It Takes a Village: Why Self-Service Learning is So Effective

By Amanda Byrne, CX Design Specialist, Oracle

Have you ever wondered if there was a better place to grab a burger or a quicker way to get somewhere you frequent? Ten years ago, information like that wasn’t nearly as easy to come by as it is today. Now, we can post our question in a forum or on social media and have instant access to a network of thousands of our peers.

Personally, this is how I learn about go-to restaurants when I travel, find a new pediatrician for my kids, and locate just the right hotel for the family vacation. We spend about one-third of our life at work, so why wouldn’t we apply these same methods of learning when it comes to the tools we use to get our jobs done?

It’s not hard to imagine:

Your company invests in a new technology. You’ve completed the online training but are in the middle of a project when a question comes up. Instead of calling someone or emailing and waiting for a reply, you hop into the community for a quick search. It's not surprising that someone has already asked that exact question. Better yet, several people have offered up solutions that answer your question, and you are back to work.

Having a digital space where you can interact with peers, ask questions, and share best practices can radically enhance learning and your user experience. That’s why we recently shared how self-service can equal great customer service.

Don't Just Take Our Word for It

Zendesk Research found that “as many as 67 percent of consumers prefer helping themselves to speaking with a customer service agent.” Community and peer-to-peer interaction can play as big of a role in a successful self-service model as a knowledge base. In fact, Aberdeen reports that savvy high-tech companies with well-oiled online communities see 3.1 times greater customer satisfaction rates.

The self-service and peer-to-peer community interactions aren’t the only benefit either. Another study by Aberdeen found that 17.5 percent of learning something new applied to relational learning – which happens during collaborations and using social networks and communities.

The research is clear; there are big benefits to joining digital communities. We hear our customers ask for more and better learning options, and so we’ve raised the bar. Oracle LaunchPad, our new free learning tool, has its own community forum where you can ask questions, search for answers, and share your best practices!

Check out all of Oracle’s communities – there are already more than 450K active users there. What are you waiting for? Join the conversation today!