What is accidental learning in the workplace?

Accidental learning, also called incidental or unintentional learning, is knowledge and skills people pick up as a by-product of doing their job without deliberately setting out to learn. Examples include observing how colleagues handle difficult situations, picking up workplace culture and norms, or discovering software shortcuts while completing tasks. The learning is real but the process is unplanned.

What is the 70-20-10 learning model?

The 70-20-10 model suggests that 70% of workplace learning comes from on-the-job experience (largely accidental), 20% comes from relationships and feedback such as mentoring and coaching, and 10% comes from formal training programmes. High-performing organisations combine all three elements rather than relying solely on formal training.

How can HR make accidental learning more effective?

HR can improve accidental learning by creating environments where employees observe good practice, building in reflection after tasks and projects, encouraging knowledge sharing through communities of practice, using mentoring to turn everyday experiences into learning moments, and providing stretch assignments and job shadowing opportunities.

When should you use deliberate learning over accidental learning?

Deliberate learning is most appropriate when knowledge must be standardised across the organisation, when compliance or certification evidence is required, when skills need to be developed quickly, or when consistency in approach is essential. Examples include compliance training, health and safety, technical systems, and professional qualifications.

Accidental vs Deliberate Learning: What HR and L&D Professionals Need to Know

Q: What is deliberate learning?

Deliberate learning is intentional and purposeful learning where the main goal is to develop specific knowledge, skills, or behaviours. This includes formal training such as workshops, e-learning modules, coaching programmes, and structured development pathways. It typically has clear objectives, designed structure, and assessment methods to check progress.

<iframe

className="w-full h-full rounded-lg"

src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ui0Jo4hRU0k"

title="Accidental vs Deliberate Learning Explained"

allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"

allowFullScreen

</div>

In this guide, we explore two fundamentally different ways people learn at work: accidental learning and deliberate learning. Both happen in every organisation, whether you plan for them or not, and both directly impact performance, capability, and culture.

For HR and L&D professionals, the real skill lies in understanding how each type shows up day to day. Once you can spot them, you can influence them in practical ways that improve outcomes for employees and the business.

What Is Accidental Learning?

Accidental learning, sometimes called incidental or unintentional learning, is what people pick up as a by-product of getting the job done. It happens without someone setting out to learn, and often without them even noticing at the time.

Common examples of accidental learning include:

Observational learning: – A new starter watches how a confident colleague calms an angry customer

Cultural absorption: – Someone learns the "real" meeting etiquette by observing who speaks, who gets listened to, and what is left unsaid

Discovery through practice: – Finding an Excel shortcut while rushing to finish a report, then using it ever after

The key point is that the learning is real, but the process is unplanned.

What Is Deliberate Learning?

Deliberate learning, by contrast, is intentional and purposeful. The main goal is to develop specific knowledge, skills, or behaviours.

Examples of deliberate learning include:

Formal training: – Workshops, e-learning modules, and classroom sessions

Coaching programmes: – Structured one-to-one development

Leadership development: – Designed pathways for management capability

Compliance training: – An employee completes a GDPR module to meet regulatory requirements

Skills courses: – Attending a negotiation course before moving into a procurement role

Deliberate learning typically has clear objectives, a designed structure, and some way to check progress through activities, observation, or assessment. It is the learning most organisations can point to on a plan, a budget line, or an L&D platform.

Key Differences: Control and Structure

One of the biggest differences between accidental and deliberate learning is control and structure.

Accidental Learning Characteristics

Organic and unpredictable: – Can be hugely valuable but inconsistent

Rapid absorption: – People quickly pick up practical know-how, cultural norms, and interpersonal habits

Risk of poor practice: – Employees can just as easily absorb unhelpful assumptions, bad habits, or workplace cynicism if those patterns are rewarded

Deliberate Learning Characteristics

Consistent when well-designed: – You can shape what is taught and when

Aligned to organisational needs: – Content can be targeted to strategic priorities

Risk of disconnection: – Can feel removed from real work if learners cannot see how it applies on the job

Accidental Learning and Tacit Knowledge

Accidental learning is particularly strong for tacit knowledge – the kind that is hard to write down but crucial for doing a role well.

Tacit knowledge includes:

Judgement and decision-making
Relationship handling and interpersonal skills
Cultural awareness and political navigation
How teams actually operate under pressure

A line manager, for instance, might learn how to give feedback by watching a respected leader do it with warmth and clarity, rather than by reading a policy.

This is why workplace culture matters so much. Culture teaches people "how we do things here" whether you intend it or not. If you want capability to grow naturally, you have to pay attention to the environment people are learning from.

When Deliberate Learning Is Essential

Deliberate learning tends to be strongest when knowledge must be standardised, audited, or accelerated.

Use deliberate learning for:

Compliance requirements: – Health and safety, data protection, regulatory obligations

Technical systems training: – Software, processes, procedures

Professional qualifications: – Certifications and accreditations

Demonstrating competence: – When the organisation must prove training has taken place

Accelerating development: – Giving new managers a structured pathway rather than leaving them to learn leadership through trial and error

The challenge for HR and L&D is ensuring that what is learned transfers into everyday behaviour, not just completion rates.

The Modern Approach: Combining Both

High-performing organisations do not choose one approach over the other – they combine them.

Many still use the 70-20-10 model as a simple guide:

70%: – Learning through experience (on-the-job, largely accidental)

20%: – Learning through relationships and feedback (mentoring, coaching)

10%: – Learning through formal training (structured programmes)

What has changed in recent years is that organisations are trying harder to make accidental learning more visible and more productive. They achieve this by:

Building in reflection after tasks and projects
Encouraging knowledge sharing across teams
Using mentoring and coaching to turn moments into learning
Creating stretch assignments and job shadowing opportunities

Practical Ways to Enhance Workplace Learning

Team Debriefs

Hold short debriefs after projects – not to assign blame, but to capture what went well, what went wrong, and what should be done differently next time.

Reflection Questions

Managers can use quick reflection questions after challenging tasks, helping someone name what they learned and how they will apply it again.

Communities of Practice

Create spaces where people share tips and lessons across roles, so good accidental learning spreads beyond a single team.

Targeted Formal Interventions

Deploy deliberate learning at the moments that matter – onboarding, promotions, role transitions, and compliance deadlines.

Key Takeaways for HR Professionals

Accidental learning is inevitable, and it is often the biggest driver of real capability in the workplace. Your role is to create the conditions where people are likely to pick up good habits, strong judgement, and healthy behaviours.

This means investing in:

Role modelling from leaders and managers
Psychological safety for experimentation
Inclusive team dynamics
Quality of everyday work experiences

Deliberate learning gives you direction, standards, and pace. It is essential where the organisation needs consistency, certification, or clear evidence of competence.

The strongest approach combines:

A rich working environment that supports powerful accidental learning
Targeted deliberate interventions at the moments that matter

When you get that balance right, learning becomes part of work, rather than something that only happens away from it.