6 Microlearning Must Haves for Frontline Businesses

Hi there,

Welcome back to another edition of Training the Frontline, your favorite source for all things frontline training.

In today's newsletter, we're asking our readers:

You've heard of microlearning - but do you know how to use it effectively?

Most of our readers are likely aware of the benefits microlearning has to offer (some of you may be deploying it to your workers already), but would you say that you're confident on how to get the most value out of it?

Simply adopting microlearning isn't enough to make your training strategy successful. Which is why in today's edition we're sharing some microlearning must haves to help you ensure that your bitesize training is as impactful as possible.

Also in this newsletter: a deeper dive into the microlearning approach with our beginner's guide , and a case study showing how one frontline company was able to use microlearning to reduce employee turnover AND injuries.

Thanks for reading,

The eduMe Team

Frontline news ??

• America's 'deskless' hourly wage workers will reveal the most about how AI changes jobs (CNBC )
• Do retail's frontline workers have enough tech? (RetailWire )
• eduMe completes Workday Certified integration (Financial Times )

Deep dive ??: 6 Microlearning Must Haves to Improve Training Impact for Frontline Workers

If today's learners love one thing, it's bite-sized content. The rise of social media and the widespread use of smartphones has shaped how we process information, and businesses must account for this when training their frontline workforce.

With a plethora of benefits (more on this later!), microlearning usage has increased by 700% since 2020 and is now viewed as a necessity by many industry leaders.

But simply adopting microlearning is not enough, businesses must optimize it through the use of best practices.

Luckily, we've spent many years helping frontline businesses get the most out of their microlearning investments. Below are some of our favorite microlearning success strategies.

1. Make learning as active as possible

Even learning that is shorter and simpler can fail to engage your learner, if the experience is passive.

Passive learning is where nothing is required from the learner but their presence - it’s attending a talk, listening to a podcast, reading a book.?

Microlearning, by way of design, possesses a greater capacity to provide your learner with an active learning experience than modalities like face-to-face training. This means that typically, at some point in a microlearning course, your learner will be blocked from reaching the endpoint without having to interact with the content to move forward.??

By adding these ‘nets’ of interactivity throughout a module - this could be an assessment with a minimum pass/fail score, or a simulated scenario where the correct response must be chosen to progress -? you ensure a learner is never cruising through material on autopilot. Their attention is a prerequisite to proceed.

2. Leverage vertical video

We know workers want bite-sized content, but what does that look like specifically? For most, the answer is video.?

Look at social media today and you’ll find an endless supply of short video clips dominating our feed. Social media giants Facebook and Instagram have transformed in recent years to become almost exclusively video-sharing platforms, and video makes up 80% of all internet traffic.

Visual information engages both the visual and audio parts of our brains, priming us for increased knowledge retention. In fact, employees were 95% more likely to retain information presented via video vs 10% when they were required to read the same information.

Businesses can optimize their training by utilizing short-form video content to engage their employees. When using video, full-screen vertical video with minimal text overlaid is best (think of Instagram’s ‘stories’ format).?

3. Utilize user-generated content (UGC)

The power of user-generated content isn’t to be underestimated - it's the linchpin of apps like TikTok, which uncoincidentally was the second most popular app in the world last year by number of downloads (of which it amassed more than 600 million).?

Seeing people like us doing things we’re interested in, want to know, or are entertained by, captures and holds attention to the fullest degree. Employee training is no different.

Imagine two versions of a lesson on conflict resolution. In one version, a stock video of a customer arguing with an employee is used. In the second, two employees that you work with act out a role-play where one is an agitated customer, and the second the peace-maker.

Which one would you be more likely to pay attention to - the version in which your colleagues co-star, or the stock video? (Hint: one version triggers novelty and relatability, one does not).

"A great story triggers the subtle emotional centers of our brains so we can care enough to keep going. Novelty triggers surprise, delight, fascination. Tension triggers anxiety, curiosity, cravings. Relatability triggers empathy, nostalgia, happiness. And when you weave those things in combination, you can string together a longer attention span." (Forbes )

Our top tip? Involve your people. You get to leverage their expertise (which they’ll appreciate), and maximize attention from other employees.

• For more microlearning success strategies, head over to the full article here .

Extra reading ??

Microlearning: The Beginner's Guide

Here’s everything you need to know about the microlearning method , including definitions, proven benefits and examples of how to implement it into your own employee training strategy.

Case Study: How APC Overnight reduced injuries by 20% with microlearning

Discover how one of the UK's largest independent delivery networks was able to increase retention and reduce injuries with microlearning in this eduMe case study .

Join the conversation ???

Missed our recent webinar with Workday's Sonny Yuen?

Not to worry, we're giving our subscribers free, ungated access to the full recording.

Catch up now to hear about Workday's partnership with eduMe, and how our integration is enabling frontline businesses to seamlessly embed microlearning into their Workday HCM.

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Want even more insights into the world of frontline training? Head to edume.com for more free resources ??