Snackable Learning – why businesses should adopt this power learning approach
Friday, 24 July 2020 | Vaughan Reed
Friday, 24 July 2020 | Vaughan Reed
Have you ever been to a workshop for a full day of learning only to scratch your head when someone asks you just days later what you
learnt? Long term retention of key learning is the biggest challenge organisations face when it comes to using traditional methods of
learning and development such as face to face training, workshops and learning management systems (LMS).
Fortunately there is a way to overcome these challenges by combining traditional and modern learning methods to form a 'power learning strategy' to improve the long term retention of key learning.
You may not have heard the term ‘Snackable Learning’, however this is the special ingredient that will help you reach your magic long-term learning formula. Snackable Learning blends the best parts of microlearning (delivering short bursts of snackable content for learners) and nudge learning (positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions as ways to influence behaviour) to powerfully combat the natural tendency for people to forget what they have learnt.
The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve highlights the decline of memory retention over time when there is no proactive attempt to consciously review or put into practice what was learnt immediately after training.
The curve implies that a large proportion of information is forgotten within the first few hours of learning, and only 20% of information is retained by the end of the week. In short, we struggle to retain most of what they've learnt, if there is no mechanism in place to reinforce the learnings over time.
Many organisations are already aware of the issues surrounding the retention of information. As a result they are adapting their training, using methods like the 70:20:10 method, which focuses on experienced based learning.
The weighting of theoretical techniques versus practical techniques used in training depends on the subject matter and the extent to which
reasoning (theory) and experience (practical) matters or is possible. Whichever learning method(s) you use within your organisation, there
is one common denominator for them to be effective long-term and that is reinforcement. Whether learning is theoretical or practical, there
is a clear need to reinforce key messages taught during those phases in the form of regular reminders and repetition.
Repetition "the mother of all learning" is the
cornerstone of learning because it delivers the deep seated retention of information; transitioning the learning from conscious behaviour
to subconscious habit.
Traditional methods of learning provide the context of information, which is an important part of the learning process, but where workshops and online learning fall short, is the ability to deliver the frequency of key messages over time.
Snackable learning presents key messages in a bite-size format, which are easily seen and understood. This information is carefully planned to be delivered at the right intervals that will achieve the kind of spaced repetition required for key messages to be retained over time.
Most organisations battle with finding ways to deliver key messages so that they reach and engage their entire workforce. From learning and development programmes through to more general communications such as; culture, health and safety, wellbeing and performance insights, it’s all information for the workforce that is critical for businesses to communicate effectively.
At Vibe, we’ve learnt there are 5 fundamentals for delivering effective communications within the workforce. These 5 fundamentals are the cornerstone of our Snackable Learning Framework©.
Read more about our 5 fundamentals for effective communication

It is extremely difficult to deliver these 5 fundamentals using standard communication methods, such as emails, intranets, noticeboards, posters or even collaboration tools like Teams, Facebook Workplace or Slack.
Just imagine pushing out a message via email or a collaboration tool and then needing to send the same or similar message 7 or 8 times to achieve ‘frequency’. Not only would it be time consuming and infuriate everyone, but the tool would become cluttered an ineffective for its originally designed purpose.
Vibe's Snackable Learning Framework© delivers programs and messages in a way that cuts through the noise and significantly improves the reach and retention of key learning, which is essential for driving long term change.
Here at Vibe, we have developed a specialist internal communication platform that transforms the way organisations influence people performance through effective communications and learning & development initiatives within the workplace, using these five fundamentals.
Vibe complements the learning process by delivering the well-timed repetition needed to reinforce take-away messages and actively places these messages in front of the workforce on a daily basis, in a highly visual and engaging format.
Article By Vaughan Reed [LinkedIn]
Vaughan is the Managing Director @ Vibe.fyi. Vibe makes it easy for organisations to communicate
business critical information in a way that will inspire today’s workforce.