Our consumption of media has changed radically in the last decade. Within the space of a few minutes, the modern consumer has retweeted an inspiring quote, clicked through a couple of videos on YouTube, quickly skimmed an article from their various news feeds, and interacted and engaged on TikTok. Information consumption has become like snacking, where consumers can pick and choose small snippets of learning and information they can digest around busy work and family schedules.
This has become a growing trend in how learners access training content. In recent years eLearning and mLearning (microlearning) have transformed how L&D progams think about training delivery.
The asynchronous, snackable learning revolution
Training teams rely on a multitude of training delivery methods. Traditional instructor led training still has its place, but it has been supplemented by vILT, blended learning, and eLearning. Now, mLearning and mobile learning are becoming increasingly accessible with advances in enterprise training software. Delivering training through email and SMS can keep learners engaged. This is a new mindset for many enterprise training teams, but some have already unlocked its potential.
Of course, many training programs are still finding a way forward with hybrid and distributed work environments. Plus, for learners, maintaining a grasp on important knowledge with this rapid change in the workforce can be daunting.
Knowledge transfer in a hybrid, changing workforce
Leveraging microlearning and mobile learning is a good place to start. According to a report in the Journal of Applied Psychology, microlearning results in a knowledge transfer that is 17% more effective compared to traditional classroom methods.
In a world defined by uncertainty and hybrid work environments, organizations are placing a premium on resilience. Knowledge transfer plays a critical role in helping learners upskill and reskill to adapt to change. Learning and development sits at the epicenter of organizational resilience. Learning tech that is future-proof, adaptable, and agile is instrumental in supporting training teams with rapidly adjusting to new learning environments.
Snackable learning and microlearning is proving to be paramount to this adaptation and organizational resilience. Here are 4 steps to get your learning tech stack ready for an L&D strategy built around microlearning.
1. Automated email and SMS communications
Does your current learning tech provide an easy means of sending SMS and email communications automatically? How often are these communications triggered based on corresponding events that happen in the software you use to manage your training operations? With a training management system, it’s possible to deliver training in all modalities across SMS and email communications that are automatically triggered.
Effective mobile learning relies on being able to reach learners across devices, and where they are, not just when they’re in your training delivery system. Plus, being able to reinforce that learning with bite-sized videos, suggestions, and additional content in mobile applications helps organizations stay in front of learners with critical content.
2. Promote training engagement with multimodal learning paths
Microlearning is revolutionizing the way learners engage with training in a workforce that demands a diverse skill set and an ability to adapt quickly to new requirements. However, not all training can be delivered in this format, even if it relates to other training content in a learning path. Being able to promote training engagement across modalities keeps learning diverse and allows for small doses of mLearning that keep learners progressing.
Many proprietary, legacy, and LMS solutions have learning paths built-in, but how easy is it for you to manage multiple training delivery formats in a tech stack of disconnected systems? Training management software connects all of your systems in one platform so you can build learning paths that leverage content across modalities, including mLearning.
3. Encourage shared learning experiences
Employees learning in isolation is a wasted opportunity. Sharing knowledge amongst teams helps foster a learning culture and collaborative approach where teams learn together. Regardless of whether your training is delivered formally or via independent learning, give your learners an avenue to share quick snippets of useful information with the wider group.
Incorporating a tool like Slack into your training initiative can empower learners to start sharing their thoughts and key findings. Furthermore, consider providing quick tips and tricks in different media formats, like videos and soundbites that are mobile-shareable. This provides easy avenues for learners to use when sharing their training.
4. Embrace the future with data-driven decision making
Digital transformation has changed the very fabric of the way humans interact and engage, and this trend has only been accelerated since the beginning of 2019. Digital transformation requires businesses to think differently about their software, and the ways they seek to reach their audiences. This has fundamentally changed how training is delivered and what enterprise training teams require and expect from their learning tech.
What does embracing the future of training software entail? It entails finally evolving the learning tech landscape to incorporate a platform approach as the foundation for training operations: a training management system. Think of it as infrastructure capable of connecting all of your invaluable learning tech in one hub, so you can manage 100% of your training operations in one interface.
With this powerful software at your fingertips, you can identify trends, forecast the future with data, and seamlessly optimize your operations. It’s possible to enlist new training delivery formats – like micro and mobile learning – rapidly, based on the data you’re seeing in the training industry.
Embracing the future of training software is about embracing a data-driven approach to transformative impact on your organization, made possible with enterprise training software.
Choice, flexibility, and adaptability
It’s important to remember that the modern learner wants choice in how, when, and where they learn. They need your courses to be flexible and adaptable to their busy schedules. Evolve your training to give them this choice and create a consistent learning experience that allows for ‘learning on the go’. Most importantly, you should closely monitor reporting and your data to see if providing adaptable learning environments helps improve learner engagement.
Here’s what the data from 170+ leading training teams is telling us about what’s next for the training industry, and how your team can be future-proof for what’s coming.
