Hybrid learning: why informal mentoring is no longer enough to secure frontline skills

Informal mentoring plays an essential role in the transfer of know-how. On the frontline, many employees learn by observing an experienced colleague, repeating a task, asking a question at the right moment or adjusting their approach as situations arise.

This proximity creates practical learning that is directly connected to the work. It values the experience of frontline employees and supports the integration of new starters. Yet when the transfer of know-how relies mainly on habits, people’s availability and collective memory, it becomes more difficult to secure.

Current operational challenges call for a more structured approach. Organisations need to preserve the value of mentoring while making the messages shared more reliable, supporting more employees and making skills easier to see and develop. This is where hybrid learning plays a role, combining accessible content, supported practice and managerial follow-up.

Informal mentoring, a strength that reaches its limits

Knowledge transfer shaped by people and situations

Mentoring is first and foremost a relationship. A frontline employee observes a more experienced colleague, works alongside them and gradually becomes more independent. This approach helps transfer specific tasks, practical techniques and ways of working that can be difficult to capture in a training document.

It also offers genuine flexibility. The mentor can adapt an explanation to the learner’s level, respond to a specific difficulty and share examples from their own experience. Knowledge becomes meaningful because it is connected to a real situation.

This flexibility also creates a point of attention: the quality of the transfer depends largely on the person providing the support. Two mentors may explain the same procedure with different levels of detail. One may focus on safety, while another emphasises speed of execution or the habits of their own team.

Available time also affects the outcome. When activity levels increase, explanations often become quicker and more intuitive. A new employee may observe the task without fully understanding why each step matters. They can then reproduce a practice without having the information needed to adapt it to a different situation.

The transfer of know-how still takes place, but it becomes uneven. It depends on the context, the person available and the time that person can devote to support.

Practice gaps that are difficult to make visible

A mainly verbal approach leaves few records. It becomes difficult to know what has been explained, what has been understood and what still needs to be reinforced. This limited visibility makes it harder for managers to support individual progression.

It can also hide differences between teams or sites. A shared instruction may be interpreted in several ways. A local habit may be passed on as a general rule. As long as no incident or operational issue occurs, these gaps remain difficult to identify.

The situation becomes more complex when an organisation regularly welcomes new employees, evolves its roles or operates across several locations. Experienced employees become heavily relied upon. New starters, meanwhile, may receive different information depending on their shift, role or the colleague available at the time.

The aim is therefore not to replace mentoring. It is to give it a framework that secures what needs to remain consistent, while preserving room for experience and adaptation. This becomes particularly important when the skills being transferred affect safety, quality or business continuity.

Securing the transfer of know-how in response to frontline challenges

Protecting the practices that underpin safety and quality

Some skills cannot be transferred remotely. They require practice, observation and feedback that is adapted to the situation. In these cases, the mentor’s role remains central.

Hybrid learning can prepare these practical sessions more effectively. A short module can introduce the terminology, the main steps or the key points to watch before they receive on-the-job support. Time spent with the mentor can then focus on difficulties that genuinely require observation and adjustment.

This preparation makes the exchange more effective. The employee arrives with an initial level of understanding and can ask more precise questions. The mentor does not need to repeat the same basic explanations every time. They can focus on specific cases, sensitive actions and the constraints linked to the activity.

Resources that remain available after the practical session serve another purpose. A guidance sheet, video or summary enables the employee to revisit an instruction when a doubt arises several days later. They retain a reference point, even when the mentor is unavailable.

This organisation helps make practices more reliable. Important messages are expressed consistently, sensitive steps are identified and reminders can be linked to the moments when they are genuinely useful. Training becomes part of the work rather than something separate from everyday activity.

Supporting more employees without losing the human connection

Scale is another challenge. When an organisation recruits, opens new sites or evolves its roles, it needs to transfer more knowledge to larger teams. Fully individual support can then become difficult to organise.

Hybrid learning helps distribute responsibilities. Everyone can complete the shared content, while discussions and practical sessions can focus on the skills that require a human presence. This combination supports integration without reducing development to a series of digital modules.

It also responds to different learning needs. One person may need to revisit a sequence, spend more time on a particular topic or access a resource at the moment it becomes useful. The collective retains its role, while each employee has access to a stable foundation.

CEDEFOP data highlights the scale of this issue. According to the first findings of the European Training and Learning Survey, around 50% of European workers do not receive any employer-organised training. Many therefore learn by observing colleagues, trying new methods or reflecting on their own practice.

CEDEFOP also points out that it is not yet clear whether informal learning genuinely compensates for the absence of structured training. Factors most strongly associated with skills development include managerial support, clear learning objectives and working time that leaves room for reflection.

This finding points to a broader issue. An effective learning programme does not depend only on the quality of its content. It also depends on the conditions that allow employees to learn, practise and ask for support.

Building practical and sustainable hybrid learning

Combining frontline experience with shared reference points

The first step is to examine real work situations. Which mistakes occur regularly? Which actions are difficult to explain? Which instructions are interpreted in different ways? Which skills need to be mastered from the outset?

These questions help identify genuinely useful content. It may take the form of a short video, a practical guide, a knowledge check or a more complete learning pathway. The format matters less than its ability to respond to a concrete need.

Digital resources help clarify the basics and prepare employees for action. They establish shared language, make expectations visible and support revision. Practical work then connects these reference points with the constraints of the role.

This combination protects the organisation from two pitfalls. The first would be asking every mentor to rebuild the training content from scratch. The second would be offering resources that are too general and too far removed from operational reality. A hybrid approach creates a balance between a shared framework and practical expertise from the frontline.

To remain relevant, content must evolve with practice. Questions raised by teams, difficulties observed on the job and feedback from managers all help identify what needs clarification. Learning then becomes a living resource, connected to genuine operational needs.

Creating continuity between learning, practice and management

A skill is rarely established in a single stage. It develops through repetition, observation, feedback and the opportunity to revisit a situation. The transfer of know-how therefore works best when it is treated as a pathway rather than an isolated event.

Managerial routines can support this progression. A short discussion after someone takes up a new role, a question during a team meeting or an observation in a real work situation can show how learning is being applied. The manager can identify what has been mastered, what remains uncertain and what would benefit from further practice.

Within this approach, the mentor retains a decisive role, but that role is clearer. They act as a link between the learning content, day-to-day tasks and specific features of the frontline environment. They share their experience without carrying sole responsibility for the entire transfer process.

The organisation gains greater visibility and reliability as a result. Employees have access to shared references, managers can identify support needs more easily and critical skills become less dependent on a small number of experienced colleagues. The transfer of know-how becomes more continuous, more transparent and easier to adjust.

Hybrid learning gives informal mentoring a framework without reducing its value. It preserves the strength of human connection while improving traceability, consistency and access to knowledge. For frontline teams, the benefit is practical: learning from a colleague, practising in real conditions and finding the right guidance when it is needed.