Why Companies are Investing in Microlearning for Safety Training

In today’s demanding work environments, companies are always searching for more effective ways to keep their employees safe. Safety training has been a crucial part of workplace programs for decades, but traditional methods often fall short. Long classroom-style sessions, outdated PowerPoint slides, and once-a-year refresher courses don’t always lead to lasting change. In fact, most people forget what they learn within just a few hours. Workers may take a training course and pass a quiz, but if they can’t put newfound knowledge into practice soon, they won’t be able to hold onto it. This is where microlearning comes in.

Microlearning streamlines safety training by breaking complex topics into small, focused lessons. These lessons can be completed in just a few minutes and can be delivered through mobile devices or learning apps. They’re short, relevant, and easy to understand—and companies are starting to realize just how powerful this tool can be.

In this post, we’ll explain what microlearning is, how it helps workers remember important information, and why so many businesses are choosing this strategy to improve workplace safety.

Now, you might be wondering if something so short can actually make a difference. Well, we’re here to tell you that it can.

In 2023, U.S. companies spent approximately $1,207 per employee on training, with a total of $101.8 billion spent on employee training across the country, according to Trainingmag. That’s a lot of money to ensure training is effective. Unfortunately, much of that investment doesn’t stick. Studies show that traditional training can have retention rates as low as 20–30% just 24 hours after completion. If you’re spending over a thousand dollars to train an employee and they forget everything they’ve been taught within a day, then that’s a clear sign that the effectiveness of training is not tied to money—it’s tied to delivery.

Microlearning helps solve this problem by changing how people receive and review information. Because lessons are spaced out over time and focus on just one idea at a time, people are more likely to remember what they learn. This approach fights against the Forgetting Curve, a psychological concept that shows how quickly we forget new information if we don’t review it regularly.

In the study Micro Learning: A Modernized Education System, in which 84 completed questionnaires were collected from respondents, almost 81% of respondents said that microlearning is the best learning system for their working environment. This was followed by 66% of respondents sharing their opinion that dynamic applications of microlearning enhance knowledge. The data makes it clear; most people believe in the power of microlearning.

There are two additional ways in which microlearning reinforces vital information which we will discuss here. The first is through repetition. If a worker views a quick lesson on ladder safety multiple times over a few weeks, they’re more likely to remember those safety steps when it matters most. This is especially important in safety training, where one lapse in memory can lead to a serious incident.

Secondly, because the lessons are so targeted, employees can apply what they learn right away. A worker who watches a 3-minute video on wearing insulated gloves to avoid electrocution is likely to follow that instruction the same day it was given, since that’s the only training they had to focus on. This kind of immediate application leads to real behavior change.

Some people are initially skeptical of microlearning. One common myth is that it’s too short to be meaningful. After all, how much can someone really learn in just three minutes? However, the goal of microlearning isn’t to teach everything at once. Instead, it builds knowledge over time—one small step at a time. Just like learning a new language or working out, small, consistent sessions get results. Microlearning isn’t too short to be meaningful, it’s actually the other way around: a 2-hour training session is too long to be impactful.

Another common concern relates to the limitations of microlearning. There are times when microlearning is not the most effective way to train, and some people worry about replacing their more in-depth training with short modules. But here’s the truth: microlearning is meant to complement in-depth training, not replace it. Workers can still attend a long classroom training course once a year while utilizing microlearning to keep the information from the class fresh throughout the year. In fact, microlearning is not the most useful way to conduct training when people need to learn complex skills, as sessions are too short to delve deep into more than a single topic. To be utilized most effectively, microlearning should be added to your existing training programs, not seen as a replacement for what’s already there.

Companies that use microlearning often report strong returns on investment (ROI). They see fewer safety incidents, more consistent behavior across teams, and higher compliance with safety rules. This shows that microlearning helps workers learn the material and apply it when needed.