The Most Effective Way to Train Gen Z on Customer Service

Long gone are the days of sitting employees in front of a screen and having them watch hours and hours of a talking head, training videos, or read training manuals. This is not just a generational trend. The way employees learn, retain, and consume information has evolved. Whether you are launching or keeping top of mind awareness (TOMA) your employees about your Customer Experience Action Statement & pillars, Never & Always standards, Signature Customer Experience, or Zero Risk protocols, how you do it is critical.

How people are consuming information has changed

Whether that is education, entertainment, or headline news, people now prefer video and audio to reading. Studies show that book readership and long-form article consumption have dramatically declined, especially among younger audiences. People are likelier to skim than read deeply—attention spans are shorter, and scrolling is the new norm.

According to Cisco, video accounts for over 80% of global internet traffic. YouTube is the second most visited site globally, behind only Google. Podcast listenership has skyrocketed, with over 42% of Americans listening monthly, and it’s even higher among younger demographics. Platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible are fueling the shift.

People can listen to audio content while driving, working out, or cooking. Video delivers more immediate engagement and storytelling with faces, movement, music, and emotion. TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts condition us to consume fast, visual bites of content. After a long day, it’s easier to passively watch or listen than to actively read.

Introducing Microlearning

Microlearning is the hottest trend in professional development today. Microlearning is an educational approach that delivers content in short, focused segments, typically lasting less than 5 minutes (think TikTok, YouTube shorts, or IG reels). These concise learning units are designed to address specific training, making them easily digestible and accessible at the learner’s convenience.​ See the two CX training reels below (both less than a minute long).

 

         

 

Customer experience (CX) has become a key competitive differentiator, and companies across industries are rethinking employee training to serve customers better. ​Microlearning, delivering training in short, focused modules, is emerging as a practical approach for CX training. Microlearning fits busy schedules and boosts engagement and knowledge retention by breaking learning into bite-sized units. Modern workforces (especially customer-facing and remote employees) benefit from on-demand, mobile-friendly, and easily digestible training. Organizations leverage microlearning to continuously upskill their staff on customer service skills without pulling them away from day-to-day interactions. Microlearning can improve skills like empathy, communication, problem-solving, and the execution of your brand’s CX standards in customer-facing roles.

A successful microlearning program uses engaging, varied content formats to hold learners’ attention and reinforce key skills. Rather than text-heavy lectures, companies are adopting interactive and multimedia elements in short bursts.

*Related – Contact The DiJulius Group for more information on Microlearning for your organization

Mini Video Modules

Short instructional videos (typically 1–5 minutes) are a popular microlearning format. They can break down by topics, such as reminders on CX standards or how to handle an upset customer, into easily digestible segments. Videos often use visuals, animations, or real examples to explain concepts in a relatable way. These quick-hit videos are ideal for customer-facing team members who may only have a few minutes between customer engagements to learn. Bite-sized videos convey the “must-know” information and can be replayed on demand for reinforcement. Pet Supermarket, a U.S. retail chain, shifted from lengthy in-person trainings to “digestible, bite-sized video content,” cutting training time to just 2 minutes per module, which keeps lessons efficient, retainable for the employee, and minimizes disruption to store operations​.

Quizzes and Flash Drills

Many companies incorporate brief quizzes or flashcard-style Q&A into microlearning. These quick knowledge checks reinforce learning through active recall and give immediate feedback. Spaced-repetition quizzes delivered daily or weekly can dramatically improve the retention of customer service knowledge​. For example, employees might get a 5-question quiz each day reviewing their Never & Always or the Five E’s. This continuous testing keeps important information fresh and identifies areas for improvement.

Gamified Microlessons

Turning training into a game adds motivation and competition. Microlearning platforms often award points, badges, or leaderboards for completed modules and quiz performance​. This gamification makes learning “fun, friendly, and competitive,” spurring employees to stay engaged and revisit training to beat their own or peers’ scores​. Companies report that gamified microlearning boosts participation rates as employees enjoy earning rewards and seeing their progress. For instance, Southeastern Grocers introduced a gamified microlearning platform that let store employees earn digital trophies, resulting in higher voluntary participation​. Gamified “micro-challenges” on customer service topics can encourage repetition until mastery, which translates to better service on the job.

*Related – The CX Olympics

By mixing these content formats, organizations keep CX training fresh and impactful. The best practice is to focus each microlesson on one specific skill or concept, keeping it concise and targeted. Combining formats (e.g., a short video + a quick quiz) addresses different learning styles and reinforces your CX.

Implementing microlearning for customer experience requires strategic delivery methods and timing to maximize accessibility and knowledge retention. Leading companies employ several best practices in how they deliver microlearning to employees.

Mobile and Multi-Platform Access

A key to microlearning is that it’s “available anytime, anywhere.” Ensuring modules are mobile-friendly is crucial​. Many organizations deliver training via smartphone apps or responsive web platforms so customer-facing employees can learn on the go, during a break, between customer calls, or while commuting. For example, Walmart integrated bite-sized training into its Me@Walmart mobile app, letting associates access short interactive courses on their own device in the flow of work​. This just-in-time mobile access proved transformative. Employees could watch a quick tutorial or answer a quiz question on the sales floor or stockroom whenever they had a spare moment​. In hospitality, hotel chains similarly ensure microlessons are accessible on smartphones and tablets, recognizing that staff on their feet need convenient, on-demand training tools​. The easier it is to access the content (no need to log into a desktop or attend a class), the more likely employees will engage regularly. Multiple delivery channels (mobile apps, LMS, or even QR codes in the workplace) help integrate learning into daily routines. Pet Supermarket, for instance, placed QR codes in stores that workers can scan to instantly launch a microlearning guide on their phone – “perfectly placed to inspire and inform their time-poor workers” exactly when they need it​.

Repetition and Frequency

How often microlearning is delivered significantly impacts its effectiveness. Research shows spacing out learning boosts long-term retention, so many programs provide small training doses at regular intervals rather than one-and-done sessions. Best practice is to determine an optimal frequency – daily, a few times per week, or aligned with shift schedules – that keeps knowledge fresh without overwhelming learners. Daily engagement is common for reinforcement: for example, an employee might receive a daily quiz question, or a tip-of-the-day related to CX. Vrbo credits its success to delivering “bite-sized learning on a daily basis,” allowing customer service reps to test and improve their knowledge continuously​. This daily microlearning contributed to a measurable increase in Vrbo’s team’s knowledge and efficiency.

Other organizations often send out microlessons multiple times per week to maintain momentum or use push notifications to remind staff to complete new 5-minute modules. The key is consistency – making learning a habit. Some companies also align microlearning drops with relevant events (e.g., new product launch = a series of quick lessons that week on the product). Others use spacing algorithms to automatically schedule refresher quizzes on content that an employee hasn’t reviewed in a while, reinforcing memory just as it might fade. In all cases, microlearning’s short format makes it realistic for employees to engage with training frequently, since each session requires only a few minutes.

*Related – 6 Steps In Launching A Successful Customer Service Initiative That Lasts

Leverage of Existing Platforms

To maximize participation, organizations deliver microlearning through channels employees already use. This might mean integrating with an LMS or enterprise communication tools (like Microsoft Teams or Slack) so that a learning prompt appears in the same space where employees chat and work. For example, Uber delivered important training within its driver app, providing one-tap access to lessons, which reached millions of users without requiring a separate login​. The result was extremely high uptake due to the frictionless experience. By removing barriers to access, companies increase the likelihood that front-line employees will regularly engage with training content.

Delivering microlearning for CX effectively means meeting employees where they are (on the devices and platforms they use), at the moments they need training, and on a frequent, consistent basis. Short, convenient lessons woven into the daily workflow help customer-facing teams build habits of continuous learning. This just-in-time, mobile-enabled approach leads to minimal disruption in service – in fact, companies often find that employees can upskill without stepping away from serving customers for long, thus improving service quality in parallel with training​.

ROI of Microlearning on CX

One major advantage of microlearning is that it produces tangible improvements in both learning outcomes and customer experience metrics. Because microlearning platforms track frequent engagement and assessments, companies can gather rich data to evaluate impact. Across industries, organizations have reported significant gains from switching to microlearning-based CX training. 

Higher Training Completion and Engagement Rates

The bite-sized, user-friendly nature of microlearning leads to far better participation than lengthy courses. Retailer Pet Supermarket saw an average 79% training completion rate after introducing microlearning – “49% higher than the industry average”​. Employees welcomed the new format; in fact, 89% of Pet Supermarket’s staff reported they enjoyed being upskilled via short, social-media-style lessons​. Similarly, Walmart achieved a 90% completion rate within 30 days of launching nanolearning modules on its app​ – an unprecedented result compared to traditional training completion. These metrics indicate that employees are not only starting but finishing their required CX training when it’s delivered in micro chunks, likely because it feels manageable and engaging. When training engagement climbs, employees stay continuously informed and skilled, which translates to more consistent customer service on the front line. 

Improved Knowledge Retention and Accuracy

Microlearning’s design (spaced repetition, reinforcement, quizzes) leads to better retention of information and less skill fade. Companies often measure this via pre- and post-quizzes or on-the-job knowledge checks. In Vrbo’s case, rolling out daily microlearning led to 89% of their customer service reps improving their scores and accuracy on post-assessments​. This kind of improvement is critical in CX: better-informed employees make fewer mistakes when helping customers. It also indicates that microlearning can effectively close knowledge gaps (e.g., understanding new features, updated procedures) much more efficiently than older training methods.

Enhanced Customer Service Performance Metrics

The ultimate test of any CX training is its effect on real customer outcomes. Microlearning has been linked to measurable improvements in service quality metrics. Walmart reported that after implementing micro/nanolearning, customer satisfaction scores jumped by 10%​. This suggests that better-trained, more confident associates translated to happier customers – likely through quicker assistance, more product knowledge on the floor, and more consistent service behaviors. In call centers, knowledge gains from microlearning often reduce average handling time and increase resolution rates. Vrbo’s microlearning program led to a 5-second reduction in average call time per call for their customer support reps​.

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Ready to Transform Your Customer Experience for the Next Generation?

Gen Z is changing the game—both as employees and customers. Their expectations for speed, empathy, and purpose are redefining what world-class service looks like. If you’re not adapting your training and culture to meet them where they are, you’re falling behind.

Book a complimentary advisory call with a DiJulius Group expert today. We’ll show you how to empower your team, deliver consistently exceptional experiences, and build a culture that attracts and retains both talent and customers.

 

 

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