The OffBeat #2: Microlearning

The untapped potential of your work calendar

This week’s offbeat idea comes directly from the incredible DEI team at Shipt, the same-day delivery service owned by Target, where I currently call corporate home.

In honor of Memorial Day Weekend, the team distributed a company-wide calendar invite titled “More Than Summer: Memorial Day Microlearning” that contains a succinct history of the day and several calls to action to either learn more or observe Memorial Day (example: participate in a National Moment of Remembrance at 3PM local time to pause and think about the meaning of the holiday). The invite is at the top of everyone’s calendars from Thursday - Tuesday, a banner you can’t miss each time you pop over to your calendar to check your schedule or join a Zoom link.

This idea is genius.

It’s a time-efficient way to incorporate critical, thought-provoking material directly into employees’ daily routines. It’s non-invasive but conspicuous. It makes it seamless to opt in.

And the possibilities are endless. Companies could use calendar-integrated microlearning for:

• Heritage months like Black History Month, Women's History Month, and Pride Month

• Symbolic days like Equal Pay Day

• Federal holidays like Juneteenth

• Birthdays of iconic figures and cultural leaders

• The date the Family and Medical Leave Act passed

• Friday afternoon reminders to truly unplug for the weekend

And so many more moments and milestones.

Wishing you a restorative holiday weekend and a great week ahead,

Allison