Why Training as Close to the Time of Need Is a Must

Most of the training we work on is technical, and in many projects, the desire is to have employees take training weeks before a system goes live.

We’re regularly asked to have training available two weeks before launch. I understand the reason for the ask, there are logistics behind getting people assigned to training, schedules are busy, and a buffer is always nice too.

But here’s the big issue: training is often asked to be assigned two weeks before launch. There are several good reasons why this is the case, but there are more reasons why this harms the overall quality of training and learning the application.

That means that when employees are assigned training two weeks before launch, a significant portion of employees may receive training well before they even have access to the tool.

The biggest risk in training is forgetfulness, sometimes known as the forgetting curve. Employees have a lot of work and a lot to learn. If we don’t use what we learn, we will forget it rapidly. Forgetting starts immediately unless the skills learned are used immediately.

It only takes a day or two to start forgetting large amounts of information we learn. That’s a risk that’s sometimes accepted to deal with the potential risk of employees not completing training on time. Not a good decision.

Leaving it up to chance that people will access training closer to when they need it isn’t good enough for training. There’s too great a chance that people will take training when assigned and forget everything they learned by the time the tool is launched.

You know the old saying, if you don’t use it, you lose it. That applies 100% to training, too. There’s no exact percentage of how much people will forget or how fast (contrary to lots of fake statistics you’ll find online), but people forget, especially if what they learn isn’t used.

I understand there are many reasons why training must be delivered before employees need it. Some of them are better than others. We came up with a few reasons (some of which were provided to us as reasons) for why we’re asked to make training available well in advance of a system launch, typically two weeks before, but sometimes more.

• Employees are busy, and we need to allocate time for them to receive training.
• Allow people time to ask questions if they don’t understand the training material.
• Allow time for extra guidance from leaders.
• Schedule office hours during training time for employees to ask the experts.

In some cases, these are good reasons, but in most cases, they’re not good enough to counter the big risk of guaranteed forgetting. There’s one really important situation when training should be available in advance, though. Let’s get to that before we jump into why it shouldn’t.

When Training Must Be Available in Advance

One of the best reasons that training cannot wait to be available on or closer (a week before) to software deployment is that sometimes the application is essential to everyday job functions.

If a new tool is being rolled out and the old tools are being phased out, employees must know how to use the new tool on day one. That means all training must be completed before launch if employees are to have uninterrupted access to the application.

This only applies if training cannot be done in a short amount of time. Think of medical professionals who take care of patients. They have a busy schedule filled with patient care, so they can’t always take time for training on short notice.

We’ve done technical training in the medical community where care cannot be delayed. That means it’s often unreasonable to give employees a week’s notice that they must take training and be ready to use a new application on day one of its launch.

In that case, a bit more of a ramp-up may be needed, at least for communicating when they must take training. Or perhaps a healthy amount of communication about the upcoming change. Luckily, we have things like custom eLearning that make it easier to rapidly deploy training to hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of employees quickly.

Although there are sometimes good reasons for doing training in advance, there are many more reasons why training should be done closer to software launch. They’re pretty compelling, which means, unless there’s no potential alternative, training should wait until the time of need when employees can apply and cement those skills.

Reasons Why Training Should Be Done Close to the Time of Need

I briefly mentioned why training should be done as close to the time of need as possible. But there are several other reasons and more to say about them. While we offer a range of digital training solutions, these principles apply to all types of training.

Whether employees are getting virtual instructor-led training, live training, or any other type, these reasons for offering training as close to the time of need as possible always apply. Here we go.

Memory Is Limited

No, a specific percentage of information isn’t lost within one second, 10 minutes, 2 hours, etc. of training. If you ever see a specific number and a specific time, it’s a lie. However, it’s a well-established fact from scientific research (and of course personal experience) that people forget.

You don’t need a study to know people forget. If you don’t use it, you will lose it.

How much you lose and how fast will vary from person to person, as well as by topic, interest level, and the way information is presented, among other factors. There’s no way to measure forgetting precisely.

Nobody can remember everything. Our capacity for retaining the information we learn is limited. In the short term, we can’t remember much at all. Think about phone numbers; they’re only seven digits (in the US) for a reason. That’s because our capacity to remember much else doesn’t exist without some pretty creative methods to remember.

I’d argue that our memory is even smaller now because I can’t even remember a seven-digit phone number! That very well could just be me, though.

It begins to fade immediately as soon as you learn something unless you use it right away. The small details go first, and then you have difficulty connecting how to do a skill.

Think about the process of requesting time off in a timekeeping application. There is typically a specific process that you must follow. You think it looks easy when watching a video on how to do it. But when you go to do it, do you remember all those details?

For me, the answer is no because I start forgetting unless I can do the process myself. Even then, it takes a bit to become embedded in our long-term memory. That’s one reason a high-quality, realistic software simulation with a scenario is good. So that people can practice.

That will reinforce memory and help people learn. But that can only do so much. If someone takes a really good course that requires them to practice a skill, they must do it again soon, or else even that will be forgotten.

The memory of what was learned starts to fade because our memory is inherently limited. It doesn’t become part of our knowledge until we can cement it into long-term memory. Plus, you may have to make room for more important things like how to play the new game you just downloaded (I know I do!).

When training is taken closer to when that task will be used, what’s forgotten will be decreased.

Learning Is Reinforced

If you learn something in training and use it immediately, what you learned will be much stronger. That means you can naturally take advantage of spaced learning. That means employees can learn in training and then reinforce that learning by applying what they learned again.

The best part? They can learn something new when they apply what they learned. So, it’s not always necessary to make spaced learning completely formal; sometimes, people need the opportunity to apply what they learned in the initial training to make spaced learning effective.

When training is done closer to when employees use it, they are less likely to forget the important subtleties that help them use what they learned more effectively.

Perhaps that means less performance support is needed, as the process of doing will take over for learning. That only works if a task is needed regularly, though. Spaced repetition won’t work if what’s learned isn’t routinely used; in that case, performance support is a better form of training.

More Relevance

Relevance is everything for training. In fact, relevance is king in training more than content or anything else. If a course or other training isn’t relevant to an employee, they won’t be fully engaged, and it’ll be boring and forgettable.

Additionally, there’s also the risk that they may not be invested in the training without proper communication. What if they’re assigned training two weeks in advance and aren’t told much about what’s coming?

Or worse, the training is the first introduction to the tool without first hearing the why. Getting assigned training with a launch two weeks away is off-putting and makes the training and the launch itself seem irrelevant.

If the training is assigned and the tool launches in two weeks, what’s being trained doesn’t even seem relevant yet. If you are assigned training on Monday and the tool is coming on Thursday, that’s pretty relevant, and I’d be a lot more inclined to pay attention.

Would you want to take a course you don’t think you need? If training is offered too early, you risk people thinking they don’t need it. You risk them putting it off or not taking it seriously because it’s future them’s problem.

I’d hate to see what happens if training is available more than two weeks before a system is launched. That would be a huge waste of effort in multiple ways. It’s a huge waste of training creation time, time taken for training, lack of employee preparation, and many other negative repercussions.

So,, how do you solve this problem without training too early?

Solutions To Not Training Too Early

Not training too early seems like an easy answer: make the training available closer to when needed!

Simple, right?

Not so fast. You have to strike the right balance between making it available too early and stressing out employees with limited time to take it. On either side of the spectrum, there will be negative impacts on the project and employees.

One of the best solutions is to overlap when training becomes available to the software launch and when training is required to be completed (if required). That means that, at most, training should be available one week before the launch of the application, and by one week after the launch, it should be completed.

But what about when training is an absolute must before employees get access to the tool?

In this case, you have two decent options.

• Make training available one week before launch.
• Schedule one or two days when employees must take training, allowing some time for training while others cover shifts.

But here’s the catch: don’t spring it on them the same week or with only a day’s notice. Ensure that employees are given ample communication when training will be available and when they’re expected to complete it. Therefore, when communicating about the launch of a new tool, also share training expectations.

That way, there will be no surprises for employees. No surprises is one of the best ways to make people comfortable and accept changes. If employees feel that they were communicated with and provided opportunities to learn, then training and the entire project will be more successful.

Another great option, if possible, is to make training available alongside the tool. This won’t always be possible, but it’s the best option when it is.

An example is a timekeeping system where employees must clock in and out. They need to punch in and out on day one, but that’s all they need to know to get started. So, provide them a simple job aid on how to do that in the project communications. From there, more in-depth training can be provided with other required tasks they’ll be using regularly so they’ll be successful.

Here are some options for making training available neither too early nor too late.

• Offer training closer to launch, but make it required before they have access (but get them access quickly!)
• Give them a shorter window to take the training.
• Provide employees with performance support for the bare minimum on day one, but make more training resources available at launch.
• Offer training not too early (but still early) and then send a communication with performance support resources (or a simple tip!) that can remind them of the training (great for spaced learning, too).

Wrap Up

Hopefully, you’re convinced that training should be made available and taken as close to the time of need as possible. This is the next best thing to learn in the flow of work with something like contextual help for software. Alas, learning in the flow of work isn’t always practical or realistic. That’s why learning as close to when it will be applied is a wonderful option.

Sometimes it’s necessary for training to be available in advance, especially when people’s lives and care rely on it. If that’s not the case and there’s even a remote opportunity to train closer to the time it will be used, then make it the goal to train closer to when employees will use the skills and cement that knowledge.

If training close to the time of need means overlapping with the launch of a tool, so be it, unless the job cannot be completed without the tool. Sometimes, a good alternative might be to have a short training window, but communicate the timeline and requirements early and often.

Every tool that launches will be unique, and its requirements will be unique as well. That’s why every project will be unique, and we can only provide you with some ideas. However, thinking about how you can best serve employees is still important. Help them do their job better with better tools and training to help them use those tools effectively.

Part of working with us on technical training involves developing a good plan to launch the training that aligns with the launch. We aim to help your employees make a smooth transition and ensure they’re successful in their job. Without that success, the entire process of launching software and training risks being a failure.

We’d love to discuss working with you to ensure the success of your next technical project. Schedule a free consultation to discuss your specific project and help you hit a home run with training.

Learn more about our digital training solutions and how they will make your next corporate technical project successful. That means training employees at the right time.