Are you like me.. working 3 jobs while attempting to maintain a social life and a healthy and active lifestyle? ..and to top it off – I’m actually starting school in September. The point I’m trying to make is – we live busy lifestyles. Nowadays you have instant coffee, dry shampoo, robot vacuums.. heck, even Siri. All designed to make our busy lifestyles a little bit easier. So it should make sense when I say that the way we train our employees should be re-designed as well.
I like to believe that’s why microlearning is so big these days. Not only does this method fit into our lifestyle but it proves to be the most effective way of training. Win-win. Let me break it down for you:
It’s Quick:
For the most part, many new employees will be from the Millennial generation, and their attention span is an average of 90 seconds. No, it doesn’t mean they’re less intelligent than the generations before them.. Millennials have grown up with technology and are accustomed to multitasking and because of it they are actually prone to processing information more quickly.
It’s Memorable:
When you present material in bite-sized chunks employees are able to focus on sections separately. This allows employees to remember information they have learned more easily. What do you think has more value; a 4-minute video showing the exact process or a chapter explaining the same process only with a lot more words and a lot less imagery? That chapter, by the way, took a hell of a lot longer to process and I guarantee the information did not retain well.
It has Variety:
Most newcomers have grown up with technology in their hand, sort of speak. Whether it’s TV, video games or cellphones people are engaged by the digital world. Fortunately, there are multiple options available for today’s learner. Now, I’m not saying the old way of reading isn’t wrong, and realistically will never go away, but there are other options available – video, interactivity, gamification, etc. With microlearning there isn’t just one solution, there are many!
It’s Convenient:
Boy, do I love convenience.. with microlearning employees are able to train and learn at their own pace. Not everyone learns at the same rate as others and microlearning is tailored to that. There’s also no set schedule with microlearning, sure everything has a deadline, but employees can tackle training modules fit their schedules – even train at home! Everything is (or at least should be) accessible through mobile devices.
It Works:
I mean really, I’m just going to repeat myself at this point.. it’s retainable, it’s engaging, and it’s efficient. You’re increasing productivity and impacting their performance significantly. I like to compare it to reading a book vs watching the movie based on the book.. Yes, the book has so much more detail, but hey, I still understood the story and all major points were touched upon.. all in under 2 hours. I just don’t have time.. and there happens to be a quicker, easier alternative. Until next time, I’m out.. I’ve got stuff to do!