Remember when employee trainings were associated with long-lectures, huge manuals and a lot of boredom?
Well, that’s no longer the case thanks to the innovative strategy micro-learning!
Micro-learning is the process of picking up core skills through bite-sized chunks of information that can be easily accessed through mobile technology and easily digested through an immersive environment.
This user-friendly method gives employees the freedom to pick up the skills they need, when they need them, using the learning styles that suit them best.
With so much potential for professional development in such short amounts of time, it’s no wonder that micro-learning strategies are taking the business world by storm!
Here are 10 simple reasons why you should embrace micro-learning and help your business and employees get ahead:
1. Make learning enjoyable
Ask anyone who has ever attended a training and they will tell you it’s incredibly difficult to feel motivated when the training material is dull.
Micro-learning has an edge over traditional learning techniques due to its ability to support multiple formats including:
- Games
- Videos
- Quizzes
- Presentations
- Texts
- Discussions
Whatever the employees’ preference, micro-learning has the ability to provide it.
This supports them in their quest to improve their skills, as well as providing them with the opportunity to have fun in the process.
Giving employees back their love of learning is not only beneficial for the success-rate of single trainings, it also encourages them to take advantage of future learning opportunities!
2. Empower employees
Many trainings require the attendance of all staff – regardless of their experience level, department and completion of previous trainings.
Despite meaning well, this culture is counterproductive as it forces employees to attend the same (or very similar) trainings over and over again.
Thanks to its bite-sized nature, micro-learning allows individuals to select exactly what skills they need to acquire, without having to attend unnecessary trainings.
Allowing employees to decide what they need to learn and when puts them in control of their professional development and fosters a more productive environment!
3. Learn on the move
The average commuting time in Western Europe is 38 minutes and is usually spent staring into space waiting for a seat to become free.
Not very productive, is it?
Now imagine if a commuter could whip out their phone and complete a 6-minute training that improved their productivity and in turn, increased company profits.
Sounds good, doesn’t it?
One of the many benefits of micro-learning is that it isn’t confined to a physical space, so employees can access trainings at any time, anywhere and with any kind of device.
And thanks to the quick and entertaining nature of this technique, employees are more likely to access them on their own time!
4. Achieve quick results
One of the downsides of conventional trainings is the large amount of information that is heaped on employees.
This can result in a much longer implementation time than the original training itself!
Micro-learning is much more effective as it provides small, stand-alone units that enable employees to pick up specific tools for specific tasks.
The simplicity of these units means they can be applied directly to the workflow at a much higher rate than standard trainings, allowing companies to register results in a much shorter time frame and increase their competitiveness!
5. Measure learning success
Measuring the effectiveness of company training is imperative in order to quantify return on investment.
But is your company doing it?
Collecting data on measurable outcomes can be difficult, especially if you’re providing a high number of trainings with a large number of staff.
Luckily, this issue can be resolved by implementing data collection strategies within the training itself – and we’re not talking about training surveys!
The digital nature of micro-learning means engagement with the service can be tracked by embedding quizzes and other systems of evaluation within the units.
Responses can then be stored within corporate learning management systems, allowing managers to quickly and easily track their employees’ success!
6. Easily update existing trainings
The business world is evolving at a faster rate than ever before, meaning traditional trainings can no longer keep up with demands on the workforce.
Micro-learning provides employees with the critical tools they need to keep up with the sector in which they are working.
Micro-learning is 300% faster to develop than traditional trainings, so forget about spending months re-crafting a training manual.
Simply create a short assignment, upload it to your corporate learning database and voila!
Your employees now have access to the skills that will solve their most pressing problems.
7. Streamline training budgets
From bringing in a corporate trainer to buying materials, to taking your employees away from their daily tasks – trainings can be an expensive business.
Micro-learning is a great alternative if you want to decrease budgets but continue to provide employees with the trainings they need.
Micro-learning is much shorter, making it cheaper to produce and your team won’t even have to leave their desks to take them!
8. Save precious time
The last thing people want to do when they have a long list of tasks to complete is attend a training day.
Rather than making employees fall further behind on their tasks, microlearning allows them to take a short “break” of five or so minutes to get up to speed and continue with their day!
9. Avoid performance gaps
It can be difficult to achieve goals within an organisation when each member lacks a certain skill.
By providing specialised tasks, micro-learning can help each employee personalise their learning and reach their targets.
But it doesn’t stop there.
By creating a library of modules that are easily accessible through keyword searches, employees can grow along with the targets of their organisation.
10. Keep up with millennials
It’s true, millennials are slowing taking over the workforce and they’re bringing their short attention spans with them!
Thanks to the rapid advances in technology, millennials (along with everyone else) have higher engagement rates with content that is short, immersive and packed with just the right amount of critical information.
Trainings need only replicate this model in order to improve learning efficiency in the business world!
