Newest Findings

4. Findings (1796) As the purpose of the online questionnaire was solely to explore appropriate content for the microlearning resources, the findings presented here focus on the four major themes that emerged after analysis of the data from the focus group at the end of the first cycle of research and the one-to-one interviews that followed the pilot phase. Pseudonyms have been used for participants. 4.1 Feeling “At Sea” The four focus group participants and four of the five interview participants had all undertaken the existing face-to-face induction training, on average seven weeks after starting employment with the organisation, similar to the general average for new employees. One of the focus group participants, Brian, had been in the role for six months and had not yet attended training: I haven’t received a formal induction purely because it’s always on Wednesday and I don’t work Wednesdays. There are people like myself I am sure who just slip through the net. It’s nearly six months now and I still haven’t done the [face to face] training. All participants described the gap between starting employment and accessing training as a challenge, saying that it left them anxious, uncertain, and feeling drained and “at sea”. Participants in particular highlighted the difficulties in understanding the culture of the organisation with Mira commenting, “it was just really, really challenging to understand all of its functions and the organisation as a whole”. In the focus group, participants said they relied heavily on their manager or team for information and that the success of this was solely dependent on how willing their colleagues were to help, rather than a structured process. Nel remarked, “I was really lucky because my team was really good and actually sat down and showed me loads of really practical things… so it’s not like a standard thing, just I was lucky on my team.” Linda, on the other hand, said, “My boss just kinda went here is what you have to try and find out, so it was kinda like treasure hunting round the building.” Interview participants described their colleagues as helpful but there was a general consensus that there was a limit to how much support they could expect from colleagues. Pat pointed out “you don’t want to be asking them every five minutes” and Mira agreed: You don't want to ask too many questions because, you know, [you] don't want to look as if you're a bit silly but also you feel that other people are busy and they've got things to do… they had jobs to get on with. Three of the interview participants said they were unsure where to go for information with Gráinne commenting “I found it hard to know who to ask”. Mira elaborated, saying she had difficulty even knowing what to ask, “I wouldn't have known the questions to ask. I wouldn't have known. You know that thing about not knowing what I didn't know?” while Cian felt that without the support of colleagues he would have been “working in a vacuum”.

4.2 Timing is Everything All of the focus group and interview participants agreed that the ideal time for induction training was in the first week or two of employment and that they would have had ample time during this period to undertake training, “you have the free time with headspace to do it” (Pat), with a number stating they would have actually welcomed having something to do. Pat also pointed out the level of motivation common among new employees, “As a new employee you are engaged, you are interested, you want to learn, you're in a new post, you know, it's the perfect time, you know, for people to access [training].” All participants who had accessed the microlearning lessons felt they would be useful to bridge the gap between employees starting work and accessing face-to-face training, with Gráinne describing it as a “really great add on” and “a useful stepping stone face to face training for sure”. She elaborated: I would suggest that it is available very early on because even if people have covered some of it, by the time they go to the face-to-face induction training, I think it's only reinforcing that and then it kind of embedding it a little bit more. Pat agreed, “I definitely think it would add a lot of value because often there can be a delay of a month or two before people get to attend the induction.” Participants particularly highlighted the microlessons that gave an overview of the structure and work of the organisation as beneficial, with Gráinne finding that this content was “connecting you into the broader organisation”, which was motivating for her. Cian felt that had he had access to the lessons when starting, “I wouldn’t have felt so uninformed of what the organisation does.” 4.3 Information Overload 4.3.1 Existing training and support materials Opinions on the face-to-face induction training were mixed in both the focus group and the oneto-one interviews. Participants highlighted the importance of the opportunity to meet new colleagues and build relationships, with four particularly enjoying meeting with the organisation CEO. The majority of the participants did, however, state that they found there to be too much information covered in the one-day training, with Sheila summing it up, “I definitely feel the induction process needs reviewing – a full day of presentations is an information overload.” Other participants described it as a “tsunami of information”, “dense”, “confusing” and even “tedious”, finding it difficult to absorb and retain all of the content or even understand its relevance. Participants were particularly negative about the training support materials, with many participants saying they never accessed them again after the training. One participant described them as “a big doorstopper”. Gráinne commented, “there was so much reading involved in that handbook and it's hard to decipher at that early stage what's really important and what's relevant and what’s a bit overwhelming then, what you don't need to know.” 4.3.2 Microlearning

All five of the participants who accessed the microlearning lessons, however, were unanimous in their praise of their design, describing them as engaging and commenting favourably on the easy navigation between microlessons, the tone and, in particular, the length of time each lesson took to complete. Participants made reference to the fact they were “short and snappy” (Gráinne) and “weren’t too long… the exact right size… and it was all broken up and it didn’t feel dense” (Sara). Pat remarked that “the information was always very succinct, it was very clear, you know, and you could pause and go back as well which is nice” while Cian liked that “you could whizz through it”. Three participants highlighted the appeal of knowing that each microlesson would be short, with Cian saying “people can commit to it from the minute they start it because they can see when it is going to end… you can commit to five minutes, you can’t to half an hour.” Pat agreed, “You can check the duration and say well, okay, I have 10 minutes now I can actually do like part one or I can continue and do part three.” Four participants commented specifically on the wide variety of media used, describing it as engaging and visually appealing. Four of the five participants also remarked on the amount of interactivity saying they found this both useful and fun: “I think [the lessons were] broken up enough with interactive pieces… The quizzes were good to make sure that I was remembering… it just reinforces what you’ve learned” (Pat). Mira highlighted the satisfaction she felt as a learner completing activities, “There was a variety of ways to sort of think about things and remember, you know, and then be delighted you got it right.” 4.3.3 Further content Having reviewed the framework for the induction microlearning resource created in the first cycle of research, focus group participants suggested including additional content, resulting in a plan to develop six sections with around 10 microlessons in each for the full resource. Following the pilot, however, interview participants raised concerns about this. Four of the five interview participants cautioned against including the four additional planned sections, suggesting the two sections that had already been developed were sufficient for new employees with Cian remarking, “So there is the right amount of information there because what you want to avoid is information overload.” Gráinne concurred, “I think both of the sections, you know, individually, are very informative and there was lot in them. I think there's enough in them” as did Mira who stated that there is the “appropriate amount of information here.” Both Cian and Sara highlighted the time-bound nature of induction and the need to focus on what is required during this period, “You have to ask yourself does a person need to know this? ...The induction period of any agenda is probably the first month” (Cian). When these four participants were questioned as to whether they felt there were any individual lessons from the four additional sections that might still be considered for development, it is interesting to note that while each selected two or three more lessons, no two participants suggested the same ones, highlighting the individuality of the needs of new employees. Only Pat said she thought the other four sections should be developed as planned, “I mean, I would like to have all that information but that's just, you know, me personally, I like to get as much information as I can.”

4.4 Dipping Back Into It Being cognisant that all five interview participants had commended the short length of each lesson, a striking finding was that four of the five participants did all of the microlessons in either one or two sessions, in a linear fashion in the order they appeared in the navigation. Only Cian said he “dipped in and out of them” as needed or when he had time available. All five participants did state, however, that they would come back to specific lessons as needed and liked the fact that they had this as an option, Mira said, “I would be very happy to go back in and look at a couple of things that I needed just to look at it in greater depth or whatever... you know, you’re free to do that.” Two participants concluded that this aspect of the microlearning design allowed for some self-direction, with Cian pointing out that “when you put people in control, they can leave and join as they see fit. I don’t think it’s as overwhelming for them”. Sara also felt that this “gives you some responsibility for your own learning. And I think that's really important. ...it gives you some autonomy in your learning.”