An investigation into how social learning in a hybrid, corporate environment impacts people managers, in role less than two years

Abstract

Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to solely rely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do” (Bandura, 1977 p22)

Since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, a growing number of companies are looking to implement a hybrid working model. With employees being in the office at different times, if at all, how people interact and share best practices has changed. This study explores how people managers, in role for less than two years, learn from each other. Through the use of a mixed methods questionnaire, it aims to understand what impact social learning, meaning how people learn with each other and from each other, in a corporate, hybrid environment has on that group. The research takes anonymised data from 232 people managers, in all major global regions, and looks at how social learning influences self-efficacy, sense of belonging and building connections with peers.

The initial data in this study supports the following key findings: ➢ People managers who spend dedicated time with peers in onboarding and those who had peers sharing best practices during onboarding have a higher sense of selfefficacy, a stronger sense of belonging and a stronger sense of connection with their peers. ➢ People managers who went through a fully in-person onboarding have a slightly stronger sense of belonging than those who went through fully on-line onboarding. ➢ Connecting, being interested, and open & transparent communication are the top three things mentioned by participants when asked how their manager contributes to their sense of belonging. ➢ 69% of participants find the tools their company has put in place to connect with and learn from peers, quite to very effective. ➢ Informal 1:1 conversations, best practice sharing, and observation are the most important ways participants have found themselves to learn from their peers in a hybrid environment. ➢ 67.3% of participants find learning from peers more valuable than going through formal training.