In today’s fast-paced world, businesses are constantly seeking ways to keep up with trends and retain talent. One rising trend is microlearning. Microlearning is a learning approach where bite-sized pieces of information are taught and delivered through mobile devices or other digital platforms. And it’s become an increasingly popular way to train and develop employees. In this blog, we’ll explore nine best practices for using microlearning for employee education.
We have been using microlearning for a long time, even if we didn’t realize it. Infographics, short-form social media videos, YouTube, and short podcasts all could fall under the category of “micro e-learning.”
But this approach to knowledge sharing is still relatively new in the workplace.
Microlearning for business refers to the use of short, focused pieces of information to help employees develop skills, knowledge, and expertise. It’s designed to deliver content in a way that is easily digestible and accessible, allowing employees to learn at their own pace.
Microlearning can take many forms, including videos, podcasts, infographics, quizzes, and interactive simulations.
One of the key benefits of microlearning is that it can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your employees and business. You can deliver targeted training to employee groups without requiring them to spend hours in a training session. And you can share microlearning content to be consumed on demand. This helps fit learning and development into your employees’ busy schedules.
When done right, microlearning can:
Let’s break down the key elements of microlearning so you can provide the most effective microlearning content for your employees. Microlearning must be:
Ultimately, the most important key to microlearning being successful is that it’s learner-focused. Is the content, format, and delivery method going to set your employees up for success or not?
At theEMPLOYEEapp, we think that it’s essential to pick the right microlearning partner to be able to provide expert, scalable content for your employees. That’s why we and our partners follow these important microlearning best practices.
Let’s break them down.
First off, it’s not microlearning if it’s too long. That completely defeats the point of investing in short-form e-learning content for your teams. And the reason for that is that shorter content is optimal for learning, fitting into employee schedules, and avoiding losing your employees’ attention.
But there’s also an accessibility component here. Short content is better for a wider variety of learning styles. Keeping your microlearning videos short and focused ensures that everyone gets a chance to engage.
In today’s fast-paced world, learners are looking for learning experiences that are convenient and relevant to them. By focusing on your employees’ needs, you can tailor the experience to individual learning styles, knowledge levels, and interests.
You have to pick the right way to share educational content with employees. We believe that video is the best method for education because it’s the most engaging. Videos also combine audio and visual cues, making it the most effective way to teach something in a short amount of time.
While videos might require an upfront investment, they can be used and rewatched many times for maximum ROI.
At theEMPLOYEEapp, we’re big believers in mobile. Although some of your employees might choose to access their microlearning content through your employee intranet, many might want the option to engage on the go or from home.
Giving employees choice will always ensure higher participation in any work program you implement.
As communicators, you know that targeting content is critical. Employees will tune out your messages if you share things that don’t matter to them or their jobs.
That’s why it’s so important to target microlearning. Managers might need a very different level of detail or information than your hourly line workers, for instance. So, make sure you learn what those nuances are between employee groups and share content accordingly.
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Like any other communication campaign, you should be tying microlearning back to your company’s values.
Learning shouldn’t be a chore. One way to get employees more engaged is to make your microlearning content more enjoyable. You can do this by:
Forcing your employees to use your microlearning resources is a bad idea. For one, not all employees need it. But they also aren’t in grade school anymore. Your employees are all adults, and it’s up to them if they want to use the resources you provide.
We’ve said it time and time again: you can’t improve what you don’t measure. The same goes for your microlearning campaigns.
Tracking engagement on your microlearning videos will tell you what’s resonating and what isn’t. But you can take this a step further by collecting qualitative feedback from employees. You might be surprised to learn what does interest employees and what more they might want from the program.
If you’re already using microlearning content in some form, but don’t feel like you’re getting the most out of it, follow these microlearning best practices to improve your e-learning content.
We get it. Investing in microlearning can feel like a big undertaking at first. But that’s why we recommend partnering with a microlearning provider, rather than going it alone.
Using theEMPLOYEEapp’s microlearning platform offers a range of benefits, including:
Microlearning is the future of employee development. Are you ready to see it in action?
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