Little Wonders: The Five Benefits of Video Microlearning for Enterprises

The human mind is better at processing bits of information. And Microlearning – Splitting up information into small chunks – is continuously proving to be more suitable for today’s enterprise employees. Studies found that microlearning is 17% more effective than long-form, traditional learning. It should come as no surprise then that 80% of L&D pros recommend microlearning.

Adding video into the picture enhances the experience and makes it even more useful. 71% of learners state that microlearning videos “played a leading role in in-depth learning.”  Other studies show that we retain 65% of the information delivered that way, compared to only 10% without video.

But that’s not the only reason short-form videos are great for enterprises’ employee training efforts. Following is a list of five other direct and indirect benefits – to employees and enterprises alike. 

Doesn’t Feel Like Homework: Employees already have a lot on their plate. Adding another three-week course doesn’t help. Short videos, however, feel less like learning and more like watching a TED talk. And have you ever noticed that TEDs are usually 10-20-minute-long? There’s a reason for that. Conciseness is the sign of the times and the unwritten rule of effective communication – learning included. Couple that with the fact that microlearning has been found to improve engagement by 50%, and you get an unfailing formula for meaningful learning.

Fits Right In: Microlearning corresponds to people’s attention span, which is typically around 12 minutes. What’s more, it also circumvents the daily stream of interruptions occurring every 11 minutes on average. Finally, these concise videos can satisfy the need for a quick word of advice or an immediate answer to a burning matter. So, in other words, these videos are more like resources than learning materials and feel more like a break room conversation than a class.

Uncomplicated to Make: Good L&D platforms let companies create and curate all types of teaching videos easily and quickly. Still, making short-form videos is far less demanding than full-blown courses. Moreover, because they don’t entail the same level of commitment as building entire lessons, bringing some experienced employees around to contribute should be relatively straightforward. Using intuitive video creation tools, record, edit, and adding special effects are all only a few clicks away. 

With a High Return: Employee-generated content (EGC) is also exceptionally impactful. First of all, it’s specific to the company’s needs. Secondly, it engages more staff who assume the teacher role, which’s always a good thing. Not only that but teaching others improves your own understanding and expands your knowledge.

Data-Rich: Video analytics offer rich insights into viewers’ preferences, habits, and their engagement level. Each video provides plenty of data events that help analyze and draw conclusions on employees’ interests, knowledge gaps, and progress. For the same reason, micro-videos are a great way to test the waters and decide what topics merit a deep dive, instead of investing time and money creating lessons no one will watch. 

For an article focused on delivering small amounts of information, the above list is ironically long. If we had to sum it all up to a single sentence, it would be: video-based microlearning is the way forward. But before we conclude, it’s worth mentioning a recent survey that found that learners rank gamification and microlearning at the top of their wish list. There’s also ample evidence on the efficacy of active learning. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be one or the other. Adding interactive features and gamifying the learning journey go hand in hand with microlearning and help turn it into a fun experience.

Remember, organizations that turn to you to boost their employee learning and development efforts expect your platforms to match their expectations about learning and suggest other ideas and ways of thinking. Be sure to give them the ultimate teaching platform, enhanced with videos, microlearning, and interactivity – all rolled into one. 

If you require more information and examples, feel free to contact Kaltura’s EdTech experts. We’ll be happy to share our knowledge and vast experience in the field, one short lesson at a time.