Accelerate Learning and Increase Knowledge Retention

Any business will want to maximize the benefits of their online training system and to achieve the best return on investment (ROI). This means ensuring that each learner who participates will inwardly absorb the information given to them, retaining it for future use rather than their forgetting it the moment they step away from the system, which happens more than most companies think.


To be able to review this, it’s useful to provide assessments following training sessions, and this can be by way of self-assessment—in other words, adding pressure through the employee being aware that a self-assessment test is likely at the end of each module. Plus, departmental managers or Human Resources (HR) can also assess the results and create follow-up training if necessary. For any online training to work, the business must come up with training objectives and to consider what it is trying to achieve. Without this, training programs can be viewed as ineffective and a waste of money.
In many cases, the learner does not utilize the information gleaned within the training session within a day or so of studying, and as a result, this information becomes dramatically diluted and, over time, can be lost completely. This then leads to errors being made in the workplace or refresher training being required. Most adults have very short attention spans. In fact, research indicates that most employees can sustain levels of concentration for a whole 3 minutes. This is certainly significant when it comes to the creation of learning modules. Although many businesses still maintain traditional training methods, more and more businesses are switching over to online training processes, so it makes sense to have a series of concise modules that flow systemically from one to the other.
The brain uses an algorithm to decide what information is important and also to establish what information may be discarded. As an example of this, consider when a new process has been learned in the workplace and is then used regularly each day. The brain reasons that this information is important, so it must be retained. When training takes place but none or very little of the information is utilized within the next few days, the brain decides that the information is no longer required, so it begins to fade.
This increases the emphasis on making training relevant and perhaps to train individuals just before a new product or system is launched. This way, the information remains fresh. New information is processed through short-term memory banks, but this has only very limited storage. Some aspects will stay within the short-term memory for a while, but other information may be discarded and forgotten. When the brain replays the information, it looks for any connections that may already exist, i.e., connecting to information already in place, and this helps the brain to consider whether this is more meaningful.  Understanding this process will help organizations gain the best out of their learning and development processes.