Table of Contents
Introduction
When the pandemic hit and restricted people to their homes, it became necessary to find a way to provide education and allow employment through remote means. In both cases, the lack of structure and schedules allowed people to work and learn at their own pace. Contrary to what most organizations and institutions had forecasted, productivity was actually boosted in the process. It proved that different people had completely different needs and when allowed to work or learn in a manner that fulfilled those needs, they performed better than when they were forced to operate under a one-size-fits-all framework.
This applies to training for work too. According to a survey by Saba and analyst firm Brandon Hall Group, conducted in high-performing organizations, 93% agreed that personalized learning supported an employee in reaching their professional goals much more efficiently. Moreover, 91% even felt that personalized learning was the reason for the improvement in the link between learning and organizational performance.
This goes on to prove that allowing people to learn according to their capacities and leveraging their strengths and weaknesses as they know best helps improve retention and application manifold. While personalized learning has many aspects, like tailored lessons, progress tracking and analytics, etc., here, we are going to discuss the form of personalized learning that has been around for a long time, albeit in more conventional and less recognized forms – Microlearning.
Assima’s features are geared to allow microlearning capabilities. Want to know more?
What is Microlearning?
Anyone born before the advent of the modern digital age will have used tools like flashcards and summarized notes to remember their lessons. It was only when digital learning became a rage that the concept of microlearning was reintroduced with a technological makeover. Just like in educational institutions, microlearning in the workplace has become all the rage, with proven results showing how it improves the learning experience as well as information retention and recall. It is also correlated to better performance observed among workers. But what exactly does microlearning entail?
Microlearning, in the simplest terms, refers to using bite-sized modules of information, preferably compiled based on relevance and applicability, for training, in our case, employees. The lessons are all short and provided at the point of need of the learner to ensure that the timeline of feeding the information and putting it to practical application is aligned and simultaneous. This runs counter to how traditional learning methods work, which is to learn all pertinent information at one go and then, apply it if and when the need arises. Unfortunately, that is hardly ever productive, and here is why.
Have you ever been on a week-long intensive training course? Or were you ever given a chunky book of exercises and then told to promptly digest it? Or perhaps you were provided with a bunch of digital learning materials such as lengthy online tutorials, and you just ended up glazing over it and not knowing where to start? Then, when you actually needed to use the knowledge, did you discover that there were gaps and inconsistencies in what you remembered, and you had to go back to the lessons to remember the correct information? This is not uncommon.
Learning is tough. Learning takes time. And trying to learn too much in one go never works. Even if you think you are taking it in, much of it will be lost in the first 24 hours. Moreover, if you are not able to apply that knowledge within these 24 hours, your retention and recall of that information will be severely affected. There is a reason theoretical lessons are combined with practical application, as it allows visual intake of the cause and effect of every action, which strongly augments effective learning.
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Why Microlearning is More Effective
Microlearning for corporate training, wherever implemented, has shown significant success rates among employees. It is scientifically proven to be more effective in helping people learn more efficiently and apply that knowledge better. The reasons are simple, yet profound. We discuss them here:
Information Overload Resolved
Human brains have a limited capacity when it comes to how much information they can receive and successfully retain at once. When too much information is provided at the same time, the majority of it will be lost by the time the learner needs to recall that information. Information overload can also cause frustration and mental exhaustion, which reduces employee morale in the process.
Personalized, Self-Paced Learning
Every individual has a unique pace of learning that they are comfortable with and that is most effective for them. Setting a single, one-size-fits-all routine may work for some people, but for most, it will not help them reach the highest level of productivity they are capable of. Personalized microlearning allows one to access only as many modules to learn as is suited for their capability and create the flow that best connects their thought processes.
Informal Setting for Learning
The classroom mode of formal learning is not for everyone. Some people are more comfortable learning on their own or in a small informal group. Microlearning gives one the freedom to pursue learning in the environment of their preference. There is much less pressure and anxiety, no fear of making mistakes, and more flexible deadlines to work with. This can be a huge motivator, especially for those who do not perform well in a classroom.
Just-in-Time Training
Just-in-time training refers to supplying contextual information to the learner at the point of need, allowing on-the-job training and instant application. This mode of learning has become especially popular these days, as it allows one to get the right information at the right place and at the right time. It also helps reduce the number of mistakes first-time users of a software application are wont to make.
Lowered Interruption of Work
Often, training drives take hours, if not days, and eat into the precious working hours of an employee. Work gets pushed back and timely delivery becomes a dream. This is only because most companies try to train or refresh all the materials in one go. It makes much more sense to provide them in small packets that employees can check out in between tasks, thus, reducing wasted hours and interrupted work.
Benefits of Microlearning
E-learning trends of 2025 have brought to the forefront a number of interesting directions in which corporate learning is veering. Microlearning is definitely one of them. The reason is not hard to see. After all, there are many benefits of microlearning like:
- Real-time data quality improvements
- Engaged and motivated employees
- Optimal system performance
- Quick and easy global distribution of digital learning content
- Operational risk reduction
- Increased customer satisfaction
- Tailored content distribution and progress tracking
Microlearning Strategies
Microlearning can only be effective if deployed using the right tools and strategies. Unsystematic implementation can give rise to more problems than solve them. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind when utilizing microlearning for corporate training:
- When creating learning modules, ensure that the information grouped in one module is relevant to each other. They could lay out one task or process, one action in an application, one set of rules, and so on.
- Utilize an automated platform for dispensing the lessons so that different people can access them at will. However, ensure a tracking and analytics system is part of that systems training platform or LMS to allow you to keep every employee on time and on track.
- AI-powered microlearning can be of great assistance to you. It can not only decide the best nuggets of information to group in a module but also suggest the most naturally following module to an employee based on their past choices, current progress, pace, and role.
- Include assessments like simulation performance and gamified tests with the modules if you do not want your employees to test their knowledge directly on the live system. This allows them to apply their knowledge in a controlled environment before working in the live one.
- Make the lessons interactive. This will hold the attention of the learners and keep them on their toes without putting any undue pressure on them. Since each module is short, you can introduce different media formats to teach them as well as to transition from one lesson to another.
- The content must be optimized for mobiles. One of the advantages of microlearning is that it can be accessed anywhere, whenever a person finds time. The smartphone is the one device that always stays on one’s person.
Conclusion
Assima, using its tools Assist and In-App Search, makes microlearning easy and accessible to all kinds of corporate settings. If you want to learn more about them or get a live peek into how they work, click the link below.