Employee competency development is currently one of the key issues that employers should address. Many companies offer employees training and courses that allow them to acquire knowledge and expand their interpersonal skills. However, in an era of rapid change, new technologies, and constant hustle, HR professionals need to propose the most effective learning methods to employees. This is where the trend of microlearning comes in handy.
As indicated by a study conducted by the Journal of Applied Psychology, microlearning is 17% more effective than traditional training methods in terms of acquiring new knowledge. Let’s examine what characterizes microlearning and how it can be used in a company to effectively and engagingly enhance your team’s skills.
What is Microlearning and How Can It Be Applied?
Microlearning is a method of acquiring knowledge by dividing educational material into short and concise thematic blocks that the learner can easily absorb. This method allows for the adaptation of content and the pace of learning to the individual’s needs, and due to its short and engaging format, it ensures high efficiency. It usually takes place in the form of e-learning. The entire material planned on a given topic is developed in the form of knowledge capsules with key information, solutions, and examples presented in an interesting way, making them easy to remember.
Each portion of knowledge within a course or program should ideally take a few to a maximum of several minutes. The key to success in this case is regularity.
The high efficiency of this teaching method should not surprise anyone. Its features perfectly address the needs of overstimulated, busy individuals who may have difficulty focusing on long and monotonous lessons after a full day of intensive work. Thanks to the quick and easy absorption of information, the learner has a lower entry barrier to the education process. It is easier for an employee to find a few minutes during the day for quick learning than to plan several hours of uninterrupted education. The learning process is also facilitated by the fact that the course can be taken at any place and time, for example, during a break at work, in public transport, or after work as part of relaxation at home.
Given the current pace of life, work dynamics, and the amount of information that employees need to absorb during the day, it is obvious that they may not have the strength or desire for long, several-hour training sessions. And when they do participate, the multitude of stimuli can easily distract their attention from the learning topic. This does not mean that traditional training is ineffective. In some areas, it is even indispensable, but microlearning can serve as an interesting complement or extension of ways to improve the competencies of busy individuals.
Advantages of the Innovative Microlearning Method
More and more people use microlearning in their private time. So why not use this method for employee training within an organization? Microlearning has many benefits for both the employee and the employer.
Some of the advantages of microlearning include:
- The ability to learn from any place and at any time.
- Ease of absorbing and remembering knowledge divided into smaller thematic blocks.
- Flexibility in coordinating the learning process by the learner.
- Adapting learning to the current pace of life.
- Quick absorption of key information.
- Quick and easily noticeable results.
- Cyclicity and regularity of learning.
- Increased motivation to learn due to the easier form of knowledge absorption.
- No feeling of fatigue and boredom due to the short format.
- Individual adaptation of the program to the learner’s pace and level of knowledge.
- Engaging the learner in short, frequent learning in the form of a game or play.
- Diversity of forms, content, and teaching methods.
- Attractive and innovative form of teaching.
- The possibility of integrating learning into daily work routines.
- Ensuring attention and concentration throughout the lesson.
- Ease of use of this tool.
Additional benefits can be added to this list, specific to individual organizations. Each company has different structures, values, and the material assimilated within it varies in form and content.
What Does Microlearning Look Like in Practice?
Primarily, it takes the form of short lessons intended to be completed daily, unlike the long lectures or multi-day team training sessions familiar to many HR professionals.
Microlearning can take various forms, such as presentations, quizzes, tests, tasks, infographics, exercises, texts, videos, notes, flashcards, guides, webinars, tutorials, podcasts, interactive animations, or online discussions. All of this is divided into smaller parts.
The most important thing is to make its form as engaging as possible and tailored to the realities of the company and the expectations of its employees, as well as to the capabilities of the platform through which the learning takes place. To make learning as effective as possible, it is also worth using various forms of microlearning interchangeably and combining them so that the course surprises, engages, and encourages employees to continuous development.
Microlearning tools can include applications, educational platforms, or internal company portals. Tools for planning and managing training within an organization, such as the Ostendi Learning Management System, are also useful in the process. This tool allows for the control of the entire process, managing providers, enabling employees to sign up for training, monitoring attendance, and checking participant satisfaction levels.
Will Microlearning Work in Your Company?
Now that you have a broader picture of microlearning, you may be wondering how you can use this solution in your organization.
Microlearning works well as:
- A system influencing employee integration.
- A method of onboarding new team members.
- A tool for learning foreign languages.
- A procedure for learning internal company programs.
- A way to develop competencies related to an employee’s duties.
- A technique for self-development and improving soft skills.
- A method for learning processes and administrative procedures within the organization.
- A tool to instill the habit of learning and the need to acquire new competencies in employees.
- A way to monitor individual learning progress of each team member.
- A technique to identify potential leaders among employees.
- A way to engage employees in company life.
Discover the possibilities of microlearning and introduce this method of expanding knowledge into your company today!
