“A lot of it,” says Josh Allen, group director of enterprise frontline learning at Walmart, “was wanting to meet associates where they were.”
Why shorter can be sweeter
Walmart was at the forefront of a trend. Since the company launched its one- to two-minute on-the-go learning modules, nanolearning has become an increasingly popular way to learn.
With good reason too. Talent development professionals have long bemoaned how little time employees have to learn. But nanolearning offers bite-size training that almost anyone can squeeze into their day. The modules also focus on a specific skill or task that an employee needs to learn at the moment, which makes them relevant to people’s jobs.
But most importantly, a 2017 study found that people who participated in nanolearning retained knowledge better than those who learned through traditional long-form training, leading to better outcomes and improved performance.
Let’s look at how nanolearning works for Walmart and how you can use this effective approach at your company too.
1. Focus on a specific skill or task
Because nanolearning is so short, it needs to get right to the point, teaching an employee the skill they need to learn. In Walmart’s case, the learning modules include a mixture of text and videos, instructing an associate how to do a specific task.
Associates often look up tutorials on how to mix paint, cut fabric, decorate a cake, or change a car battery. One of Walmart’s most frequently accessed videos is its instructions on how to use the company’s VizPick, a new, simplified way to scan merchandise in the back room before getting it on the sales floor. Because it’s one of the newer processes at Walmart, a lot of people have needed to learn how to do it — and it helps that they can learn this exactly at the time they need it.
2. Make learning as accessible as possible
When employees need information, they usually need it now. That’s why Walmart offers its bite-size modules in their Me@Walmart app, which associates can access through their mobile phones. To make it even easier, Walmart provides many associates with a company-issued smartphone.
Once associates upload the app, they can tap the Me@Learning tab and access more than 1,000 nanolearning sessions, organized by departments and subcategories. Since the program was implemented, 17 million nanolearning modules have been completed by associates in the U.S. alone.
The company is still creating new content too. Walmart produced 30 new nanolearning sessions last year, including for digital shelf labels and paint mixing.
“It’s really about ‘How do you do your job?’” Josh says. “It’s about ‘I have something I need to do right now, and the nanolearning is going to show me how I do that.’”
3. Offer training in multiple languages
Walmart is a huge corporation, with 1.6 million associates in the U.S. and another 500,000 employees in nearly two dozen other countries. So, the company offers many of its nanolearning modules in several languages. Nearly all the training sessions are offered in English and Spanish. “And depending on how you access the learning,” Josh says, “it might be up to nine different languages.”
The point is: One language does not fit all. To be truly effective, learning — particularly in tiny doses — needs to be delivered in a language the learner can easily understand.
4. Make a game of it
One of the ways Walmart encourages associates to learn is by offering badges, which are similar to certifications. Nearly all associates have to complete one or more badges to do their job, and most badges include multiple nanolearning modules — which means pretty much every employee has accessed nanolearning.
Most associates, for example, are required to earn an onboarding badge, which covers everything they need to know to start a new job. They may also have to earn badges for deli/bakery or stocking. And with badges come bragging rights for employees.
For the company, there’s an even bigger payoff. “We have been able to show that badging is significantly related to employee retention,” Josh says. “Associates who have gotten badges are much more likely to stay with the company for a longer time.”
5. Create a culture of learning
Why do Walmart associates feel comfortable learning throughout the day? Because the company has fostered a rich culture of learning.
In addition to its nanolearning, Walmart offers multiple ways for employees to develop skills. In 2016, the company launched the Walmart Academy for its U.S. associates, and in 2022, expanded that program to include all global employees. The Academy offers management training; skills training for roles that didn’t exist a few years ago, such as in-home delivery specialists; and a program that pays for 100% of college tuition and books. Walmart also uses scenario-based virtual reality to train store associates in, say, how to interact with a frustrated customer.
The upshot: Walmart is a place where people can grow, move internally, and stay. The company loves to boast that more than 75% of its leadership started in hourly positions — and that 90 former executives are now CEOs of other companies. “We’re trying to create opportunity for all associates,” Josh explains, “and learning plays a big part in that.”
Final thoughts: On top of everything else, nanolearning improves retention
When Walmart associates access nanolearning to learn how to mix paint or decorate a cake, something magical happens. “When you prepare associates to do their job better and give them the tools that they need,” Josh says, “it builds confidence.”
Josh says this may be the reason Walmart’s learning program has had an effect on retention. “The more you know how to do your job, the more you enjoy your job,” he says, “which means the more likely you are to stay.”
