When people think of learning and professional development, they tend to see it as a monolith. Learning is just learning, isn’t it?
Well, there are different types of learning from various sources in a range of styles including self-directed learning, formal training, mentoring, learning from job experiences, and more.
For decades, educators, psychologists, and learning and development (L&D) professionals have been studying how these different forms of learning relate to each other and what is the optimal mix to include in a training program? One of the models researchers have developed to explain this unique balance is the 70:20:10 learning model.
In this guide, you’ll learn the theoretical background of this model, the pros and cons of using it, and how you can implement it in your organization for optimal learning outcomes. So, let’s all put our thinking caps on because things are about to get a little bit academic.
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What is the 70:20:10 learning model?
The 70:20:10 learning model suggests that effective workplace learning happens through three sources: 70 percent of learning takes place on the job, 20 percent through social interactions with colleagues, and 10 percent from formal training courses.
This framework helps L&D professionals design balanced learning strategies instead of relying solely on traditional classroom training.
- 70% comes through job experiences
- 20% occurs socially through friends and colleagues
- 10% comes through formal training
This model is important in fields like professional development because it tells those designing learning experiences how to optimize their learning strategies. Chiefly, it warns L&D professionals and company leaders that they can’t just rely on formal learning programs through online courses and lectures.
Instead, they need to include opportunities for informal learning, specifically relationships that yield insightful interactions and workplace challenges that allow learners to apply new knowledge through hands-on practice.
History of the 70:20:10 framework
The 70:20:10 framework emerged in the 1980s from research by Michael Lombardo, Robert Eichinger, and Morgan McCall. They surveyed 200 executives about their learning sources and discovered surprising results.
The key findings:
- Only 10%: Came from formal training programs
- 90%: Came from informal experiences and social interaction
- Primary driver: Hands-on, job-related experiences including daily tasks and colleague discussions
Here’s how the researchers explain it themselves in The Career Architect Development Planner, a 1996 publication outlining the results of the study:
“The odds are that development will be about 70% from on-the-job experiences—working on tasks and problems; about 20% from feedback and working around good and bad examples of the need; and 10% from courses and reading.“
Over time, this framework became famous in the L&d field. It was further popularized in the 2000s by Jay Cross in his book Informal Learning.
Today, many organizations, such as the Center for Creative Leadership and the 70:20:10 Institute, advocate for this model and help companies apply it.
Advantages and disadvantages of the 70:20:10 model
Although the 70:20:10 model has been immensely useful in explaining how learners learn most effectively, like any other learning approach for e-learning and corporate training efforts, it has pros and cons.
Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of applying the 70:20:10 model to employee development.
Advantages
- Empowers employees: Applying the 70:20:10 model gives employees more learning autonomy, which is very important for adult learners. Learning by doing gives a sense of self-determination and increases employee engagement.
- It‘s practical: Focusing on experiential learning means that employees learn valuable new skills and ways to apply them instead of just boning up on theory. It’s a great way to increase learning agility and integrate learning into the work environment.
- It‘s easy to implement: The 70:20:10 model relies on relatively simple training methods. You can get 20% of it just by facilitating social learning through social media groups, discussion forums through your learning management system, and mentoring. For 70% of job-related learning, you can assign new tasks to employees with a step-by-step guide.
Up next are the cons.
Disadvantages
- It doesn‘t focus on formal training enough: Many L&D professionals argue that devoting only 10% to formal learning is insufficient. After all, there are many situations, such as in compliance training, where it’s necessary to grasp the rules and theory before implementing the skills.
- It‘s challenging to evaluate it: Since much of this model relies on the learner’s personal experiences, it can be hard to test for effectiveness. Learning by doing, for instance, doesn’t lend itself easily to statistical metrics.
- It can easily be subverted: If you adopt the 70:20:10 model as an organizational guideline, there’s a chance that some of your managers can use it as an excuse for a lack of formal and direct training. After all, employees are supposed to learn on their own, aren’t they? This model supports many learning methods that can be challenging to manage and ensure proper knowledge is being transferred.
Criticism of the 70:20:10 learning model
Like any theory, the 70:20:10 learning model has had its share of criticism. Most of this concerns the lack of empirical evidence to back it up.
It’s important to note that the conclusions of the original study were based on asking participants to self-report what they felt were their learning sources. Self-reporting studies have some significant drawbacks and, in the case of the Lombardo study, the main problems are honesty, introspection, and sampling bias.
Firstly, when a study relies on what people say, they may not always be honest. They can give a reply that’s more socially acceptable instead of what they honestly think.
Secondly, there is a lack of consistent levels of introspection and self-reflection among participants. A person may genuinely believe they’ve learned everything independently while subconsciously downplaying the knowledge they got from others. There’s no way to test if their perception is correct or distorted by personal factors.
Lastly, the only people responding to the survey were executives who had already achieved success. This creates a sampling bias, meaning the group studied wasn’t representative of all employees, so the results might not apply to everyone. What about how people at the beginning of their careers are learning?
While the 70:20:10 model offers valuable insights into the range of sources that provide useful knowledge, it would be a mistake to take it literally and apply it to every learner group.
How relevant is the 70:20:10 model in today’s workplace?
The 70:20:10 model remains highly relevant in today’s hybrid work environments. The key is treating it as a flexible framework, not a rigid formula.
Here’s why each component matters more than ever:
- The 70% (experiential learning): Supports agile, on-the-job problem-solving when skills change rapidly, which is critical given the half-life of many skills is now less than five years
- The 20% (social learning): Leverages digital collaboration tools like Slack and Teams for virtual mentoring
- The 10% (formal training): Provides the structured foundation that makes the other 90% effective
This balanced approach builds collective intelligence across distributed teams regardless of location.
How to implement the 70:20:10 model in L&D
Despite criticism, the model is still a helpful guideline and may be worth implementing, especially as corporations globally are expected to invest more than $380 billion in learning and development programs.
To implement the model, you have to focus on its three components. So, let’s go in-depth into how to create opportunities for each type of learning.
70% from job experience
According to the 70:20:10 model, the central part of learning comes from hands-on experience that enables on-the-job learning.
You’d be forgiven for thinking you can do nothing to facilitate this as part of your employee development programs. Shouldn’t employees just pick up skills on their own?
That’s not exactly right. This experiential learning process is primarily self-directed, but companies can create conditions for it to happen and take steps to encourage it.
For instance, you can:
- Assign team members to new projects that slowly but surely increase the scope of their roles
- Give more decision-making authority when appropriate
- Include people in strategic leadership meetings
- Provide opportunities for an employee to manage other people and projects
- Provide opportunities for employees to try new things and experiment
Doing this will allow team members to broaden their roles and empower them to experiment with new ideas and ways to solve problems.
20% from social learning
As Lombardo and the other researchers called them, developmental relationships are nothing more than opportunities for people in your organization to share knowledge. Or in other words, it’s informal social learning.
Some of this will happen organically, but you can aid in creating those opportunities too.
Here’s how:
- Create mentoring programs where senior team members can coach juniors (you can also explore reverse mentoring as an alternative)
- Enable team members to get and give feedback regularly
- Encourage cross-functional collaboration
- Create a space for employees to vocalize thoughts and insights, like in-person meetings, brainstorming sessions, or virtual communication apps
- Make all perspectives welcome and encourage transparency
Most importantly, create a learning culture of free knowledge-sharing and open discussion of ideas. If you do online training, learning platforms like Docebo can help you. With social learning features like discussion groups, chats, and forums, online learners can interact and learn from one another.
10% from formal training
Even though, in this learning model, only 10% falls to formal training, it doesn’t mean you should be discouraged from offering it. Quite the opposite. Rather, focus on the quality rather than the quantity of formal learning.
One part of that is providing high-quality online learning content through your LMS (learning management system), but there’s a lot more you can do:
- Organize webinars with internal subject matter experts (make sure there’s a Q&A portion)
- Share relevant content by industry experts and leaders
- Offer a learning stipend for employees to use on certification and career development classes
- Host seminars, workshops, and panel discussions
When developing job experiences, social learning, and formal training programs, it is crucial that all three formats create synergy. They must complement and balance one another to create an overall cohesive learning experience.
How to measure success with the 70:20:10 model
Measuring 70:20:10 effectiveness requires tracking metrics across all three components and connecting them to business outcomes.
- Measuring the 70%: Monitor job performance KPIs, project success rates, and time-to-productivity
- Measuring the 20%: Track engagement in forums, mentorship programs, and 360-degree feedback scores
- Measuring the 10%: Assess knowledge retention and speed of real-world application
A learning platform with analytics capabilities consolidates this data for clear visibility into your blended learning strategy’s performance.
Transform your learning strategy with the right platform
The 70:20:10 model creates a learning culture that drives measurable business results. Success comes from integrating all three components into a cohesive experience.
A modern learning platform simplifies this integration by enabling:
- Social learning: Discussion forums and peer collaboration
- Experiential learning: Project-based assignments and real-world challenges
- Formal training: Structured courses and foundational knowledge delivery
Explore why more than 3,800 companies across the world trust Docebo. Book a demo today.
FAQs about the 70:20:10 learning model
What is the 70-20-10 development strategy?
A balanced learning approach: 70% challenging job experiences, 20% social interactions like coaching, and 10% formal training programs.
Which type of learning is emphasized most in the 70:20:10 model?
On-the-job experiential learning (70%) is emphasized most, as meaningful skill development happens during daily work and problem-solving.
How do you balance the three components in remote work environments?
You can balance the components by leveraging digital tools. The 70% is supported with project management software and challenging virtual assignments. The 20% thrives on collaboration platforms and virtual mentoring sessions. The 10% is delivered effectively through a flexible learning management system (LMS).
What metrics should I track to measure 70:20:10 effectiveness?
Track performance KPIs and project outcomes for the 70%, engagement in social channels and mentorship feedback for the 20%, and assessment scores and application speed for the 10%. A learning analytics tool can help connect these metrics to overall business impact.
Can the 70:20:10 model work for compliance training?
Yes, but ratios may shift to emphasize formal training (10%) first for documented baselines, then reinforce through practical application (70%) and discussions (20%).
