The pandemic ushered in a new era in learning and development, and it includes a move toward microlearning, gamification, and more. It is a time of great change and maximum use of HR tech to personalize training and make it easier to access and complete.
Recently, Iyad Jabri, Chief Technology Officer of Cypher Learning, described this evolution in learning and explained how HR leaders can shift in the new normal. At the HR Exchange Network Corporate Learning online event, Jabri shared that many employees hate taking courses because they consume too much time, add to their already long to-do list, and are not always relevant to their work.
WATCH: A New Era of Employee Training: Machine Learning Powered Microlearning
Traditional course-level learning is inefficient in the new normal, which emphasises quick bursts of learning and customized programming. Meanwhile, employers are helping workers get a grasp on work-life balance, which means avoiding long courses that cannot be finished during the work day or simply adds to much extra work to one's plate.
"People are in Twitter mode, where everything is so short," says Jabri.
In fact, people spend 147 minutes per day on social media, according to Jabri's presentation. That's why reaching employees today means embracing digital transformation and short programs.
Jabri recommends the following learning practices to create a competency-based program:
Microlearning
Microlearning is the practice of offering short text, videos, or graphics to teach someone something highly relevant to their work. Getting through a microlearning item may only take 5 minutes. In fact, to begin planning a competency-based program, Jabri suggests looking at descriptions of functions and workplace culture to determine the hard and soft skills employees should learn.
Having a searchable resource library makes it easy for employees to access microlearning opportunities that relate directly to their own work. The library can be part of a learning management system. This allows for people to take five or 10 minutes from their day to learn something in a bite-sized manner.
Gamification
Gamification is the practice of making lessons more engaging by using the concepts of games and competition to solve problems. These interactive opportunities make learning "sticky," which means people better retain what they learn. In addition, they interact with the material and remain more engaged. As a result, they want to participate and this can create the right atmosphere for continuous learning.
"If you add gamification, it becomes, 'Oh, I want to advance on my leader board. I want to spend an extra 10 or 15 minutes on the LMS to achieve more learning or take a test, etc," says Jabri.
Machine Learning
Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that can become more accurate at predicting outcomes. As a result, it can be used to customize education. To start, it allows people with the same job title to gain recommendations for the same learning content. While all these things can be done without machine learning, it can greatly enhance and simplify the experience.
"Machine learning finds paths and recommendations that administrators and educators haven't even thought about," says Jabri.
Content Authoring
Content authoring refers to learning platforms that permit individuals to upload and contribute their own material - videos, articles, instructions, and more - so employers can teach workers the skills they most need to remain competitive. This content, which can be updated regularly, allows for continuous learning on an on-going basis. This content can be mixed in with third-party content, learning group materials, and information shared by managers and senior staff.
To learn more about how to administer a competency-based learning program, watch the full session from Jabri and the others at the Corporate Learning event.