Over the past 20 years, the human attention span has rapidly decreased from 12 seconds to eight seconds, according to a Microsoft study.
A short attention span has huge implications on how effectively an individual retains information. And it impacts an organisation’s approach to upskilling their employees and other stakeholders, to give their business a competitive edge.
What’s more — almost half of South African Millennials are employed and Gen Z’ers are slowly entering the workforce. Growing up in a digital age influences the way they consume content and the way they learn, and it’s important for organisations to adapt to this, especially their learning and advocacy strategies.
“We’ve seen how businesses have to change the conversation to meet the needs of Millennials and Gen Z’ers. For organisations to not be left behind, they need to engage with their younger workforce in ways that resonate and empower them,” says Michael Gullan, co-founder and MD of G&G Advocacy.
“This includes how they learn and upskill their various stakeholders. G&G has taken microlearning to a new level by introducing an innovative Content CapsuleTM methodology. This learning method empowers people to control what they learn. And it addresses short attention spans and busy schedules,” he adds.
Microlearning is more than a buzzword
Microlearning isn’t a trend. It is a digital learning methodology that delivers valuable and insightful information in bite-sized and easy-to-digest modules. Microlearning is strategically designed to allow employees to complete and assimilate one learning objective at a time.
Microlearning is not restricted to professional learning, it can also impact an individual’s ongoing, continuous learning, as the success of the popular TED Talks shows.
Here are three ways microlearning can benefit a business.
Affordable and scalable
Microlearning is targeted, strategic, short and tailored “learning moments” to suit organisations’ needs and budgets. It’s highly interactive, accessible from all devices and provides a rewarding digital experience for employees.
As business processes and industry insights evolve, it’s essential to communicate these changes and upskill teams in a seamless manner. Microlearning will assist businesses to keep learning information relevant, updated and to be able to update it as need be, with no disruption to the learning process.
Utilising rich media
Microlearning offers employees an opportunity to interactively engage with diverse, rich media content allowing them to be fully engaged in horizontal and vertical learning.
Using stories, videos, audio, infographics, short and long-form articles, learning becomes more rewarding, easier to understand, and accommodating of an employees’ short attention span and busy schedule.
Data friendly
Employees can easily access learning materials from any device, including smartphones, tablets, iPads and computers. And, with the short duration of learning material, accessing the content from smartphones is achievable and not data intensive.
With microlearning, businesses can continue to refresh and reinforce employees’ knowledge and skills for the workplace. It is effective and engaging, and as organisations continue to adapt to technology and digital processes, microlearning can help turn learning, training and advocacy into their most powerful business asset.