Training Just When It’s Needed

Just in Time Training

Traditional training models involve pulling a group of employees together for a formal presentation of information. The training may involve hands-on practice and detailed conversation, but it is often isolated from employees’ day-to-day routines. There may be a time gap before new knowledge can be put to use. As a result, busy employees can easily forget some of the details of the training before they can practice the skills.

Just in time training supplements formal training sessions by anticipating tasks that require specific knowledge gaps and putting the right information in front of employees on demand when it’s needed. Training Magazine notes, “People learn well and fast when they need to learn – when they encounter specific skill or knowledge gaps that prevent them from completing a task or achieving a desired tangible result.”

What kinds of tasks might be supported by just in time training? It could be a start-up routine that is familiar to one employee, but hard to remember for the person performing the job during that employee’s vacation. Or it could be a maintenance task that is important but only performed periodically.

Just in time training can be done very efficiently and effectively using technology – for instance, on demand training videos on a control panel that walk through the steps of a maintenance routine. Depending on the task, however, the training tool can be as straight-forward as a wall chart or a laminated checklist. The key is to identify opportunities where a skill gap can prevent an employee from successfully completing a task, and then finding an easy-to-understand method to provide training for that skill.