4.

Findings (1796)
As the purpose of the online questionnaire was solely to explore appropriate content for the
microlearning resources, the findings presented here focus on the four major themes that
emerged after analysis of the data from the focus group at the end of the first cycle of research
and the one-to-one interviews that followed the pilot phase. Pseudonyms have been used for
participants.

4.1 Feeling “At Sea”

The four focus group participants and four of the five interview participants had all undertaken
the existing face-to-face induction training, on average seven weeks after starting employment
with the organisation, similar to the general average for new employees. One of the focus group
participants, Brian, had been in the role for six months and had not yet attended training:

I haven’t received a formal induction purely because it’s always on Wednesday and I don’t
work Wednesdays. There are people like myself I am sure who just slip through the net. It’s
nearly six months now and I still haven’t done the [face to face] training.

All participants described the gap between starting employment and accessing training as a
challenge, saying that it left them anxious, uncertain, and feeling drained and “at sea”.
Participants in particular highlighted the difficulties in understanding the culture of the
organisation with Mira commenting, “it was just really, really challenging to understand all of its
functions and the organisation as a whole”.

In the focus group, participants said they relied heavily on their manager or team for information
and that the success of this was solely dependent on how willing their colleagues were to help,
rather than a structured process. Nel remarked, “I was really lucky because my team was really
good and actually sat down and showed me loads of really practical things… so it’s not like a
standard thing, just I was lucky on my team.” Linda, on the other hand, said, “My boss just kinda
went here is what you have to try and find out, so it was kinda like treasure hunting round the
building.”

Interview participants described their colleagues as helpful but there was a general consensus
that there was a limit to how much support they could expect from colleagues. Pat pointed out
“you don’t want to be asking them every five minutes” and Mira agreed:

You don't want to ask too many questions because, you know, [you] don't want to look as if
you're a bit silly but also you feel that other people are busy and they've got things to do…
they had jobs to get on with.

Three of the interview participants said they were unsure where to go for information with
Gráinne commenting “I found it hard to know who to ask”. Mira elaborated, saying she had
difficulty even knowing what to ask, “I wouldn't have known the questions to ask. I wouldn't have
known. You know that thing about not knowing what I didn't know?” while Cian felt that without
the support of colleagues he would have been “working in a vacuum”.
4.2 Timing is Everything
All of the focus group and interview participants agreed that the ideal time for induction training
was in the first week or two of employment and that they would have had ample time during this
period to undertake training, “you have the free time with headspace to do it” (Pat), with a
number stating they would have actually welcomed having something to do. Pat also pointed
out the level of motivation common among new employees, “As a new employee you are
engaged, you are interested, you want to learn, you're in a new post, you know, it's the perfect
time, you know, for people to access [training].”

All participants who had accessed the microlearning lessons felt they would be useful to bridge
the gap between employees starting work and accessing face-to-face training, with Gráinne
describing it as a “really great add on” and “a useful stepping stone face to face training for
sure”. She elaborated:

I would suggest that it is available very early on because even if people have covered
some of it, by the time they go to the face-to-face induction training, I think it's only
reinforcing that and then it kind of embedding it a little bit more.

Pat agreed, “I definitely think it would add a lot of value because often there can be a delay of a
month or two before people get to attend the induction.” Participants particularly highlighted the
microlessons that gave an overview of the structure and work of the organisation as beneficial,
with Gráinne finding that this content was “connecting you into the broader organisation”, which
was motivating for her. Cian felt that had he had access to the lessons when starting, “I wouldn’t
have felt so uninformed of what the organisation does.”

4.3 Information Overload

4.3.1 Existing training and support materials
Opinions on the face-to-face induction training were mixed in both the focus group and the one-
to-one interviews. Participants highlighted the importance of the opportunity to meet new
colleagues and build relationships, with four particularly enjoying meeting with the organisation
CEO. The majority of the participants did, however, state that they found there to be too much
information covered in the one-day training, with Sheila summing it up, “I definitely feel the
induction process needs reviewing – a full day of presentations is an information overload.”
Other participants described it as a “tsunami of information”, “dense”, “confusing” and even
“tedious”, finding it difficult to absorb and retain all of the content or even understand its
relevance.

Participants were particularly negative about the training support materials, with many
participants saying they never accessed them again after the training. One participant described
them as “a big doorstopper”. Gráinne commented, “there was so much reading involved in that
handbook and it's hard to decipher at that early stage what's really important and what's
relevant and what’s a bit overwhelming then, what you don't need to know.”

4.3.2 Microlearning
All five of the participants who accessed the microlearning lessons, however, were unanimous
in their praise of their design, describing them as engaging and commenting favourably on the
easy navigation between microlessons, the tone and, in particular, the length of time each
lesson took to complete. Participants made reference to the fact they were “short and snappy”
(Gráinne) and “weren’t too long… the exact right size… and it was all broken up and it didn’t feel
dense” (Sara). Pat remarked that “the information was always very succinct, it was very clear,
you know, and you could pause and go back as well which is nice” while Cian liked that “you
could whizz through it”. Three participants highlighted the appeal of knowing that each
microlesson would be short, with Cian saying “people can commit to it from the minute they start
it because they can see when it is going to end… you can commit to five minutes, you can’t to
half an hour.” Pat agreed, “You can check the duration and say well, okay, I have 10 minutes
now I can actually do like part one or I can continue and do part three.”

Four participants commented specifically on the wide variety of media used, describing it as
engaging and visually appealing. Four of the five participants also remarked on the amount of
interactivity saying they found this both useful and fun: “I think [the lessons were] broken up
enough with interactive pieces… The quizzes were good to make sure that I was
remembering… it just reinforces what you’ve learned” (Pat). Mira highlighted the satisfaction
she felt as a learner completing activities, “There was a variety of ways to sort of think about
things and remember, you know, and then be delighted you got it right.”

4.3.3 Further content

Having reviewed the framework for the induction microlearning resource created in the first
cycle of research, focus group participants suggested including additional content, resulting in a
plan to develop six sections with around 10 microlessons in each for the full resource. Following
the pilot, however, interview participants raised concerns about this. Four of the five interview
participants cautioned against including the four additional planned sections, suggesting the two
sections that had already been developed were sufficient for new employees with Cian
remarking, “So there is the right amount of information there because what you want to avoid is
information overload.” Gráinne concurred, “I think both of the sections, you know, individually,
are very informative and there was lot in them. I think there's enough in them” as did Mira who
stated that there is the “appropriate amount of information here.” Both Cian and Sara highlighted
the time-bound nature of induction and the need to focus on what is required during this period,
“You have to ask yourself does a person need to know this? ...The induction period of any
agenda is probably the first month” (Cian).

When these four participants were questioned as to whether they felt there were any individual
lessons from the four additional sections that might still be considered for development, it is
interesting to note that while each selected two or three more lessons, no two participants
suggested the same ones, highlighting the individuality of the needs of new employees.

Only Pat said she thought the other four sections should be developed as planned, “I mean, I
would like to have all that information but that's just, you know, me personally, I like to get as
much information as I can.”
4.4 Dipping Back Into It
Being cognisant that all five interview participants had commended the short length of each
lesson, a striking finding was that four of the five participants did all of the microlessons in either
one or two sessions, in a linear fashion in the order they appeared in the navigation. Only Cian
said he “dipped in and out of them” as needed or when he had time available.

All five participants did state, however, that they would come back to specific lessons as needed
and liked the fact that they had this as an option, Mira said, “I would be very happy to go back in
and look at a couple of things that I needed just to look at it in greater depth or whatever... you
know, you’re free to do that.” Two participants concluded that this aspect of the microlearning
design allowed for some self-direction, with Cian pointing out that “when you put people in
control, they can leave and join as they see fit. I don’t think it’s as overwhelming for them”. Sara
also felt that this “gives you some responsibility for your own learning. And I think that's really
important. ...it gives you some autonomy in your learning.”