Farewell to Long Trainings? How Microlearning is Reshaping Contact Center Teams!

I'm Alisha (Ali) Joseph & I've created this newsletter as a "safe space" for contact center customer service leaders & professionals. I write about all the nuances & day-to-day chaos, challenges, wins, trends & needed changes with customer-facing teams (customer experience, support & success), specifically in startups. I "grew up" in startup contact center customer service from frontline to leadership, working with different BPOs, tech tiered teams, senior leadership etc. I share my unique experience & "guidelines" with the hope that it impacts people in a positive way, drives quick wins in your day-to-day & continue to strive for department excellence in the ever-changing world of customer service!

If you currently or have worked in a contact center, you know training can often be a grind. Endless hours in a training room or on a screen, followed by loads of information you're expected to remember in real time, isn’t always the most effective—or enjoyable—way to learn your role & what you do daily. Typically, with high turnover, trainers are spending countless hours training numerous new hires with very little time to collaboration with customer support operations to do learning refreshers & on-going learning strategies (kudos to startup trainers & all the partnerships I've had with training teams over the years).

Now enter microlearning, a trend that's gaining large traction in the contact center world.

What is Microlearning?

Microlearning delivers bite-sized, highly targeted training content, typically focused on one specific skill or topic. It’s short, digestible, and can be completed during a regular shift or in between calls. Agents can quickly absorb and apply the information, leading to better performance on the job. Think of it like snacking on knowledge instead of sitting down for a huge meal.

Why is Microlearning Becoming More Popular?

Microlearning works well in today’s fast-paced environments where traditional training methods may fall short. It's flexible, cost-effective, and agents find it more engaging compared to marathon training sessions. With agents often under pressure to handle high call volumes and complex queries, microlearning provides an opportunity for quick, on-the-job skill development.

Some companies are loving this method & here's why:

1. Increased Knowledge Retention: When content is delivered in smaller chunks, it's easier for agents to retain information. A case study from Alorica shows that a contact center implementing microlearning improved compliance by 62% and significantly reduced retraining time (Default).
2. Faster Onboarding: In industries with rapid turnover (i.e. customer service), microlearning has drastically cut down onboarding times. For example, companies like IHG reduced onboarding time from five weeks to two weeks using this method (eLearningInside News).
3. Enhanced Agent Performance: Microlearning can be applied in real-time, allowing agents to immediately practice new skills, such as handling customer objections or de-escalating heated situations. This makes agents feel more confident, and it shows in their improved KPIs (Zenarate) (BestofAI).

Challenges Companies Face with Microlearning:

As great as this method sounds, microlearning does have its hurdles. Some organizations find it hard to shift from traditional, long-form training to shorter, bite-sized sessions. Here's where companies struggle to implement:

• Cultural Resistance: Not everyone’s onboard with the concept of short training bursts. Some managers or training leaders still favor old-school methods and are skeptical of how well microlearning can truly prepare agents (Default).
• Integration with Existing Systems: While it’s easy to deploy microlearning content, integrating it into existing Learning Management Systems (LMS) or workflow tools can be a challenge. Ensuring seamless access during shifts or busy periods may also be rough (Zenarate).
• Continuous Engagement: Microlearning needs to be engaging to work. If the content isn’t interactive or aligned with real-world scenarios, agents might tune out. Companies that use gamification or real-time feedback, such as Zenarate’s AI simulation, see higher engagement and retention (Zenarate).
• Budget Constraints: Although microlearning is often seen as a cost-effective alternative to lengthy training programs, there can still be significant up-front costs. Implementing microlearning often requires investment in new platforms, content development, and potential integrations with other systems. For smaller organizations or companies operating on tight budgets, these initial costs might be a barrier to adoption (Default). While the long-term ROI is generally positive (through reduced retraining costs and faster onboarding), convincing stakeholders to make that initial investment can be a challenge.

Case Studies: Microlearning in Action

1. Alorica: Alorica implemented microlearning for a major retail pharmacy to boost compliance, using short, animated videos to train agents on crucial skills. Within 60 days, compliance at their pilot site improved by 62%, and they cut down retraining costs by 80% (Default).
2. IHG: InterContinental Hotels Group adopted microlearning across its global operations. After introducing bite-sized training content, the company saw onboarding times drop from five weeks to two weeks, with a notable improvement in agent knowledge retention (eLearningInside News).

Is microlearning right for your contact center support team(s)? If you're struggling with long training timeframes, disengaged agents, or poor knowledge retention, microlearning could be your game-changer & solution. Not only is it more practical for busy contact centers, but it’s also showing real results in boosting agent performance and satisfaction.

Hope you enjoyed this week's article. Is your customer support team(s) ready for bite-sized learning? Let me know in the comments or check out more case studies on microlearning success. Make sure you share this article out to your network, subscribe if you haven't already & connect with me on LinkedIn to build our network relationship & discuss these learning ideas! More cool things in the works & excited to share in the next month, so stay in the loop! Enjoy the week!