As a business owner, officer or member of a management team, you are probably constantly looking for ways to capitalize on training your employees and the time spent on learning. Here, we'll discuss the many benefits of microlearning and how you can effectively implement it in your workplace.

What is Microlearning?

In the most basic of explanations, microlearning is teaching content to learners in small, specific steps. By teaching content in smaller bursts, learners can become more in control of what, when and how they absorb information.

In recent years, the content overload on the internet has forced our brains to work more quickly in order to try and absorb all of the information that is presented. Microlearning is a great strategy to use because it fits within the attention spans of our brain. With short, focused learning sessions, the brain works much more effectively.

What Can Microlearning Do for You?

In today's day and age, multitasking is an understatement. With advancements in portable technologies such as smart phones, laptops, tablets and more, it has become more and more difficult to stay focused on one task at a time. Also contributing to this is the fact that learning audiences are comprised of a larger number of young people. In fact, by 2025, Millennials will contribute a whopping 75% of the workforce (eLearning Industry). 

This is where microlearning can come into play. By learning and perfecting the small skills that make up a task one by one, it can be completed more efficiently. In addition, by learning many small skills, learners can apply them to other aspects of their job as well as their everyday lives.

What are the Benefits of Microlearning? 

When you implement microlearning in your workplace, you'll begin to see a change in the way your employees approach assignments, projects and everyday tasks that will make a difference in the overall productivity of your company. There are many benefits of microlearning; some of them include:

• Keeping up-to-date with necessary skills for work
• Work won't be interrupted with having to take classes
• Learners won't become bored with information
• Learners can quickly determine if an area interests them without large financial or time commitments 

In addition to these benefits, microlearning also means that learners will more easily remember the information that they've been taught. The learning sessions are shorter and there are fewer aspects to each piece of content that is being taught.

Implementing Microlearning in Your Workplace

Once you realize the benefits of microlearning, you'll want to begin to implement it with your employees. Putting a new procedure or training into place can be difficult, especially if the learners in your workplace have been accustomed to doing things a certain way for a long period of time. Here are a few ideas to help with a smooth transition and to help your learners become excited for the change:

1. Stick to one objective at a time - by having one specific objective per learner, you'll be able to more accurately explain your expectations more clearly. Once you try to bring in multiple objectives, the longer your content will be and the more likely your audience is to become confused - you'll lose them

2. Use video - people respond to video much more positively than lecturing. With video, you'll target different types of learners as well - those who learn by hearing instructions and those who learn by watching someone else. Also, your audience likes video. In fact, 70% of Millennials visit YouTube at least once per month (eLearning Industry)

3. Keep your videos short - try to keep your videos under four minutes. There's no need for lengthy introductions, your learners want to get to the point quickly. If there are additional resources that learners can watch, mention them at the end of the video, or in a text box below, this will ensure you aren't wasting valuable time

4. Implement a game - having a fun, interactive component to your learning session will ensure that your employees not only remember the content they're learning, but have fun while doing it as well. You don't even have to necessarily have a winner or a prize, just something to get learners into the habit of implementing the content

5. Don't stop the learning - once the learning session is over, ensure you continue it by asking your learner(s) questions about the content. Moreover, ask them to demonstrate it. Asking the learner(s) to submit a video of them delivering a speech, or performing the content they've learned will ensure it's fresh in their minds. It will also be the perfect opportunity for coaching and feedback

6. Educational blog posts - another way to ensure you "don't stop the learning" is to produce educational blog posts. These can be extremely effective because they allow learners to revisit content or a subject that they've previously been taught that's presented in a different way. Learning more about a subject on their own time can make for even more knowledgeable employees

In order to be successful, you'll have to decide which ways work best for you and your employees. You may find that you have to cater differently around specific employees compared to others. Maybe videos and quizzes work best for some learners and games and educational blogs work best for others. Feel it out, and make the necessary changes as they are needed.

The benefits of microlearning are endless. By introducing this streamlined way of teaching and learning, you'll see a change in the way your employees approach and complete tasks, which will greatly benefit your business in the long run.