Findings and Discussion

As the purpose of the online questionnaire was solely to explore appropriate content for the
microlearning, the findings presented here focus on the 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 at the end of the second cycle of research.

To determine the value, if any, of introducing microlearning into the induction training
programme, the data was analysed with consideration given to some of the features of
microlearning as identified in the literature and how these might address any challenges
experienced by new employees and if and how they would impact in any way on the
transition experience of new employees.

Microlearning as available on demand

The four focus group participants and four of the five interview participants had all
undertaken the existing face-to-face induction training, on average 6.5 weeks after starting
employment with the organisation, similar to the general average for new employees.

Participants described this gap between starting employment and accessing induction
training as a challenge, saying that it left them anxious, uncertain, and feeling drained and
“at sea”. In particular, participants highlighted the difficulties in understanding the culture of
the organisation with one commenting, “it was just really, really challenging to understand all
of its functions and the organisation as a whole” (Int 5, 08/02/2019)

In both the focus group and the one-to-one interviews, participants agreed they relied heavily
on their manager or team for information, claiming that the success of this was solely
dependent on how willing colleagues were to help, rather than it being a formal process.
Most participants found colleagues helpful, but understood this as the luck of the draw, with
one commenting, “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.” (FG 2, 29/11/2018)]. Another participant, however, was less
fortunate, “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” (FG 3, 29/11/2018). There was a general consensus
among participants, however, that there was a limit to how much support a new employee
could expect from colleagues:

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. (Int 5, 08/02/2019)

Participants also said they were unsure where to go for information or even who to ask.

The feelings of anxiety and confusion in the time before they were able to access the
existing training and the reservations about relying too heavily on already busy colleagues
for support during this time indicate that new employees are not being fully supported or
receiving the training they need in a timely manner. If one of the aims of induction is to
reduce the fear or anxiety experienced by new employees, having a average wait time of
seven weeks before employees can access this training is counterproductive.

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. Participants felt they would have had
ample time during this period to undertake training before becoming too engaged with the
requirements of their role, with a few stating they would have actually welcomed having
something to do, “‘you are not quite twiddling your thumbs, but there is a time before you are
useful and you would like to have something to do” (Int 4, 07/02/2019). One participant
pointed out the high level of motivation 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]” (Int 3, 07/02/2019).

One of the beneficial features of microlearning identified in the literature is that it is available
on demand. Interview participants, who had accessed the microlearning, agreed that having
induction microlearning to do ‘in your own time and your own headspace’ (Int 4, 07/02/2019)
would be valuable in bridging the gap between employees starting work and accessing face-
to-face training, with one remarking, “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 [existing]
induction.” (Int 3, 07/02/2019). Participants felt this would be motivating for new employees,
with one commenting:

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. (Int 1, 05/02/2019)

It is evident from these findings that having some sort of online training available on demand
in the first weeks of employment would be of great value, supporting new employees to
adjust to their new role and reducing anxiety. The responsive design of the microlearning
created for this research means lessons are accessible on any mobile device, extending
opportunities for learning. This appealed to participants, one of whom commented, ‘the
beauty of it is that it is accessible anywhere’ (Int 2, 05/02/2019). Furthermore, the short
duration of microlearning also makes it conducive to mobile access and this is now
examined further.

The short duration of microlearning

Opinions on the existing 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. All of the participants stated that they found there to be too much
information covered in the one-day face-to-face training, however, with one summing it up, “I
definitely feel the induction process needs reviewing – a full day of presentations is an
information overload”(FG 4, 29/11/2018). 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 to them. Participants were particularly
negative about the training support materials, finding them overwhelming, “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” (Int 1, 05/02/2019). This supports the findings from the literature, where
information overload is identified as a common challenge of induction training.

All five of the participants who accessed the microlearning, on the other hand, were
unanimous in their praise of its design, describing lessons as engaging and commenting
favourably on the easy navigation between them, the tone and, in particular, the length of
time each lesson took to complete. Participants were positive about the fact that lessons
were short and snappy, saying this meant they were neither dense or overwhelming. One
participant 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” (Int 3, 07/02/2019) while
another liked that “you could whizz through it” (Int 2, 05/02/2019). Three participants
highlighted the appeal of knowing that each lesson would be short from the outset, with one
commenting, “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” (Int 2,
05/02/2019). Another participant agreed saying, “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” (Int 3, 07/02/2019).

This aspect of microlearning would, therefore, seem ideal to alleviate the issue of information
overload. The fact that participants were very positive about the short and focused nature of
microlearning, and especially that, as a learner, they knew each lesson would take no more
than seven minutes to complete before they started would indicate that this is a feature of
microlearning that learners find motivating. This would be of significant value in induction
training, enabling new employees to process information while retaining their interest.

The issue of information overload could, however, easily be replicated in microlearning if the
volume of content remains overwhelming for learners, no matter how the design works to
counteract this. Having reviewed the framework for the induction microlearning created in
the first cycle of research, focus group participants suggested developing content for six
sections of microlearning lessons, four more than created for the pilot phase. Following the
pilot, however, interview participants raised concerns about this. Four of the five interview
participants cautioned against including the four additional sections, suggesting the two
sections already developed were sufficient for new employees “So there is the right amount
of information there because what you want to avoid is information overload” (Int 2,
05/02/2019). There was one dissenting voice who 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.” (Int 3, 07/02/2019)

It is possible that the participants in the focus group were too far removed from the
experiences of new employees, having been with the organisation for an average of five
months. Interview participants, on the other hand, had been with the organisation for an
average of only 2.5 months and therefore had a more recent experience of the induction
period. Given the time-bound nature of induction training it is important to focus only on the
what is required to effectively induct the new employee into the organisation rather than
overwhelm them with information they might not yet need.

Microlearning as media rich and interactive

Interview participants commented specifically on the wide variety of media used in the
microlearning lessons, describing them as stimulating, engaging and visually appealing. ‘I
really like the design… I like that there was a real variety in terms of the format… it was very
engaging, there was good variety, it was visually very attractive you know’ (Int 3,
07/02/2019). Four of the five participants also remarked positively on the levels of
interactivity in each lesson, 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” (Int 3, 07/02/2019). One
participant 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” (Int 5, 08/02/2019).

The use of different media in microlearning can help to eliminate monotony in training
programmes and effectively motivate and engage learners. This is important in workplace
learning to increase employee satisfaction potentially leading to improved employee
retention. The high level of interactivity, a prominent feature of microlearning, further
enhanced participants’ learning experience and supported the retention of learning, which
would reduce the feelings of uncertainty and confusion common in new employees.

Self contained and self directed

The fact that microlearning lessons are self contained, providing specific and targeted
information to support learners to achieve one learning objective at a time, was deemed a
positive attribute by participants. Two participants stated that they liked having the option to
occasionally skip a lesson that wasn’t relevant to them, which the self-contained nature of
microlearning allows for. These same two participants concluded that this feature of the
design allowed for self-directed learning, another notable feature of microlearning as
described in the literature. One participant highlighted that “when you put people in control,
they can leave and join as they see fit”, saying “ I don’t think it’s as overwhelming for them”
(Int 2, 05/02/2019) while the second of these participants 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”(Int 4, 07/02/2019). However, in spite of these comments, a
striking finding from the research was that four out of the five participants in the pilot phase
accessed all of the microlearning lessons in either one or two sessions, in a linear and
sequential fashion, as they would with a singular online training resource. Furthermore,
these four participants didn’t skip over any content at all, even those lessons they claimed
were less relevant or interesting to them. Only one participant said he dipped in and out of
lessons as needed or when he had time available, meaning that, when presented with the
opportunity to self direct, only one participant did so. This would imply that the self-contained
nature of microlearning, allowing for self-directed learning, is not relevant to this cohort of
learners.

From the findings, it is possible to identify a number of possible reasons for this lack of self
direction. As noted earlier, participants felt that new employees have both the motivation and
time to learn so it may be that they are eager to avail of all of the information available or that
they simply have little else to do. Alternatively, it may be that, as a new employee, they lack
either the confidence or the knowledge necessary to be able identify exactly which lessons
are relevant to them so they try them all. Indeed, two of the five participants highlighted that,
as well as not knowing who to ask for information, as a new employee they 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?” (Int 5, 08/02/2019). A
third possibility is that new employees are concerned about appearing disinterested if they
skip lessons during a time when they are eager to make a good impression. This lack of self
direction, for whichever reason, supports Allen’s (2006) claim about the need for fixed and
formal induction to avoid uncertainty.

All five participants did state, however, that they would come back to specific lessons as
needed and liked the fact that the the self-contained nature of microlearning, combined with
it being available on demand, allowed for this option, with one commenting, “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” (Int 5, 08/02/2019).

The fact that microlearning lessons are self contained could, therefore, be of value as
individual lessons can be easily identified and selected for repeat access, thus enabling
learners to self select what is meaningful and relevant to them based on their individual real-
world needs. If microlearning is organised in a way that allows learners to chose to either
easily select lessons as standalone elements or access them sequentially as a larger
repository of induction learning assets, this would cater to all learners, no matter their
learning needs or preferences, as well as those who wished to revisit specific lessons.
Having options would enable new employees to feel more supported and less anxious in
their first weeks of employment, which would be instrumental in enabling them to quickly
adjust to their new role, potentially increase productivity and staff retention. To enable
learners to return to lessons on demand, the microlearning should remain available to
employees for the whole of the induction period and perhaps beyond.

Allen, D. G. (2006). Do organizational socialization tactics influence newcomer

embeddedness and turnover? Journal of management, 32(2), 237-256.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206305280103