Microlearning: Using Targeted Training to Deliver Just-in-Time Learning

Training initiatives don’t have to be days-long events. Short courses help employees fit training into their work routine and give them the green light to learn.

One of the hurdles that AEC & Manufacturing businesses consistently face with regard to employee training is simply finding the time. These sectors demand high levels of technical knowledge, often enforced by training requirements for regulatory compliance. Moreover, organizations have internal standards and procedures that require documentation and training. So, even though training is essential for productivity, safety, and employee satisfaction, stopping work to complete it can feel impossible. Firms are between a rock and a hard place.

Those who are invested in learning and development initiatives within their organization know this. We recently wrote about the benefits that improved skills visualization can bring to a company—but without the means to implement learning, a visualization tool is just highlighting a need without enabling a solution.

Enter microlearning. With the growth of elearning, training no longer has to take place in a single lengthy session, the kind that ties up a worker—or a whole team—for days at a time. Instead, employees and businesses have more flexibility to define what learning looks like for them. LMS platforms allow businesses to develop tailored learning materials, which employees can access at their own pace and according to their needs.

The result is a wider variety of training formats, including shorter, more bite-sized content that better fits the pace of today’s AEC & Manufacturing industries. Microlearning is not a replacement for a comprehensive training course, but short-form content can encourage participation, improve retention, and streamline your business operations as a whole. Here’s how.

What is microlearning?

Microlearning is a training and development strategy based on short-form content. There’s no formal cutoff for content length, but microlearning media is designed to be quick and focused, answering a specific question or addressing a single topic.

When delivered through a well-designed LMS, microlearning content helps employees take advantage of small gaps in their workdays. In the time before a meeting, you can refresh your memory on a key workflow or software tool and show up feeling prepared. Microlearning content also makes it possible to look up crucial information when it’s needed most—a step in an operating procedure, for example, while you’re on the factory floor.

The idea behind microlearning is to deliver a single, self-contained bite of information. As we’ll see, it’s a tool that offers a great deal of flexibility—and a number of important benefits in employee learning and development.

Higher utilization

We’ve talked already about the logistical hurdles to more traditional training. Those same hurdles can represent a mental barrier for employees as well, making it more difficult to switch gears. When training feels like a chore, or a task that will take up a large chunk of your day, it can fall to the bottom of the priority list.

Microlearning, by contrast, lowers the logistical and psychological barriers to training. Short-form content is low-stakes and low-commitment, and is more likely to be easily digestible in a single sitting. Surveys show that employees want training content that is broken up into smaller segments, and report that they would be more likely to engage with it than long-form lessons.

In addition, microlearning content is perfect for mobile devices, making it more easily accessible on the go. When employees can pick up learning content whenever and wherever they like, they’ll be far more likely to do so.

Better retention

Because it is designed to be quick and focused, microlearning content is easier to digest. It also has the advantage of, in many cases, being targeted at a particular scenario or question—meaning an employee is likely to turn around and apply the knowledge right away. When they do, they link the knowledge with a real-world scenario and reinforce it in a way that eight hours of offsite training can’t.

These in-the-moment successes also encourage users, fueling a sense of achievement and growth. The motivation that comes from small wins and a feeling of empowerment can drive even more engagement with the platform, as well as forming the basis for a company-wide culture of continuous learning.

Increased efficiency

Any form of training content is at its best when it can be precisely targeted. This is especially true for microlearning content, which is perfect for providing the answers to specific questions when they’re needed most, such as when an employee hits a snag during billable time. Microlearning saves client time by helping workers find solutions more efficiently while they’re on the clock, and improving the quality of their work by ensuring the answers they need come from reliable sources.

This also makes microlearning ideally suited for new hires. Instead of interrupting a senior coworker with a question or stalling out due to lack of information, a new team member can access knowledge on a self-service basis—streamlining individual and team workflows, but also bolstering confidence and decisiveness. More experienced workers are saved the interruption as well as the time required to get back in the groove afterward.

Combined with Pinnacle Series’ KnowledgeSmart skill assessments, microlearning also supports streamlined onboarding for new hires or employees moving into new positions. Skill assessments can determine knowledge gaps as granularly as you design them to, and short-form content can fill the gaps just as granularly. That way, employees aren’t wasting time covering information they already know, and can hit the ground running in their new role.

Pinnacle Series supports learning at the pace that fits you best.

With a content library of over 7,000 curated learning paths covering industry-leading AEC & Manufacturing software titles, Pinnacle Series is a rich resource for your organization. Even more powerful, we think, is a framework that allows you to customize courses and assessments, upload your own content, and design a learning platform that works for your business.

Pinnacle Series lets you capture knowledge from your experienced employees, incorporate both microlearning and long-form content, and empower your teams to find the answers they need. Contact us today to learn more about how Pinnacle Series can help you harness the benefits of microlearning.