How Microlearning Revolutionizes the Workplace
Microlearning is a style of learning that delivers educational content in short, “bite-sized” units. In the workplace, microlearning is used in training, onboarding and learning activities. It accounts for the busy nature of employee schedules and shorter attention spans through flexibility and short bursts of learning.
With strengths in areas of knowledge retention, flexible consumption, employee engagement, time efficiency and cost effectiveness, microlearning is revolutionizing workplace training.
In this article, we look at the benefits of microlearning and what makes it a better approach to DEI programming.
What makes microlearning different (and better)
→ Improved knowledge retention
Research shows that people perform better on knowledge tests when given smaller segments of content to learn from. A study from 2015 in Germany found that exposing participants to shorter educational content led to more than 20% more knowledge retention. Another study by RPS found that microlearning improves focus and supports long-term knowledge retention by up to 80%.
The Spacing Effect, which describes how learning is more effective through consistent spaced out sessions, plays a role in microlearning too. For instance, after attending a one-hour workshop on racial bias, employees are not able to re-engage with what they learned. But with bite-sized content, learning can adopt a more regular frequency.
For 79% of leaders, DEI isn’t embedded into the day-to-day work of their employees (Crescendo DEI). Similar to how you wouldn't normally go from never having jogged before to running a marathon in the same week - you won't go from being a DEI skeptic to a DEI advocate without consistent and repeated actions. Through smaller bursts of regular learning (rather than one-time workshops), microlearning helps optimize learning efficiency, reduce complacency, and keep conversations going.
→ Better flexibility and time-efficiency
In the age of constant digital notifications, and numerous priorities, it’s easy to switch focuses within seconds. In 2016, Gloria Mark, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, reported that employees have a median duration of focus of 40 seconds before switching tasks online. Limited attention spans and tons of available interruptions means that corporate DEI learning needs to avoid imposing greater demands of work on employees and impacting their productivity.
Microlearning accomplishes this by using short chunks of information to minimize distractions, interruptions, and the need to re-focus. It also helps integrate learning within the flow of work. Research in 2015 by Global Industry Analyst Josh Bersin with Deloitte shows that the average employee only has 24 minutes a week to learn. With microlearning, employees have greater flexibility to engage in regular learning that aligns with their workload, maintains workplace productivity, and leads to better outcomes.
→ Stronger engagement from employees
There is no one-size fits all approach to DEI learning. Each employee begins with their own unique starting point and learns differently. Microlearning adapts to this by meeting employees where they are in their learning journey. Bite-sized content adapts to varied learning styles and can even spark interest for those in the early stages of learning. Greater flexibility, brevity, improved learning efficiency, less mental exhaustion from content consumption also means a smoother overall learning process for employees (no more dreaded long hours of videos or pages of content).
Take a look at how Crescendo does it.
Crescendo sends employees DEI Learning Moments that are:
Customizable: Moments cover inclusion topics that are chosen by them and suit their individual learning journey.
Brief: Moments are bite-sized and easy to consume in video and article formats.
Flexible and time-efficient: Moments are scheduled to deliver according to employee preferences and accommodate their schedules. They can also be accessed on mobile devices!
Engaging: Moments are sharable and easy to send to coworkers to spark conversations and foster mutual learning.
→ Cost-effective
Due to its functionality as a concise learning format, microlearning can be more cost-effective than traditional methods of DEI training. It can also simplify and streamline the process of maintaining a DEI program, Employee Resource Group or inclusion initiative. Speak to a Crescendo team member to see how Crescendo leverages microlearning to help organizations with this.
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The future of corporate DEI learning and inclusion efforts lies in methods of delivery that are adaptable, flexible and efficient. Not one-time sessions where the learning doesn’t extend beyond the event. Microlearning acts as a catalyst for change, and keeps learning consistent, relevant and effective.
Crescendo uses microlearning to send employees regular Learning Moments that integrate DEI learning into the daily flow of work. Employees can choose to opt in to receive moments, customize their learning topics to meet their interests and schedule moments to accommodate their schedules. Book a demo with our team to see it in action!
