Microlearning platforms: Helping you drive continuous change
The business of a business is to bring change to the world. |
This adage was one of the key principles behind Daniel Kahneman’s inferences in his acclaimed ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’.
And rightly so.
If you step aside from the daily rigmaroles of your work and think about the real purpose of your job, it would most certainly boil down to changing behaviors and attitudes at scale.
That’s the promise of every new product and service introduced in the capitalistic winds that power our economic engine.
That marketer shilling organic water.
Special socks which have pockets to store little knick-knacks.
A self-stirring mug with a built-in motorized stirring mechanism to automatically stir your beverages.
What’s the common thread in these offerings?
They are trying to change existing behaviors and cultural norms. Be it red or blue oceans, every product and service is either in the game to change your existing preferences (Pepsi vying for Coca-Cola’s market share)—or build new habits that you did not consider earlier (Uber taking on the cab industry).
And if a business fails to do that, it may soon cease to exist.
If you are part of the national productive population, you are bringing change to the world
Being employed to execute a set of strategies and tasks is an implicit sign that you are adding to the nation’s productivity. This means you are part of a large community that’s doing its bit for mass change.
Which leads us to another pertinent question:
What sets you up for success in your quest to change the behaviors and attitudes of the segment of customers you serve?
There are many axes to cover if we take a deep dive into this question, so let’s talk about the most foundational aspect.
People forget nearly 90% of what they have learnt within just 7 days, unless the concepts are reinforced. That’s why employees swamped with documents, presentations, and classroom sessions are not likely to learn much.
However, time constraints make it difficult to reinforce vast concepts.
What can you do instead? Arm your employees with one concept at a time. Studies show the human attention span is only 8.25 seconds, so keep your training concise.
RapL is your software for that.
Your L&D strategy exists to help your employees drive the change your business stands for
Period.
Each stage of the employee lifecycle is an opportunity for L&D teams. They can build an ecosystem that empowers employees to introduce waves of change the business works for.
From onboarding all the way to separation, L&D teams consistently go the extra mile for employees. They empower a multitude of employees to drive meaningful change for the customers.
Two examples of L&D teams spark change:
- Helping employees absorb the nature of product ingredients so that they can pitch these differentiators for a successful switch to the brand
- Helping a group of knowledge workers document their learnings from a key project for better business process optimisation
At the heart of every business initiative is continuous change – internal or external.
With that, we need to address your employees’ identity outside work. This indicates that work and personal life hold equal prominence in their minds.
Employees are constantly juggling personal matters, as well as the ever-changing business landscape. This makes it extremely challenging to ensure your key business process drivers are entrenched in the collective employee cognitive quotient.
A shift in business strategy. New competitive forces. Emerging cultural vectors. Derailing personal issues. Shifting customer consciousness. The list of problems to tackle for individuals and groups goes on and on.
What these limitations do is accelerate business forgetting – the natural process of forgetting the concepts of change drivers for your customers because of too many unrelated forces that hijack the human brain.
Whether they are called “lack of focus” or “distractions”, the singular observation is: People forget 97% of what they have learned about a new subject within 30 days, if there is no applied reinforcement of the subject.
There is also a graphical representation of this, called Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve.
Now that you have understood the limitations of the human attention span, let’s see how microlearning can help us beat them.
What is microlearning?
Microlearning stands in contrast to the conventional classroom setup, where a subject matter expert engages with a group of participants to enhance their understanding of a specific topic. It offers a distinct and innovative approach to learning.
Think of microlearning as bite-sized learning nuggets, like individual puzzle pieces that gradually come together to form a complete picture. Instead of a lengthy lecture, it’s like solving a puzzle, where each small piece contributes to overall knowledge and understanding of a subject.
An example to elucidate microlearning are the various courses over Lynda.com.
Here’s how course creators have split the various micro concepts of MS Excel into parts, focusing on each concept as a different entity.
Remember how we explored the concept of the Forgetting Curve, and how it is the number-one enemy in your company’s pursuit of driving external change? Well, now you can see that microlearning easily triumphs the Forgetting Curve.
In complex business activities, mastering interconnected concepts is crucial for seamless process functioning. This ensures optimal performance and success. Efficient learning is essential for understanding and integrating interconnected business concepts. It equips professionals with the knowledge to navigate complexities and ensure smooth process execution.
The fact that you are working with an attention span shorter than that of a goldfish is the reason why employees forget key steps in their execution playbooks. Or when humans tune out of a talk after 10 minutes.
To master each of these concepts so that the sum is greater than the parts is the precise utility of microlearning. By keeping the subject matter short and focused, instructional designers are merely playing along the laws of human attention.
The road to change is lined with trade-offs. In this case, large parts of traditional macrolearning must be substituted with microlearning initiatives because of their bite-sized nature, which appeals to the human psyche.
Microlearning Platforms: Which will be your Mjölnir?
Microlearning platforms deliver learning content in bite-sized modules, typically through digital formats such as videos, quizzes, or interactive presentations. Learners can access these modules anytime, anywhere, using their preferred devices. The content is concise, specific, and targeted, focusing on key concepts or skills. Microlearning platforms promote active learning, engagement, and knowledge retention by providing short, easily digestible bursts of information. This approach enables learners to fit learning into their busy schedules and facilitates continuous learning and skill development.
Recent industry roundups report 95 microlearning platforms vying against each other for L&D budgets.
Like all industry chasms, only a handful of microlearning platforms are meant for business usage. This section explores these microlearning platforms. It looks at their pros and cons, and will help you make an informed decision.
RapL is one of the leading microlearning platforms in the market. RapL ticks all the boxes to execute a microlearning strategy – an intuitive content creation module, a dopamine-releasing gamification flow, and programs meant for spaced repetition.
Where RapL goes above and beyond is the granular detail at which you can analyze the specific topical areas where individuals AND teams need help.
For example, here is a specimen of how RapL reports knowledge gaps at various levels inside the organization.
RapL also supports multilingual capabilities. With expert customer success personnel that help you with a strategy (if needed), RapL is a software + knowledge provider for all things microlearning.
RapL has extensive use case coverage across multiple industries, such as Automotive,BFSI, Healthcare, Hospitality, Retail, IT and Logistics.
EdApp is one of the top microlearning platforms in the market. With its cloud-based authoring tool, EdApp enables you to create interesting microlearning content. From mobile LMS, course library to microlearning platform, EdApp provides various solutions to train your workforce and provide them with relevant and compelling content. This microlearning platform can be easily integrated with your existing LMS solution. The base version of the app is free, but additional features and functionality are paid.
QStream is one of the top microlearning platforms in the market. It complements existing HR and learning tech systems. QStream focuses on the science behind the Forgetting Curve, which serves as a backbone for the platform. With a unique set of questions and answers, Qstream follows a spaced repetition methodology that fights the Forgetting Curve, to make employees more efficient and drive business growth.
Axonify is one of the top microlearning platforms in the market. It is designed specifically for the frontline workforce. Axonify makes it simple to run training courses, from onboarding to compliance training to tracking. Messages can be sent to all employees within seconds, conveying critical information. Managers can track the progress of their frontline workforce on a day-to-day basis. Additionally, personalized learning modules also incorporate games and other challenges to keep the frontline employees engaged.
7Taps is one of the top microlearning platforms in the market. Instant creation of content with “just 7 taps” is their trademark. This microlearning platform allows you to create and deliver engaging micro content in just 15 minutes. With a simple to use UI, anyone can create micro courses and extract a detailed report of the user engagement via this app.
In conclusion, microlearning platforms are on the rise. Companies can foster a culture of continuous learning and growth by investing in employee development through microlearning platforms. This is particularly important in the ever-changing work environment of today. RapL is a renowned provider of microlearning platforms. We offer engaging and high-quality content, inspiring learners to enhance their skills and progress. To explore how RapL can support you further, please contact us at hello@getrapl.com.
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