Organizations have shifted from page-turning content to interactive videos, bite-sized lessons, mobile apps, and more in today’s digital era. Microlearning is gaining momentum among companies, whether small or large, focusing on driving engagement, boosting retention, accelerating performance, and increasing ROIs. Short chunks of microlearning courses have become necessary for the next-generation workforce because these are accessible on any mobile device and in free pockets of time- while traveling, before meetings, or during tea breaks. The bite-sized eLearning courses are delivered in multiple formats, such as videos, podcasts, animations, scenarios, flashcards, and others. They all are quick to digest and have a long-lasting impact on learners’ memory, thus improving retention and performance.
Microlearning is more than just providing training to employees every day. It is a versatile learning approach that supports performance management in different ways. As per the Workplace Learning Report, 94% of L&D professionals reported that they prefer to access microlearning courses to train their employees. Let us explore the following ways an organization’s workforce performance improvement strategy can embed microlearning:
- Supporting Just-in-Time Learning
One effective way to use microlearning as a performance management tool is by creating just-in-time training content. Such content can be used as on-the-job aid post-completion of a training program. Just-in-time training material is provided as short videos, PDFs, or flyers and can be accessed simultaneously while working. As a result, this impacts workforce performance as training content can be at any point of need without even disrupting the workflow.
- Executing a Formal Training Strategy
Many challenges come with a globally dispersed team of employees working in remote work environments. A recent report shows that about 3.4% of the workforce, which amounts to 4.7 million employees, work from home at least half the week. There may be training schedule conflicts as employees work in different time zones. Moreover, travel and logistics may be time-consuming and costly. Traditional training methods may not address these challenges, and this is where comes the need for microlearning. Lengthy training modules are divided into short learning series and accessed on modern Learning Management Systems. They are also accessible on mobile devices, thus boosting engagement and knowledge retention.
- Improving Workforce Skills
As per a report, most learners become disengaged after just 20 minutes. Microlearning courses allow employees to take ownership of what skills they acquire and how they apply them to learn on the job. Each training is short and crisp, which ultimately improves engagement. Continuous knowledge consumption through the microlearning approach drives employee performance. In addition, micro content can also help teach a particular skill which helps employees grow in their career path. Overall, short chunks of micro content can leave a huge impact on employees’ growth and success.
- Organizing Awareness Campaigns
Microlearning also plays a key role during pre-launch events of learning & development programs. Organizations implement microlearning to spread awareness around their eLearning programs. For instance, create a short video highlighting the program’s key features and an interactive PDF to convey the message. This short micro content captivates maximum attention without overloading inboxes with unnecessary information.
Final Thoughts
Creating microlearning courses has become a necessity as these are easier to consume and readily accessible on any mobile device. Modern learners prefer to access training materials that are simple to use and tailored to their requirements. In addition, microlearning can be the most effective approach for training employees from different locations and generations when it comes to workforce performance management.
