With the latest research showing that “Americans check their phone on average once every 12 minutes” (yes, that’s 80 times a day) as reported by the New York Post, it’s no wonder that all eyes in corporate learning are also on mobile. Almost literally, “all eyes” are staring at phones a large percentage of the time in a blended swirl of professional and personal activity.

When we take a second or two to look up from our tiny screens, it’s easy to see that the shift has already happened. What was once a conversation about “mobile-optimized” is now a conversation about “what’s not mobile?”

While there are some downsides to everyone constantly ogling their devices (e.g. a decrease in social skills or a waning ability to singularly concentrate for longer periods of time), there are more positives than negatives and many ways that mobile learning can help build better companies. At the end of the day, the almighty mobile device is a very powerful tool in helping drive employee performance.

1. Convenience contributes to results.

One of the top benefits of mobile learning with regards to driving employee performance is simply, good, old-fashioned convenience. Able to be accessed 24 hours, seven days a week, from anywhere, handheld learning is one of the best ways to ensure that all employees have access to invaluable training information at all times. The convenience increases the odds that training will be completed, which in turn creates better outcomes.

2. Notifications drive motivation.

One of the finest, yet most underrated features of any smart device is that it acts as a personal assistant, reminding us of stuff we need to do. Devices keep our lives on track! Employees have the option to receive learning notifications and you can set up text messages or calendar reminders to keep training front-of-mind. They can get daily or even weekly notifications to remind them to read, study, or practice the material being learned. Ah, the glories of technology.

3. Freedom enhances productivity.

Let’s face it; most people have extremely busy lives and may not be able to complete all of our daily tasks during normal business hours and/or tied to a desk. Now, we can be more productive anytime, anywhere, whether or not we’re actually at work. We can learn at our leisure (or while sitting in the dentist’s office, or in the cafe, or waiting in the parking lot to pick up a kid from school), rather than having to be pinned to a specific location. The freedom of multiple devices multiplies the outcomes even further. We can use a tablet or laptop at work but can switch to the smartphone at home. I feel a #neverstoplearning happening here!

4. Micro on a mobile means max learning.

It’s well documented that most people learn better when they study in short spurts (i.e. micro-learning). As discussed above, we also know that we prefer to be on our phones A LOT. So, micro on a mobile ups the ante. Now, people have the double advantage of short doses of information on a small device, with associated twofold benefits. The combination of micro and mobile is just more practical for people with busy schedules, frequent travelers, onsite service people, and of course, for those with shorter attention spans. Rather than forcing employees to consume substantial amounts of information in single sittings, they can learn the information bit by bit, which has proven to increase retention, and as such, overall performance on the job.