Microlearning and compliance training can seem like an oxymoron. Most of us would think that compliance training is something that needs to be handled in a classroom environment, not online.
The good news is that the advent of microlearning has opened up new opportunities for compliance training. We are not saying that all your online training needs to be in the form of microlearning, but there are certainly times when it is better to take advantage of the benefits of microlearning.
Must-Haves For Better Compliance Online Training:
1. A sense of urgency
Compliance training needs to convey a sense of urgency. Whether you are talking about environmental compliance, product safety, food safety or some other topic, you need to give the learner a sense that failure to comply will have serious consequences.
If you fail to do this, you will lose the learner’s attention and interest. If the training fails to convey a sense of urgency, it won’t work.
Microlearning should be used when you want the learner to internalize the information in short bursts that are easy to digest and easy to apply. The key is to make sure that each microlearning element is bite-sized and self-contained so that it can be easily digested by the learner and easily applied in real life situations.
2. Single concept or actionable item per microlearning element
The purpose of microlearning is to provide learners with short, clear and concise pieces of information or actions that they can quickly understand and implement without much effort. If your microlearning elements contain more than one actionable item or more than one concept, then it will take too long for them to digest all the information contained in each element.
3. Easy to understand
The content of your microlearning elements should be easy to understand. The language should be simple and the concepts should be clearly presented.
If you are writing your own microlearning elements, make sure that you are using simple words and concepts that are easy to understand. If you are using a compliance platform for your online training, then check the format of the content and make sure that it is easy to understand.
4. Timely
One of the biggest challenges with compliance training is keeping it relevant and timely. With environmental regulations, for example, there are often new regulations that go into effect at different times throughout the year or even on different dates in different regions of the country.
The best way to ensure that your online training stays relevant is to keep it updated as new regulations come into effect or existing ones change in some way. Microlearning can be an effective way to do this because each element can be easily updated on a regular basis as needed.
5. Accessible on any device at any time
One of the biggest benefits of microlearning is its flexibility in terms of how it can be accessed by learners. Learners should have access to your online training whenever they need it – whether they need to take a quick refresher or want to review the material in more detail.
They should also be able to access it on any device that they choose. This means that they should be able to access it on their smartphones, tablets and laptops or desktop computers.
6. An element of gamification
Gamification is an effective way to engage learners and make your online training more fun and engaging for them. The best way to incorporate gamification into your compliance training is through microlearning elements that have a bit of a game element to them.
For example, you could use trivia questions or interactive polls as part of your microlearning elements. You could also use clickers or some other form of interaction with the learner as part of your microlearning elements.
The key is to find ways to add some level of interactivity into each microlearning element so that the learner will find it more engaging and more interesting than simply reading through text-based information in a course module.
7. Clear call-to-action
Microlearning elements should end with a clear call-to-action (CTA). In many cases, this will simply be a link back to the main course module so that the learner can continue to the next section of the course. In other cases, it might be a call to action to take some specific action in real life.
For example, if you are training employees on how to use hazardous materials safely, you might have a microlearning element that explains how to clean up a spill and then give the learner a link back to the main course module or even a CTA that tells them to contact their supervisor for more information.
8. Easy to navigate
The last thing you want is for your learners to get lost or confused while trying to find their way around your online training.
You want them to be able to easily navigate from one microlearning element to another and back again if they need to go back and review something or come back later after they have had time to digest the information in each element.
This means that your course design should be clear and easy for learners so that they can quickly find their way around it without having any trouble at all.
