Why And How To Use Microlearning To Prepare Buyer-Dealing with Employees
4 ways to apply microlearning to your training
Customer-facing employees represent your brand, so it pays to keep them well-equipped. But their busy, fast-paced jobs make it difficult to take time out to exercise. Microlearning is a solution to ensure you get the right training at the right time.
Training needs vary when you talk about supporting those who support your customers. You may want to offer core training related to product knowledge, sales skills, or processes and tools. Or, you might just need to deploy a quick product update. In any case, microlearning is a solution with a lot to offer.
What is microlearning? And why should I use it?
The focus of micro-learning is concise training that is offered in short, bite-sized pieces. Classes can be completed in minutes and usually from anywhere. This type of training is used across industries and meets many requirements. While each case may look different, the benefits are consistent.
The most important – and most obvious – benefit is convenience. Bite-sized learning fits into busy schedules, and learners can indulge when and where it suits them. However, there are other reasons to make microlearning part of your customer service training strategy. For example:
Microlearning is digestible
Lessons are shortened to cover only one concept or skill with no fluff. This laser-like focus removes distractions and makes it clear and easy for learners to pay their full attention to the content. And when employees can concentrate on just one concept, they quickly come to an understanding.
It promotes the preservation of knowledge
Learning transfer is one of the main concerns of any training program. Convenience and cost are important considerations, but their value is lost if employees do not lose the skills they are supposed to learn. And when it comes to critical skills and knowledge, it is best not to overwhelm learners with information. Shorter lessons with less important points are easier to learn, but also easier to remember when it counts.
It provides just-in-time information and updates
Scalability is great in today’s corporate training world. Introducing learning into a company can be a long and expensive process. This is especially true if you work with employees in multiple locations. If you want to share product or process changes with your entire workforce, brief mobile workforce training is the perfect tool.
Targeted learning that just highlights the changes can be introduced in a team or organization without disrupting work schedules. It’s quick and easy as it doesn’t get stuck in logistics like coordinating trainers and facilities. It has exactly what you need, when you need it.
Development is faster and cheaper
Mobile learning offers obvious savings in travel costs and employee working time. However, shorter, self-contained content can also be created and made available more easily. A mobile training platform specially developed for the creation, administration and administration of micro-learning makes the implementation of training courses particularly fast and inexpensive.
Who is microlearning for?
Everyone. Snappy training is a great solution to many learning needs. But let’s look at the main reasons this is a great option specifically for training your customer-facing employees:
- It’s an ideal solution for salespeople who focus most of their time on customers and sales funnels. The attention span is short for things that take them away from their sales goals.
- Customer service reps benefit from the quick updates that keep them abreast of products and policies. The faster they can be updated and the more targeted the training, the faster they can get support and solutions for customers.
- Deskless employees – for example retail salespeople – also benefit from quick and easily accessible employee training. Mobile learning is an efficient way to give them easy access to important materials.
Simple and available training makes it easier for employees to engage with and remember the content. In turn, a good training experience creates the confidence your employees need to create a seamless, premium customer experience. So let’s take a look at how best to use microlearning to support your customer service training.
Using microlearning for customer service training
Keep the following tips in mind to get the most out of your customer service training with microlearning:
1. Take quiz-based courses
Quizzes have proven to be an effective learning strategy. It’s a great way to involve learners in the learning process. When you test people for what they know, they get caught up in thought processes that help solidify that knowledge. And if they have to work to get information, they’ll be more likely to remember it in the long run.
Consider offering quizzes in your microlearning class. This can be callback-based (open-ended questions where learners have to provide the answers) or recognition-based (e.g. multiple-choice questions).
Quiz questions can increase the focus of the concise training. Each lesson conveys the core of a concept or skill, and testing learners on the knowledge strengthens learning. If you test right away, you will increase the likelihood that this information will be saved.
2. Add scenarios and role plays
Scenario-based learning is a great way to empower learning. Role play helps people feel comfortable with a client in any situation. They allow employees to practice practical skills and scripting in a risk-free environment.
This is especially useful when training soft skills, where solutions are not as black and white as technical or product knowledge. Letting people try the skills for themselves can be a convenient way of navigating the nuances of critical communication.
Try to set up a scenario through video or text and let learners practice responding appropriately. This gets their brain into complex thought processes, which makes them think more about the content. It also helps them see what is working and what is not in a safe environment. You can try again and improve before you face reality.
3. Demonstrate with video
Demonstration is a powerful teaching method. When people can see skills and processes in action, the content gets “stickier”. And this is where videos can help. Give your customer service reps a solid understanding of how to respond to customers by explaining and demonstrating a typical interaction on video. Share scripts that they can use to respond to questions or general concerns.
For a more hands-on training, use a video to demonstrate the proper use or assembly of the product. Or highlight functions that employees should know and explain. Give learners a sense of the impact of the content by including case studies where people explain the relationship between features and benefits.
4. Use the power of images
Change the media you use to present yourself to motivate learners. Writing content out is a natural first instinct when it comes to teaching online, but large blocks of text can be overwhelming for learners. Images, on the other hand, can have an instant and unforgettable impact. When you use graphics, you don’t need as many words.
Try moving away from text-based slides and introducing things like infographics. Infographics are growing in popularity in all types of content and communication – and for good reason. This visual medium is a powerful way to present information on trends and tips, or to outline processes. The learners gain understanding at a glance.
Also, try to fill the screen with relevant, engaging pictures that have an idea, then add minimal text to help. Viewing content with precise text and engaging graphics helps learners grasp and better remember the core message. And the better you understand, the more help you will give your customers.
Conclusion
Regardless of whether you are conducting a full sales training course or simply informing employees about existing processes, microlearning is an effective and efficient training option. With a mobile LMS that supports microlearning, you have the freedom to train all of your employees quickly and consistently.
Make this affordable, easy-to-use option an important part of your training strategy and see how small it can be for your business to grow small.
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