Digital Learning and Distracted Employees

Vibons L&D blog interview with Kari Loken and Lindsay-Rae Lebrun from Autodesk

-Recent studies indicate that multi-tasking is not an ideal mental stage in learning. Can you share your thoughts?

First off, the thing that comes to mind is the research that has been done by the Neuroleadership Institute, which has found that our brains physically cannot multi-task. The concept of multi-tasking used to be popular among professionals, but that is not the case anymore. Our brains aren’t wired to focus on more than one thing at a time, so cramming multiple tasks onto a to-do list will actually slow down our cognitive processing. We are unable to organize our thoughts or filter out unnecessary information. As a result, efficiency deteriorates—and so does the quality of our work. At Autodesk, we are working to redesign the curriculum and the way we approach the learning process. We want to abandon the traditional trainings and structure with modern methods where we will apply some of this research, including micro-learning principles, to our content.

-Currently, the top trend in modern learning is micro-Learning. Can you tell us how you are using micro-learning?

People need bite-size chucks of information while learning. This means getting the training in real time and not being distracted.

As opposed to previous generations, Millennials have a shorter attention span and we need to engage them accordingly. We have to structure the training in a way that the information is small and digestible, to stimulate them with constant movement on the screen and simplify information for them.

-Companies set yearly goals and they want to create goal alignment with their employees in all of their locations. How do you notify your employees globally?

Autodesk is also aware of this challenge. Our communications team provides a monthly Newsdesk video that provides a 5 minute bite-size update on what is happening across the company. Since our Autodesk headquarters is here in California, offices in smaller locations may not feel the same connection. This gives an opportunity to say “Hey! Here what’s happening in our Tel Aviv or Tokyo office.”

-How are you using video to deliver your messages?

We used to shoot live videos with our own employees and let them tell our story, but oftentimes people change roles or transfer to different companies. We realized live videos are not serving our needs so instead we have started to use animated videos. Even if an employee leaves the company, the videos and content stay relevant.

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About the Interviewees: Kari and Lindsay are both Learning and Development Consultants at Autodesk. Kari received her MS for Industrial/Organizational in Psychology from San Francisco State University and Lindsay received her MS for Organizational Development from University of San Francisco.