Microlearning has been around for ages and has now become a massive trend in the learning and development industry today. In this article, we take a look at the reasons why microlearning is an indispensable part of today’s corporate training environment. Stay with us as we look at the reasons.
Learning has evolved a lot during the last couple of decades. Ever since the turn of the century, organizations have realized the importance of training employees. With that said, they have also realized the change in the learning habits and lifestyles of the employees. Employees do value training, but they prefer a format that suits well with their daily schedule rather than something that feels like an additional task to be completed. To facilitate such learning and training processes, organizations are readily opting for microlearning.
Microlearning is a concept that was initiated back in the day and has now become an essential part of corporate training. The trend has transitioned from being just a buzzword to a strategic part of all training schedules and plans.
Microlearning: The Game-changer in Corporate Training
Here are the 5 reasons why:
- Integrates learning within work processes
- Promotes flexibility and accessibility
- Provides just-in-time information
- Helps improve retention rates
- Helps curtail dwindling attention spans
In this article, we will understand what microlearning is and further take a look at some important reasons why microlearning is an indispensable part of today’s corporate training environment. Let’s begin!
What is Microlearning?
Microlearning, as the name suggests, is a combination of two words: micro and learning. Micro refers to small, bite-sized nuggets, and learning means the process of acquiring new knowledge or skills. Therefore, microlearning refers to the flexible learning approach in which information is delivered in small chunks.
Are you more of a visual learner? We’ve got you covered! Here’s a detailed video to help you understand what microlearning is and what it isn’t. Check now!
It caters to the single-learning objective. Microlearning format can be leveraged based on how most organizations implement it within their workflow. However, to give you a brief primer, microlearning can best be defined in the following lines:
- Microlearning is a brief method of training that focuses on delivering small chunks of information in short intervals rather than delivering elaborate information in lengthy one-hour-long training sessions.
- A typical session of microlearning will be no longer than seven minutes. Depending on the complexity of the topic, some training sessions focused on this methodology can be as short as one minute.
- Some of the microlearning formats include animations, quizzes, videos, infographics, podcasts, etc., which improve the delivery, recall, and conciseness of the training content.
Microlearning, in short, is an alternative approach to managing lengthy eLearning courses. eLearning covers one topic comprehensively and the course content is usually of longer duration that needs to be completed in a single sitting to ensure proper learning and effectiveness. It delves into the details of the topic while microlearning focuses on the key aspects and delivers bite-sized messages that are easy to chew and comprehend for team members.
5 Reasons Microlearning is Integral to Modern Corporate Training
We will now take a look at some of the reasons why microlearning is so successful and an important part of corporate training nowadays.
Microlearning Integrates Learning within Work Processes
Perhaps the biggest benefit of microlearning is that it enables you to integrate learning within the work processes currently in place within your organization. Organizations dealing in rapidly changing technology and business objectives like software development and cloud management need to ensure that their employees are well-versed and updated so they can be productive and learn new skills at the same time.
Microlearning’s unique, accessible nature gives organizations the leverage to streamline work processes and integrate information at junctions as required. Information in the form of PDFs, videos, and other formats can be added to the training program.
→ Download Now: Where Does Microlearning Fit in Your Learning Strategy?
Microlearning Promotes Flexibility and Accessibility
Microlearning enables employees to access training courses anytime and anywhere. This ensures flexibility, accessibility, and convenience. That’s right! Microlearning can cut down on various inefficiencies of conventional training methods and provide an alternative for organizations.
With microlearning, you can provide learning courses online and train your employees while they are on the go. They don’t have to be present on the spot and can carry on with the training courses from wherever they like. Along with that, microlearning also fosters self-paced learning. Self-directed and self-paced methods of learning are highly popular among employees today and receive more traction and a better response than a traditional method of learning would.
Employees are known to be more productive, engaged, and active when they are working on self-paced microlearning techniques. The right interactivities enhance employee participation and having a viable tracking mechanism can make life easier for L&D teams as well, as they track progress and record answers. Moreover, if needed, they can guide and support the employees along the way.
Microlearning Provides Just-in-time Information
Microlearning is a valuable tool when it comes to offering just-in-time information to your employees. Let me ask you a simple question. What do your employees do when they encounter a problem? Do they wait for the next 2-hour training session? If yes, then you need to head over to microlearning.
With microlearning, your employees will be able to access relevant information just when they need it which will help them solve the encountered problem right at the moment. Microlearning assets are a great way to ensure performance support for your employees. This won’t hinder their workflow and improve the productivity of the process.
Microlearning Helps Improve Retention Rates
Perhaps the biggest objective of any corporate training is to improve retention and promote its implementation in the workplace and business processes. Microlearning helps deliver in this regard as it helps improve retention among all employees. Since the information is provided in micro units, it is easy for employees to retain it, and further if they forget, they have an incredible chance to reinforce the information by going through the module again.
With microlearning, employees are able to remember training models for longer and can integrate them within their processes. The immediate use of training concepts in practical work can foster retention and lead to better long-term memorization. Completing training on time can help with the transfer of knowledge and improve the use of training concepts in actual work.
Microlearning Helps Curtail Dwindling Attention Spans
Social media has led to a general decline in attention spans around the world. People aren’t as attentive as they used to be back in the day and cannot sustain their interest for longer durations. Microlearning tackles this challenge with great ease as the information is aligned with the short attention span of modern learners.
Microlearning courses are quick and can be easily integrated within workflows. Employees don’t have to pay attention to an external event for long and can pace the course at their own will. For all these benefits, microlearning formats deserve a round of applause! And here’s an informative and engaging video on 4 effective microlearning formats that you shouldn’t miss!
Check it out now!
Areas to Use Microlearning
You can put the benefits of microlearning to work by using it in the following areas:
Preparing Employees Before an Upcoming Project
You’ve just signed up for a new project with a new client. Microlearning can be handy in preparing employees for the project and reinforcing their concepts. A full training session will be too elaborate and a waste of time in this situation.
You Want to Solve a Problem Before it Becomes Big
Microlearning can help solve corporate problems before they become big. Microlearning courses can equip your employees with problem-solving techniques as you can opt for gamification and scenario-based learning in the training courses and the information, they require to tackle problems at the moment and go through a refresher course when required.
You Don’t Have Time to Waste
Microlearning is your go-to training option if you don’t want your employees to waste their time and want to operate in an efficient manner. Microlearning can reduce the time it takes to train and can improve efficiency as it focuses on delivering focused and concise content.
Parting Thoughts
Microlearning is an invaluable tool to ensure learning in an easy and engaging way. It caters to modern learning habits and includes formats that are easy to understand. It improves participation and completion rate among the learners, so it is a good approach to offer training to your employees without overwhelming them. Microlearning has plenty of benefits such as improved retention and recall, cost-effective, flexible, etc., which make it a perfect solution for corporate training. And don’t forget to check out our free eBook to know where does microlearning fit in your learning strategy.
