Given that our company [Mobile Coach] is a technology startup, new employees must absorb a lot of information quickly and be able to jump right into the fast work pace of a startup. Training goes hand-in-hand with culture building for us and so it is vitally important that we do it effectively.
With these dynamics in mind, microlearning is the default method of training for our company. There are a few important keys of microlearning for us:
- Effective Organization: Have a very accessible and agile documentation infrastructure. We embrace web-based and mobile friendly collaboration tools and employ a strict method of storing and labeling training content. This means that with just a little bit of orientation, any employee can find information they need within a few clicks. Collaboration software enables a continual dialogue – people can ask questions and get crowd-sourced responses for an “on-demand training” atmosphere.
- Committed Managers: Committed managers are key to having microlearning work effectively. Managers drive the culture of learning and support. Microlearning means that you are not going to know everything all at once, but will gain knowledge through experience and through iterations. Having managers committed to this philosophy means that it creates a safe environment for people to thrive even though they may not have all the answers all at once. In fact, no one should ever feel like they are fully trained…ever.
- Recognizing Teaching Moments: Knowing when to stop and teach. Even with our frenetic pace of work, obviously we do need to take time out to pause, reflect, and absorb lessons being learned. Leaders and team members alike need to sense when to raise their hand, pause the team, and take advantage of teaching moments.
I love continual learning and the philosophy of microlearning is simply a name to a way of learning that resonates with virtually everyone.
Vince Han
Vince Han is the founder and CEO of Mobile Coach and a frequent speaker at conferences such as Training Conference, DevLearn, FocusOn, Online Learning, ATDTK and others. He holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Vince is an industry thought-leader for learning and learning technology with an emphasis on artificial intelligence and chatbot technology. Vince has founded several successful technology companies and resides in Utah.
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