Having knowledgeable staff with the most up to date skills is paramount for any company wanting to stay ahead of its competitor. However to provide staff with the right knowledge can be costly for any organization.
Instead of the traditional classroom training conducted by full time corporate trainers, there are many advantages with microlearning in an online learning environment. With microlearning, study materials can be easily tailored to modules or small chunks of learning materials relating to specific areas of work. This allows employees to quickly close a knowledge or skill gap. As a result, employees become happier because they can keep on top of workplace changes and perform effectively on their jobs.
Most employees perceive training as top down and therefore, may show some resistance towards it. Also, according to the 2015 Gallups' State of the American Manager report (Fox, 2016), "only 12 percent of employees strongly agree that their manager helps them set work priorities, and just 13 percent strongly agree that their manager helps them set performance goals". Microlearning can overcome these issues, as employees are in control of what and when they are learning. By engaging employees to make such decisions, it may result in a more positive shift in their attitudes towards training. It gives employees a feeling of success which reinforces motivation for further work and learning.
Microlearning not only provides the convenience and flexibility which fits into the lifestyles of employees, it also improves the productivity and bottom line for an organization. By allowing employees to “pull” the information anytime at the convenience of their homes, it means less disruption and downtime at work. As microlearning helps to solve a current problem, it enhances operational excellence, increases efficiency, as well as helps reduce costs for companies.
Moreover, companies no longer have to carry a fixed overhead cost in having full time corporate trainers in their payrolls. As the training materials are developed in units, information in a segment can be easily edited or updated. The costs (direct and indirect) associated to make such changes would be less than having to take the entire training curriculum offline.
In short, when it is designed and implemented correctly, microlearning is a win-win strategy for both improving employee morale and company's overall performance.
References
Fox, A. (2016, April 1). Microlearning for Effective Performance Management. Retrieved from
Association of Talent Development: https://www.td.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-
Archive/2016/04/Microlearning-for-Effective-Performance-Management
Spencer, R. (2016, Jun 27). Microlearning. Retrieved from elearning industry:
https://elearningindustry.com/elearning-must-have-5-microlearning-benefits-cannot-ignore