In Axonify’s recent Microlearning Global Benchmark Report, it was revealed that about 75% of employees undertake microlearning training between two to three times per week, with the report positing this as habitual.
One of the key reasons why this may have come to fruition is due to the high number of people who now work away from the desk in practical or physical roles. Microlearning is highly accessible and more adaptable to their current environment and therefore is more appropriate for the majority of who are not sat at desks.
Furthermore, where businesses allow employees to access microlearning materials through mobile devices, organisations can see a participation increase of over 40%, due to the accessibility and the familiarity that it offers.
Embracing technology to develop deskless workers
Time and time again technological innovation proves that its place in the workplace only seeks to improve working environments and processes. Deskless workers account for a huge proportion (80%) of the workforce, therefore it's now time for employers to better embrace technology to develop them.
Often, office workers will undertake training in their place of work, typically sat at a desk, so, therefore, deskless workers should, in theory, undertake their training in their working environment i.e. not sat a desk. Working in the field, whether they handle goods, undertake manual activities or work on a showroom floor, their learning will be overall more effective when it can be put into practice instantly, with context surrounding them throughout the training.
Often working in shifts, micro-learning is overall more flexible as it does not require employees to be in attendance during a certain period of time, which may occur outside of their shift pattern. Microlearning, particularly when accessible on mobile devices, can more easily fit in with shift workers working patterns and can reduce the amount of time spent on learning through easily digestible blocks of information or videos, which they are then instantly able to put into practice.
Mobile access
Without mobile access, microlearning can become difficult to schedule into the working day. It opens up accessibility, allowing everyone to easily gain access to the information they need and can work in tangent with translation software in order to be rolled out in areas where multiple dialects or languages may be spoken.
As a rapid learning system, mobile access completely compliments this way of working, with information available at the touch of a button. Providing learners with ‘just in time’ access to content allows individuals to access the learning material as and when is suitable for them whilst taking up minimal time during their day.
It also allows employees to use experiences to boost their learning as and when required. For example, if a customer-facing employee has just struggled with a difficult customer encounter, they may wish to look at details and advice on how to deal with these situations in the future and implement them immediately.
Millennials and microlearning
With Millennials quickly becoming the largest portion of the workforce, appealing to their preferred way of learning is going to be a key way to quickly develop and upskill your employees.
Millennials are often tight on time accompanied by an insatiable desire to learn, develop and progress quickly, microlearning is the ideal training solution for this generation. With workplace learning now becoming less about information retention and more about immediate action, microlearning supports this way of training by offering immediate solutions to problems that can be actioned and will build into the routine set of skills used every day.
Considering all of the above points will support your training in becoming habitual, meaning that you will no longer need to organise or prompt employees to undertake development courses but instead they will instinctively look up information and learn new skills and knowledge on a regular basis, often unaided.