Gracy Tavamani, Deputy CHRO, Kinara Capital discusses the concept of microlearning and its growing importance in today's fast-paced world. She emphasizes that microlearning, with its bite-sized approach, is a game-changer, enabling quick and effective learning for employees. As HR professionals, the focus should be on leveraging microlearning to enhance employee engagement, boost retention, and ultimately ensure a strong return on investment (ROI). However, she also highlights the need to carefully evaluate which content is suitable for microlearning and which is not, to maximize its impact.
Biju Mathew, Director, Learning Design & Development, Dell Technologies said, “I began my career 28 years ago in the aviation industry and the very first step I took was earning a certification. That early experience taught me the importance of continuous learning, which brings me to microlearning.
While microlearning isn’t a long-term solution for all learning needs, it’s an effective response to the challenges we face today. It’s crucial because, without it, we’d struggle to address the demands of rapid upskilling.
One of the key benefits of microlearning is improved retention. By breaking down content into digestible segments—typically under 10 minutes—it makes learning more impactful. Microlearning can take many forms: a quick video, a concise document or even a focused discussion that leaves a lasting impression.
It’s also cost-effective and incredibly fast to deploy. These attributes—retention, flexibility, and speed—are what make microlearning so valuable in today’s fast-paced world."
Bikram keshori nayak, CHRO - Almunia business, Vedanta limited- AluminumBusiness stated, “What I expect from microlearning, first and foremost, is the ability to quickly refresh my knowledge on topics that directly impact my job or industry. That is my top priority.
Secondly, I want microlearning to be creative and engaging. Some training modules can be too lengthy, dull, or irrelevant to my role. Microlearning should spark curiosity, ignite creativity, and provide a dopamine boost to make learning enjoyable and impactful from a learner's perspective.
From a business standpoint, microlearning is critical for reinforcing key aspects like safety protocols. Refreshing important content in a concise and accessible way ensures better retention and application in the workplace."
Pankaj S Khandewale, Vice President and Head – Training, Future Generali India Insurance said, "Did you know the attention span of a goldfish is nine seconds? Ours, as humans, has now dropped to 8.25 seconds. It’s like a race to see how much shorter it can get. But how did this all begin? The concept of microlearning was first introduced in the book Economica of Human Resources. From there, psychologists began studying it, delving into cognitive theory—the idea that there’s a limit to how much information a person can absorb and retain at any given moment.
This research gave rise to microlearning, which is all about delivering information in small, digestible chunks. Fast forward to today, with the advent of the internet and smartphones, our attention spans are even more fragmented. Adults browsing the internet already juggle multiple distractions, so we must rethink how we approach learning.
The challenge now is figuring out whether the shrinking attention span is our enemy or an opportunity. How do we make learning effective for someone scrolling through their phone, possibly while multitasking? The key lies in adapting our methods to fit this reality—creating impactful, concise content that meets learners where they are."
Srijit Nair, Director – iLabs L & OD, [24]7.ai emphasises the growing importance of microlearning in today's fast-paced environment. He explains that employees increasingly recognise the need to upskill, driven by the clear message from HR: upgrading skills is essential to staying relevant. Reflecting on recent trends, he points out that those unwilling to learn often find themselves left behind for various reasons. The real challenge, he says, lies in providing the right support—offering learning opportunities tailored to individual needs and delivered in a way that's convenient and accessible for everyone.
Roydon Gonsalvez, Senior Vice President | Head of Talent Management and Development (APAC), Northern Trust stated, "When we observe decreasing attention spans and try to understand why that’s happening, it becomes especially relevant in industries like marketing and advertising. There, the goal is to capture someone’s fleeting attention to sell a product. However, learning is much more significant than just grabbing attention. Microlearning—breaking content into shorter, more creative, and engaging modules—while helpful in some contexts, isn’t enough to achieve deeper objectives like organizational change or behavioral transformation.
Another misconception I want to address is that simply dividing a one-hour learning module into a series of five-minute snippets will preserve its essence. In reality, the impact and depth of learning can get diluted. For meaningful outcomes, we need to go beyond just breaking down content and focus on designing learning experiences that drive critical and lasting changes."
