Leading neuroscientist John Medina states that the human brain can’t focus for more than 10 minutes. At that point you need a new stimulus to stop the brain from wandering and to keep it on topic. His book, ‘Brain Rules’ provides many fascinating insights into how humans learn and retain information.
With a bombardment of information appearing to hit us every minute of the day, it is not surprising that the Financial Services Institute of Australia (FINSIA) has recently launched a range of microlearning short courses to fit in with the modern world.
“Following feedback from our members and key clients, FINSIA has identified a need for shorter, just in time, flexible learning to meet the needs of busy professionals,” Kylie Blundell, Head of Education and CPD, says. “Micro learning courses are a great way for learners to develop their professional skills and knowledge and enhance their career.”
“Short, flexible and 100% online, microlearning is designed to complement FINSIA’s existing qualification suite and enables learners to choose the content that’s relevant to them, from a broad range of timely and up-to-date topics”.
“Our initial suite of microlearning courses are suitable for those new to, or already working in retail, business and private banking environments. Courses earn CPD credits and a certificate of completion. During 2023, FINSIA will be launching additional microlearning courses covering topics including Ethics & Integrity, AI, fintech, Change Management, Investment Products, ESG and more”.
RPS Research discloses that microlearning improves focus and supports long-term retention by up to 80%.
FINSIA’s new range of microlearning courses cover topics ranging from ‘Why banks have risk management frameworks’ to ‘Anti-money laundering essentials’, targeted at busy professionals with little time and too much to do.
Companies are required to provide training and learning and development opportunities to their staff so that their personnel have the required skills to navigate the requirements of their role.
Microlearning provides flexibility for staff allowing them to learn vital skills more quickly than in traditional education modules. Microlearning courses can be completed in as little as half an hour.
“Targeted training is always more appealing to both the organisation - less time off the job - and the respective staff member who is not wasting time on modules within a comprehensive training program that they are already competent in,” David Scott, culture and capability manager, Regional Australia Bank, says.
“For very new starters we would almost always go for more comprehensive general courses, for more experienced people we want to boost/bridge the gap to build specific capabilities.”
Regional Australia Bank has recently chosen targeted employees to undertake the ‘Understanding financial statements: the basics of banking’ microlearning course. The course takes 1.5 hours and provides 1.5 CPD hours.
“The course was selected from the FINSIA microlearning brochure and will form most probably one of three modules we are looking to make available to staff,” Scott says. “The appealing components are that it is self-paced, time effective, cost effective and offered by a reputable organisation.
“The staff members chosen were a combination of experienced lenders who required a ‘skill boost’ in assessing self-employed loan applicants and some newer lenders who were learning this for the first time.”
Scott states that assessing the learning of the course will be measurable in the employee’s day-to-day duties, as the bank will be able to see the ‘competence and confidence of participants processing self-employed applications’.
Further to that, the bank will seek direct feedback from the recipients as to whether the training met their requirements.
“Based on these responses we will determine whether microlearning modules are the right solution going forward,” Scott said.
All up, FINSIA is currently offering 14 microlearning courses ranging from 30 to 90 minutes. This allows employees to learn quickly, while not disrupting their workflow too much. The practical aspect of each microlearning course enables an employee to put the learning straight into practice.
“Microlearning is becoming more and more important within the workplace,” Brian, a banking professional says. “Given individuals outside of work Google or use YouTube task driven activities, they expect the same within the workplace - a skills-based approach coupled with learning effectively connected to the smallest skill unit creates significantly less friction in day-to-day work practice. Micro learning has focused learning to be more mindful of what employees need and when they need it.”
The other advantage of microlearning is that it delivers timely and relevant content in bite-sized chunks, so employees don’t feel any angst about logging onto a short activity that has immediate practical benefits. They don’t have to enrol in a university degree or a course of week-long intensive learning, putting them under more stress when they return to the office.
“Breaking down the overall skills into their smallest possible unit allows a greater level of flexibility in learning and work, employees take what they need when they need it in the flow of work,” Brian says. “We found many of our employees come with a variety of skills and don’t always need everything all at once, moving to microlearning meant that they could focus on their skills gaps quickly rather than working through full programs.”
FINSIA is also bundling the courses together to ensure learning is useful and easy to implement.
“The micro learning courses will soon be able to be bundled together into a FINSIA micro-credential,” Blundell says. “Micro-credentials provide a way to build or extend professional skills as an alternative to a formal qualification that has a greater time commitment. Learners will receive a digital badge, providing evidence of their achievement that can be easily shared with others.”
Find more about FINSIA’s microlearning courses here.
We’re here to help you with your learning and development requirements
FINSIA offers consultancy services to create tailor-made training programs that are specifically aligned with an organisation’s strategic learning requirements.
You can also combine learning and development programs with a FINSIA membership to help your employees to learn and grow through CPD, workshops and thought leadership activities, and to connect with peers across the financial services industry in Australia, New Zealand and beyond.
For further information, or to arrange a call with a FINSIA Relationship Manager please email info@finsia.com
Article written by Louis White for FINSIA.