Article by SAP Litmos, re-posted by TRIFT Inc. (Part 4 in the 7 part series)
No matter what industry your business is in, there are regulations that apply to you. From universal Human Resources to highly specialized compliance and safety issues, you can be absolutely certain that your employees need some sort of training.
Between regulatory learning, job-specific skill-building and development activities needed to ensure an internal pipeline of candidates, crafting a comprehensive, effective learning and development strategy can be an overwhelming proposition. Microlearning offers new opportunities for employers to ensure staff members have the information and skills they need without overextending themselves with constant classroom presentations.
These are just a few of the reason's employers are adding microlearning to their training arsenal.
EASY UPDATES: Short courses can be updated in mere moments and it is a simple case of employees squeezing in a quick training session into their day for the latest and greatest information. When modules are five minutes, as opposed to five hours, there is no downside to updating microlearning content.
"Microlearning is a game changer when it comes to updating training resources quickly"
IMPROVED RETENTION: Every Manager knows that most of the information in traditional training sessions is lost the moment employees leaves the classroom.
Unless they apply the new skills right away, they simply don't retain what they have learned. Of course, classroom sessions with multiple learning goals that touch on a variety of topics can't possibly all be used on the same day, so much of the time invested in these sessions is simply a waste of time.
On the other hand, short standalone, single-topic modules can be delivered as the need arises. This "just-in-time" leaning method means employees learn the skills they need now, and they apply them immediately. As each new nugget of knowledge or skill becomes second nature, you can rely on the fact that it will be retained long-term. At that point, the employee is ready for their next microlearning module.
"They're also excellent as refresher modules, to re-visit learning that has been experienced in the past, maximizing on memory retention."
THE TRUTH ABOUT MULTI-TASKING: Efficiency and productivity are key to bottom-line profits and businesses are always in search of candidate who can do more with less. As a result, resumes nearly always include multi-tasking under "skills and abilities". The truth is that multi-tasking isn't particularly effective. By giving less-than-full attention to several activities at once, none are completed particularly well. This point is made even clearer when it comes to learning and development.
Employees are unlikely to retain much of what they learn, even when the course has their full attention. Once they start answering emails while listening to the lecture, they retain even less. They are essentially set up for failure when they are asked to complete lengthy courses. One study shows that employees spend an average of 11 minutes focused on a single project before they are distracted by another request. Another study indicates that the average person's attention begins to wander after just nine minutes of video learning.
Microlearning sets employees up for success by limiting the need for attention and focus to just five or six minutes.
TRIFT is a provider of microlearning content, offering creative solutions to meet your companies unique learning needs. Try us for free - Request access to TRIFT today and experience the benefits of microlearning. Want to learn more about TRIFTs programs, courses, and free access? Click HERE. To learn more about SAP Litmos, click HERE
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