The rise of Micro-learning

Massive disruption to the global labour market driven by economic uncertainty, hybrid working, and technological change are leading to significant shifts in how learning is designed and delivered. Organisations are therefore increasingly having to utilise new and engaging methods to ensure learners have the ultimate learning experience.

Full day learning and development programmes have long been the norm for learners within the corporate environment. Traditional workplace learning initiatives typically takes the form of classroom-style instructor led training or full-length e-learning courses as organisations typically aim to provide employees with comprehensive learning programmes to address skills gaps. But in a tightening labour market with 44% of workers skills estimated to be disrupted by 2027, the ability to provide the right learning at the correct time and format will be paramount in an effective learning ecosystem. Many organisations are therefore shifting their focus towards microlearning as a strategic mechanism to engage employees and provide the ultimate blended learning experience.

Microlearning is a method which delivers content in modalities in the moment of need for the learner. Its doctrine is predicated on delivering small units of information in a focused way to help learners acquire content in small pieces, and ensure what’s being delivered is relevant, engaging and most of all digestible. Microlearning can be very much delivered through short videos, interactive PowerPoints, quizzes, and even podcasts. Think back to watching that 10-minute Ted Talk or podcast amongst the crowd of commuters yearning to get to work. That is in fact a fundamental example of micro-learning!

This innovative method comes with a myriad of benefits all of which have influenced workplace learning:

1. Learning is easily accessible: With users spending an average of three hours and 50 minutes per day on their mobiles, bite-sized learning can provide quick transfer of information and integrate learning into everyday routines, enabling busy workers to access content during small pockets of the day. Moreover, as microlearning is complimented by mobile accessibility and other forms of multimedia, bite-sized content can be accessed on demand in moments of need, giving greater flexibility for learners.
2. Learning is engaging and personalised. One of the biggest challenges leaders face is tailoring learning content to workers personal needs, interests and aspirations. Having learning chunked up and delivered in small waves supports the learner choice, by eliminating the need to go through mass irrelevant content. Learners therefore have greater flexibility to access desired material, which may have initially been embedded as a small portion into the overall curriculum.
3. Backed by behavioural science. A study by the University of California found that most people can’t concentrate on a single screen for longer than 47 seconds, which is down from two-and-a-half minutes in 2004. Microlearning in its fundamental essence works to engage the learner, taking into account learner attention span and concentration and using it to create small manageable pieces of content.

It’s important to note, that learning is not a one-sized fits all approach and a blended approach is imperative to support the overall learning strategy. Furthermore, as microlearning is grounded on multimedia accessibility, organisations need to ensure they have a strong technological ecosystem and an efficient learning management system to facilitate this mode of learning.

KPMG is here to support your navigation of learning. Our learning offering use human-centric design and behavioural science methodologies to develop learning content, academies, and programmes to help your organisation deliver the skills you need now and in the future. Our expert learning designers draw on the extensive knowledge and experience from our sector specialist and work with you to create engaging and personalised learning content after a thorough deep dive into your organisational context and environment.

Please reach out to Alex Ball and Hasnain Javed for further information.