Developing Human Capital to Gain an Edge in Today's Labor Market

American companies spend $160B+ annually on employee training but find that it is often time-consuming, expensive, and typically ineffective (Master, 2015). 

Academic research shows that rapid technology advancements, a decrease in attention spans, and low learning retention are significant causes of waste. Training is so ineffective that, “…fewer than 15% of [learners] successfully apply what they learn; 80% of the content is forgotten within 30 days, and the figure jumps to 90% after a year” (Grovo, n.d.).  

  How do organizations imperatively combat such waste while unlocking their employee’s full potential? 

With over 25 years providing development and training services, Windwalker has found that microlearning is one of the most successful ways to combat waste and improve results and increase learning retention.  “Microlearning is the process of learning through short, digestible, well-planned units” (Grovo, n.d.), typically 5-10 minutes in length.  Giurgiu’s 2017 study discovered that providing content through microlearning increases retention by up to 20% (Yin, Goh, Yang & Xiaobin, 2021). Although microlearning is compact, it encompasses learning objectives, substantive information, and promotes a decrease in the amount of time employees spend on training, which decreases the training costs for organizations while yielding better results.            

Through our work with multiple Federal Government agencies, we found that in addition to microlearning, the gamification of content is another way to combat training stagnation and inefficiencies.  In their landmark study, Bovermann, et al (2018) showed that the use of gamification elements in the learning environment significantly motivates learning behaviors. Many learning companies are moving in this direction, but often try to retrofit these concepts into established platforms and programs.  Our experience shows that retrofitting is costly and often inefficient in achieving the desired results 

With companies offering retrofit products addressing wasteful training in one way or another, Windwalker is moving towards something different. Using our experience designing and developing training, we work with subject matter experts to distill content and find “what matters most” (WMM) to the people receiving it.  Ultimately, we have found that WMM is the key component to making learning effective: Making content “matter” to people. We actively seek to improve retention statistics by focusing on the implementation of microlearning and gamification applied specifically to WMM. 

A breakthrough from our learning and development experts pushed us to develop the WindwalkerXP™ platform.  It has been designed with curated and critical topics we have found applicable across multiple industries consistently as WMM, and helps learners unlock their full potential using PowerSkills™.  This innovative drive enables members of the workforce to develop emotional intelligence, behavioral, interaction, and leadership skills, overall improving team effectiveness. 

Our platform and content focus around microlearning and gamification incorporating necessary self-reflection. This philosophy of microlearning and gamification is grounded in academic research and supports the drive towards innovative learning.  The content is geared toward WMM skills that can be transferred to any industry. As a fellow member of A.I.M. we are happy to share WindwalkerXP™ and PowerSkills™ and welcome you to visit our website at  www.windwalkerxp.com to learn more. 

References 

Bovermann K., Weidlich J., Bastiaens T. (2018). Online learning readiness and attitudes towards gaming in Gamified online learning – A mixed methods case study. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 15(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-018-0107-0 

Master, W. (2015). Microlearning - A Whitepaper. Learning and Development Global., from http://lndglobal.org/microlearning-a-whitepaper/ 

Yin, J., Goh, T.-T., Yang, B., & Xiaobin, Y. (2021). Conversation Technology With Micro-Learning: The Impact of Chatbot-Based Learning on Students’ Learning Motivation and Performance. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 59(1), 154–177. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633120952067