Frequently asked questions

Microtraining is a method for developing short 'tailor-made learning sessions' of 15 minutes to exchange information and learn about a certain topic.
Often, there is not much time available for training and/or learning in organizations.
Microtraining is based on the premise that most money is spent on formal learning, while most learning takes place during informal learning.

The selection of the topic is determined by the knowledge requirements of the participants and the objectives of the organization. Each session starts actively, followed by a demonstration or exercise and feedback or a short discussion, and the session ends with directions for further development and a brief preview of the sessions to come.

You can read more about what Microtraining is here.

The benefits of Microtraining are the following:

• brief and flexible
• allows you to gain time
• saves costs
• improves communication
• connects different levels of expertise
• uses everyone's expertise
• creates clarity about what expertise is missing
• creates involvement

For illustrations of these advantages from the field see here.

You can Microtrain with anyone within the organization! Microtraining is particularly suitable for people with a basic knowledge that needs to be refreshed or improved and who need information that can be used immediately in their daily practice. Microtraining is ideal for people with who lack the time for ‘conventional’ training, for example whose presence in the workplace is of vital importance to keep the primary process running (employees in production, construction, sales etc.) The method is less suitable for basic training or elaborate issues that require a greater amount of time.

Anyone can be a Microtrainer! The Microtrainer can be any person in an organization who feels a need to share knowledge, improve communication and learn from his or her employees or colleagues etc. The Microtrainer is does not need to be a professional trainer.

Microtraining does not replace formal learning, but supports informal learning and works as an updater and knowledge enhancer. Microtraining is different from traditional training, because it is less formal, shorter, more continuous, ad hoc, spontaneous, etc. The trainer is no longer the overall initiator or presenter, but has a coaching role. Organizations are not fully aware of the opportunities that informal learning can offer. Experience shows that informal learning helps organizations deal better with their emerging learning needs. The Microtraining method is suitable for dealing with many learning problems, simply by dividing the topic into logical 15 minute sessions.

Microtraining is an interactive learning approach that encourages self-initiative, communication and collaboration among learners in order to improve the preservation of knowledge. Participants are encouraged to share their own knowledge and reflect on solutions that benefit the organization. You can read more ‘Learning principles’ here.

You can find examples and real-life cases ordered by sector and target group here.

This support-site is designed with the aim of enabling any person in an organization to develop and deploy effective Microtraining solutions for his or her organization. You don’t need to have any training skills to become a Microtrainer. You just take the following steps:

• Read 'About Microtraining´ for an initial introduction about its characteristic features.
• Follow the steps in 'Get started'. That will help you develop and deploy your first Microtraining.
• Look for relevant examples from real-life cases, which you can find in the 'cases' section.

Microtrainers do not have to take a course or do a lot of preparation. This support site is aimed at guiding the Microtrainer through the process of developing, delivering and evaluating Microtrainingⁱ without the need for special skills or prerequisites.

Because the Microtraining method focuses on integrating learning into the everyday working processes, in a decentralized and autonomous way, it poses special demands on management, on the Microtrainer and on the participants. Microtraining is not about hierarchical control and standardized learning situations. Organizations must trust in the abilities of their employees and delegate the responsibility to teams and departments.

Microtraining can be applied in different configurations within your organization.

• as individual learning sessions. Microtraining is applied to solve a single learning problem.
• as a series of sessions. Microtraining is used to cover a range of sub-topics in a series of Microtraining sessions.
• as part of a continuous learning process. The Microtraining method has become part of the learning culture of your organization.

If you want to start using Microtraining in your organization, you can begin by gaining some experience with the method by developing a series of Microtraining sessions about a topic in your organization. Share your experiences with colleagues to enable the entire organization to benefit from the potential of Microtraining. The method may gradually become a part of your organizational learning strategy and structurally change the way employees learn and communicate within your organization.

It is important to familiarize the community of interest of your organization with the characteristics of Microtraining and develop consensus about the specific added value for the organization. Commitment, for instance from management, is an important success factor with regard to Microtraining initiatives. You can, for example:

• use materials (a presentation, a quick guide, a folder and a poster) from ‘downloads’ to get the message across to the various stakeholders.
• give a presentation about Microtraining in connection to a concrete learning problem during a monthly executive meeting.
• use examples from the list of 'Advantages of Microtraining' to illustrate situations in which Microtraining would benefit your organization.
• use some of the ‘Case descriptions’ to shows that Microtraining has been applied and proven to be of value in various organizations from different sectors have.

The form provided in the 'Get started' section should enable you to effectively document the knowledge sharing activity. The ‘how to continue’ part of the Microtraining session is aimed at retaining the knowledge that has been created or shared during the session. In this part, you will decide with the participants how to document the results of the exercise and discussion.

Evaluation is a structural part of the Microtrainingⁱ method, as the closing session is devoted to a reflection on the Microtraining sessions.

You can evaluate Microtraining sessions by asking the participants questions. Microtraining will generate many experiences, both for you and for your participants. Build on these to improve your Microtraining initiative or to increase the effect of your next sessions.

You can perform a quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of your Microtraining initiative. An assessment of this effectiveness is only possible if you identify the goals and objectives, expectations and indicators before starting the sessions. You can find a framework in the section 'Evaluation'.

 = example or an illustration

 = a tool or an instrument you can apply in your own context

 = a template or a form

= link to the description of how evaluate Microtraining

For budgetary reasons, no additional translations have been planned in the short term into languages other than the existing ones. However, if you are interested in a specific translation, please get in touch through the ‘Contact form’. We are always interested in new partners for finding additional resources in project follow-ups.

The cartoons are made by Edmundo Browne, who can be contacted at http://dibujodeldia.blogspot.com/

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