Employee training has become an essential element of business growth, particularly with the advent of remote work. However, increased digitalization has rendered popular and traditional employee training methods almost obsolete. Organizations are devising new strategies and incorporating innovative ways to churn out maximum productivity.
Most employees lack on-the-job skills and cannot perform as per their capability. In addition, they lack sufficient learning opportunities to overcome these performance limitations. A learning transformation is required to empower employees and close the skill, performance, and productivity gap.
Learning in the flow of work has grabbed the attention of the learning and development (L&D) leaders worldwide. Also called workplace learning, it aims at making learning relevant, effective, and embedded in an employee’s daily work routine. Is there a way to incorporate learning into the daily work schedule?
Of course, Yes! Microlearning is here to deliver powerful learning outcomes.
Microlearning or bite-sized learning is a comprehensive approach to skill-based training or learning. Employees can take the course when it is convenient for them, like while they’re working or are on a short break. Learning occurs in small proportions, almost invisibly, throughout the workday. In addition to this, the bite-sized content is easy to digest and is less time-consuming and resource-intensive.
Organizations that have successfully incorporated microlearning into their learning culture have a proven track record of achieving high employee engagement and performance gain.
Let’s look into the key characteristics of microlearning that makes it a perfect fit for every organization’s learning needs.
Why is microlearning every L&D leader and learner’s favorite?
Microlearning isn’t just about making training modules of smaller size or more compact. There’s more to it than that.
Brevity and purpose: A single microlearning module’s focus area is on a specific topic, notion, or idea. Thus, saving a considerable amount of time with to the point and targeted information. Furthermore, it removes the ambiguity of what is significant and what is not, providing only the information required to complete the task.
Device flexibility: Typically, all microlearning courses are designed to be accessible on the learner’s preferred device. This aligns with the learning patterns of modern-day learners. The short duration of the modules enables access via mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets, notebooks, and iPads.
According to MobieTrain, microlearning on mobile devices generates 4 times greater engagement rates and 50% better information retention than conventional e-learning solutions.1
Excels at a granular level: Microlearning can assist learners at the granular level. The granularity of microlearning allows learners to customize their journey. They can receive the desired training based on their job role or preferences.
Blending in multiple learning lifecycle stages: The good thing about microlearning is that it can be used as a standalone training delivery mechanism or blended with an overall training plan, implemented anywhere in the learning cycle. For example, it offers a pre-test before beginning any formal training program to gauge a learner’s pre-existing knowledge.
Multiple formats: Microlearning resonates with all kinds of learner preferences. They can be independent learning units, such as infographics, 3 to 5 minutes nuggets, snippets from pre-recorded webinars, podcasts, flipbooks, interactive pdfs, whiteboard animations, or games.
How can Microlearning help in enhancing employee performance?
Microlearning can mitigate modern-day L&D challenges and enhance employee engagement and performance. The points below discuss it in detail.
Better learner engagement and retention: Millennials and Gen Z employees, who have relatively short attention spans, expect information to be available to them immediately. The short bytes of microlearning make it easy for modern learners to stay attentive and engaged during the course. Engaged employees learn more and are also likely to engage with an organization better. Both the components are ideal for an employee’s performance and productivity.
On-demand learning: A pre-scheduled or pre-decided training is not always a perfect solution to cater to the employees learning needs. Sometimes employees seek on-the-spot performance support. Microlearning enables learners to self-serve their learning as they need it. For example, if they are stuck somewhere at work, want to refresh their knowledge at spaced intervals, or want to hone new skills.
Quick and easy change adaption: Organizations are constantly evolving, and better performance requires immediate adaptation to these changes. A 5-10-minute training pulse can be readily, rapidly, and affordably adapted to match the need to inform employees about revised procedures and changes in rules or work dynamics.
Flips the forgetting curve: Most of the time, learners forget what they have learned in an hour-long training session. The small bits of microlearning content pieces can be used for spaced repetition and re-training practices. This maximizes knowledge retention and understanding. Thus, it guarantees that individuals acquire and retain the knowledge required to perform better and smarter jobs.
Continuous feedback and analytics: In addition to providing immediate opportunities for engagement and continuous learning, microlearning also enables an organization to track employee performance regularly. Continuous feedback and analytics allow an organization to intervene with its employees before it worsens.
Given the above backdrop, here are a few ways how L&D leaders can use bite-sized nuggets to enhance the performance of their employees, for:
- Formal training session
- Blended training program
- Instructor-led (ILT) training
- Awareness and change management
- Performance support
Want to know how Microlearning strengthens the BFSI workforce? Download All-in-One Microlearning Playbook
Wrapping it Up!
Most employees do not have adequate learning opportunities to overcome their performance constraints. Microlearning or bite-sized learning leverages technology to engage learners effectively and facilitate better comprehension and retention. Thus, positively impacting the performance of an employee within an organization.
