9 Ways Microlearning Increases Employee Productivity

Microlearning increases employee productivity by making learning more accessible and flexible. Microlearning is an approach to learning or training that involves the delivery of small, bite-sized pieces of information to employees and allows them to learn at their own pace. This is particularly helpful for frontline workers who need to prioritize customer care during their shifts. 
Microlearning equips these employees with the skills required to perform their jobs. This revolutionary technique helps to reduce workflow disruptions and makes learning more fun and engaging. Below are some key ways microlearning boosts employee productivity.

1. Microlearning Reduces Workflow Disruptions

Microlearning reduces workplace disruptions by integrating on-the-go learning for frontline employees in various industries. Deskless employees rarely have the luxury of sitting still and training for several hours. 
Whether they’re working in retail or hospitality, microlearning allows workers to complete training modules as part of the flow of work—for example between tasks, during a lull in business, or while they are on a coffee break—rather than taking them away from a pressing task.
Many of the learning management systems that were built around a microlearning approach provide bite-size modules that employees can access from their mobile phones. This flexibility allows employees to learn new things during downtime, such as on breaks or before a shift, and to continue learning when working in a different location as long as they have an internet connection.
Axonify, a cutting-edge learning management system (LMS) that caters to deskless employees, was built to address these issues by offering personalized microlearning experiences. Employees are given fun 3-5-minute training modules that they can complete at their own pace and at the time of day that suits them best.

2. Microlearning Minimizes Information Overload

Microlearning reduces the chances of cognitive overload associated with complex subjects by dividing them into smaller sections. Instead of overwhelming employees with long and tedious training sessions, micro-learning emphasizes one particular idea or skill at a time. This helps the learner grasp each concept without the stress of information overload.
The bite-sized microlearning strategy may also help reduce the learner’s chance of being confused or bored. Instead of spending several hours learning a topic in one go, microlearning allows employees to learn new concepts in just a few minutes a day. This increases productivity because the employee doesn’t waste time learning too much content and immediately forgetting it, which would make the entire training process an exercise in futility (i.e. time lost).

3. Microlearning Improves Knowledge Retention

Microlearning increases employee productivity by improving knowledge retention. Busy employees in retail, banks, or hotels may feel overwhelmed by online training sessions that require extended periods of focus. 
A recent study shows that microlearning can be extremely beneficial for employee training and the development of knowledge and skills because it is effective in improving workers’ competence and performance. This may be because humans naturally retain information better when delivered in bite-sized pieces.
Microlearning also typically uses spaced repetition and refresher training to reinforce key concepts. Some of the best LMS systems onboard, train, and reinforce learning with spaced repetition for enhanced knowledge retention and performance.

4. Microlearning Improves Employee Engagement

Microlearning empowers employees to be more engaged in their work, which in turn increases productivity on the job. This is because microlearning fosters a culture of continuous learning, providing support for improvement and mastery of skills. Features such as gamification make learning fun, and more engaging for employees—especially when microlearning sessions are delivered directly to each employee’s phone.
Microlearning enables busy learners to learn complex topics over time without feeling overwhelmed. A microlearning approach increases the likelihood of retention and application of new skills. Over time, this leads to higher employee confidence and better job performance.

5. Microlearning Is Easier for Training Managers

A microlearning approach allows training managers to create fun and easily digestible courses for their direct reports in very little time. It eliminates the need to design long and complex courses, which tends to be more time-consuming and less effective. 
Many LMS systems also enable managers to track and update modules according to employees’ learning styles. Real-time feedback from microlearning may increase managers’ job satisfaction, which improves productivity in the workplace for both managers and their direct reports.

6. Employees Are Familiar with Microlearning

Microlearning is familiar to employees as it reflects their daily bite-sized media consumption. Social media, animated videos, and other digital content that can be easily consumed in short bursts are examples of microlearning. For example, most young people will look for 2-minute videos on YouTube when they want to learn how to do something new. Or they may use voice search for a one-sentence answer to a question rather than read long-form content. 
According to a Software Advice survey, learners were 58% more likely to use their organization’s learning management system if the content was broken up into smaller modules. Microlearning is a familiar and obvious solution for the modern worker that increases engagement and productivity in the workplace.

7. Microlearning Improves Accountability

Microlearning improves accountability by breaking down learning into smaller pieces that can be easily assessed and tracked. For example, frontline employees can complete the short training modules during breaks or while working on the floor. Supervisors can then track employees’ learning in real time and provide immediate feedback on repeated mistakes. Timely feedback prevents employees from continuing to make the same mistake. 
Managers also know who is completing training and can see each learner’s progress and scores in different areas. They can receive messages and feedback from their direct reports through the app. This two-way communication allows managers to adjust the training strategies used to better fit their direct reports’ needs and ultimately increase productivity and performance in their team.

8. Microlearning Decreases Onboarding Time

Microlearning serves as a fast-track onboarding process since it allows fresh recruits to quickly learn the key aspects of their job. Microlearning focuses on assimilating knowledge in bite-sized or small portions within a short time. This may consist of organizational rules and regulations, safety measures, and product knowledge.
Microlearning also enables older employees to share their knowledge with new hires. For example, a senior employee can help a new employee by teaching them how to utilize the company’s LMS efficiently. This helps with employee collaboration and morale while speeding up onboarding time (and hence increasing the team’s productivity).

9. Microlearning Makes Downtime Productive

Microlearning modules bring learning to idle moments, increasing productivity within the workplace. For example, an employee can participate in mobile learning when work is slow. Other ways microlearning can be helpful for productivity are:

• Providing quick and easily digestible information on-the-go
• Turning mundane training topics into fun and engaging activities
• Allowing employees to learn at their own pace, applying learned skills immediately to their roles
• Offering just-in-time learning that can be tracked and modified based on each employee’s skill set and current role

Microlearning allows employees to spend every second at work productively. This can be done by creating microlearning videos and courses that can be accessed by a mobile device. Employees can easily fit these bursts of information into their busy schedules.

Supercharge Productivity with Microlearning

Microlearning boosts employee productivity in several very impactful ways. It helps employees be more engaged in learning, thus increasing productivity on the floor. Humans learn better when the learning is relevant to what they are working on and they can apply it right away. Microlearning also helps to increase confidence and boost employee morale.
Training managers benefit from microlearning because it makes training faster and more effective. Microlearning can also make downtime more productive by providing fun and interactive learning activities to complete when there’s nothing pressing to do. Adopting microlearning solutions ultimately leads to a more knowledgeable, skilled, and productive staff.