Let’s unpack why people forget training. First, a few training myths.

😬 High budget doesn’t mean good or memorable.
😬 Animation doesn’t mean engaging.
😬 Microlearning is misunderstood; spaced repetition is the benefit.

If you could hear my tone, those words aren’t said in judgment. In year one of Ethics Insight, I wasted much time on animation—style over substance. I later got an education on microlearning from professionals. And, every training session I run, I get anonymous feedback, which can be brutal. Training is unforgiving, especially with risk topics that— you’ve seen the meme, “More compliance training, said no one, ever.”

In this context, we need to minimise wastage and maximise retention—step in Hermann Ebbinghaus and his Forgetting Curve model.

I can’t draw curves with a mouse; that much is clear. But hopefully, the image conveys the point. Without follow-up reminders, 80-90% of what we were trained on is gone after a month. Think about the cost of your one-and-done annual training—the training provider, the platform, the opportunity cost, people’s time, etc. Accepting a 90% loss of RoI in a month is tough.

Following up with reminders needn’t be more training. It could be a time delay between training completion and the quiz. Or a follow-up email three days later with a cheatsheet—top 5 issues to look for when onboarding a new supplier. You know, something focused.

Apps like DuoLingo record our mistakes and target additional tests and refreshers accordingly. Not only does this aid learning, but it’s also less annoying than being tested on stuff you already know. Software can do this (at the individual user level).

I am NOT advocating lots more training. I am suggesting that maybe we’d get a better RoI if we used data we already have (on employees) to:

👉 Target functions with relevant, relatable, and abbreviated training.
👉 Test comprehension (not attendance), adapting materials accordingly.
👉 Use feedback data to follow up with tips, tricks, cheat sheets, etc.

Training is about communication. The medium (alone) is not the message.