driver browses tips shared by colleagues on their smartphone during downtime. Result: 156 capsules viewed on average per year (Beedeez, 2025).
Key figure: According to the report Workplace Learning Report short formats that are accessible on demand are the most popular among learners, especially on mobile.
7. Collective problem solving
For the company: Solutions emerge directly from the field, and not only from managers or expert services. Social learning encourages bottom-up innovation and strengthens operational agility when unexpected situations arise.
For employees: Being able to ask a question and quickly get answers from colleagues who've faced the same situation builds autonomy, confidence, and the ability to act effectively in the field.
Concrete example: On the Beedeez LMS collaborative forum , for example, a worker can ask for help with complex welding. In less than an hour, they received three practical responses, illustrated with photos and videos shared by their peers.
Key figure: The use of social learning technologies in business can improve the productivity of 20 to 25%, including by facilitating collaboration and knowledge sharing.
8. Strengthened communication between sites and points of sale
For the company: Social learning breaks down geographic silos and spreads best practices across a national or international network.
—> Local initiatives thus become common references, in the service of more homogeneous performance.
For employees: It offers the possibility of exchanging with colleagues that they would never meet otherwise, to compare approaches and grow together when facing similar challenges.
Concrete example: Picard (over 1,000 stores) uses Beedeez to share best practices across regions. Result: strengthened cohesion and reduction of performance gaps.
Key figure: Businesses that promote a collaborative culture are 5x more likely to outperform their competitors.
9. User Generated Content (UGC): field expertise becomes a resource
Social learning is also based on user generated content (UGC) : it is the employees themselves who produce and share knowledge from the field. It can be a message on Whatsapp, a video shot during an intervention with a customer, an assembly sketch, a photo of a shelf that worked...
For the company: The contents are updated continuously by those who best know the reality on the ground.
The result: a lighter burden on training teams and more resources authentic, directly aligned with operational challenges.
For employees: Becoming a content creator—videos, tips, field feedback—builds professional recognition and pride.
Everyone can contribute actively to collective learning, beyond their own position.
Concrete example: In a specialized distribution chain, a saleswoman shares a video of her technique for presenting a high-value new product.
—> Her tips are widely shared by colleagues and added to the recommended resources across the network.
Key figure: On some social learning platforms, the majority of the most viewed content comes from UGC, proof that field expertise directly meets the needs of teams (internal Beedeez data)
10. Reduction in onboarding times
For the company: Employees are up to speed more quickly, with stronger retention from the first year. Integration is no longer based solely on the manager, but is built on collective intelligence and the sharing of experience between peers.
For employees: An integration both professional and social, with identified mentors and concrete feedback accessible from the very first days.
Concrete example: Chez Würth, new salespeople benefit from a digital sponsorship via Beedeez. Result: 76% say they feel included in the first week (Beedeez)
Key figure: A structured, engaging onboarding significantly improves retention (×2) and commitment (×4) from the first year.
Traditional Social Learning vs. Mobile-First (Beedeez)
Social learning has existed for several years, but not all approaches are created equal.
The shift to a mobile-first model is transforming the learning experience, especially for field teams.
The table below highlights the main differences between traditional social learning and an approach designed natively for mobile, like Beedeez.
How does Beedeez make social learning concrete for field teams?
At Beedeez, social learning does not just exist — it fits naturally into daily operations, where it really matters:
- 📱Collaborative feed : A space for exchange inspired by social networks, but 100% dedicated to learning. The teams y share their tips, respond to best practices and enrich each other — like on Facebook, but better: without distraction, with useful content.
- ⚡ Tips in 2 clicks : Of practical micro-content (30-second videos, commented photos, memo cards) created by the collaborators themselves. Accessible In one click, even Offline — because the terrain is also the white areas And the short gaps between tasks.
- 🎮 Smart gamification : Badges, rankings and Congratulations between peers to Motivate without forcing. No sterile competition, but a Instant recognition that makes you want to contribute.
- 🌍 Offline mode : Because the training should not end where internet connections are random, the contents are downloadable and viewable everywhere, even in an isolated workshop, warehouse or construction site.
→ Result? A training lively, useful and finally adapted to the realities of the field, without a classroom, without PowerPoint, but by trusting the collective intelligence of your teams.
“For Beedeez, social learning is not limited to a space for exchange between employees. It's an approach Mobile-first , directly connected to the field, where everyone can learn, share and transmit good practices on a daily basis, through short, concrete and collaborative formats.”
Ugo Durand, Senior Account Manager at Beedeez
FAQS
Is social learning replacing traditional training?
No It complements them. Structured training remains essential to lay the foundations and guarantee a solid educational framework. Social learning then reinforces field application, promotes engagement and anchors skills in daily life.
How to guarantee the quality of the content generated by the teams?
Quality is based on a double filter: managerial moderation and peer validation. On Beedeez, content can be commented, evaluated and highlighted. The most relevant contributions are gradually becoming recognized and recommended resources.
Is it suitable for poorly connected or highly mobile teams?
Yes. The platform works on smartphones and in offline mode. The formats are simple and quick to consult: short videos, commented photos, practical tips. The objective is to integrate into the real rhythm of the field, not to make it heavier.
What is the ROI of social learning?
Organizations that structure collaborative learning generally observe:
- a significant reduction in training costs,
- a much greater commitment than top-down formats,
- faster integration of new hires
- The results vary depending on the context, but the impact on operational performance is measurable.
How do you convince managers?
You have to speak their language: performance and efficiency. Social learning makes it possible to save time, reduce certain training costs and improve field productivity. It also contributes to the loyalty of teams by promoting their expertise and involvement.
Conclusion: moving from top-down training to a collective dynamic of continuous learning
The Social learning does not replace traditional training. It extends it where it has the most impact: on the ground, with the teams.
By structuring existing exchanges between employees, social learning makes it possible to capture real expertise, to accelerate the integration of new hires, to strengthen commitment and to disseminate best practices more quickly.
But to be implemented in a relevant way, social learning must be simple, mobile and integrated into the daily life of teams. It's not about adding one more tool, but about create an environment where everyone can learn, share, and grow naturally.
At Beedeez, we’ve seen it firsthand : with 92% commitment, 30% reduction in costs and thousands of trained field teams, social learning is no longer an option, it has become the norm for all our customers.
👉 Ready to transform your education? Discover how Beedeez activates social learning in your business.
