Answers to Your Questions on Just-in-Time Learning

Today, with evolving technology, every job out there is changing. Modern employees face problems they need to solve urgently, and they expect information to be available at their fingertips. However, traditional training has fallen short in keeping up with this need. In such a context, how do we respond to a modern employee’s need for on-demand access to personalized knowledge? Just-in-time learning (JIT) is the ideal solution in this context.

Also known as point-of-need learning, JIT learning empowers learners by offering training when they need it the most. Thanks to artificial intelligence, big data, and learning analytics, just-in-time learning has become increasingly predictive and popular among corporate workforce. However, though it is widely used, several misconceptions still linger in the minds of corporate trainers. If you have questions, here are the answers to FAQs on just-in-time learning that will offer you better insights on it.

FAQs on Just-In-Time Learning Answered

1. Where can I use JIT in the training framework?

In a corporate training program, it is used to ensure the ongoing competence of jobs by offering performance support to meet employees’ immediate job challenges. Weeks or months after being trained, when employees actually need to apply their knowledge, there is a high likelihood of them forgetting crucial aspects required to perform the task.

Here, you will look for simple ways to help your employees at their moment of need. This may not be about looking back at your six-months old ILT notes or searching within a 20-minute eLearning course for the answer. You will look for quickly accessible training that acts as a performance support tool and answers their need.

JIT learning provides employees the necessary knowledge required to accomplish a task, as and when they need it. This can be informal training made available on your organization’s learning management system (LMS). Whenever they face a doubt or are unclear about something, learners can easily access the training module that’s most appropriate to their job task from the LMS.

For example, a sales rep who wants to have a quick glance at the product features before a client meeting can access an infographic that illustrates the same. This will help the rep with quick reinforcement of knowledge that results in better performance.

2 a. Is JIT always micro?

This is the most common misconception regarding just-in-time learning, and the answer is a straight ‘NO’. Every just-in-time learning solution need not necessarily be in the microlearning format. Microlearning deals with short learning units with a maximum duration of 10 to 13 minutes.

The ultimate purpose of JIT is to offer learners the right training material that will help accomplish their job tasks; in other words, it’s all about what your learners need, ‘now’. As the job roles and requirements of every employee varies, it is not always practical to offer training as micro modules. The biggest consideration has to be your intended audience.

For instance, let’s say a service technician from your manufacturing unit is supposed to execute an 8-step process to accomplish a task. Here, you might need a 15-18-minute video to demonstrate the step-by-step process. Since the steps need to be performed sequentially, there is no scope of breaking the video into micro videos of two-three minutes.  However, can this video still be considered a just-in-time learning solution? Definitely yes! Once uploaded on your LMS, it will serve  as a performance tool and help in the easy execution of the eight-step process.

2 b. When can we offer in the microlearning format?

When your learners are mostly on the move and each of their learning objectives can be met by a micro learning module, then yes, go for micro format. In fact, JIT is considered an ideal choice for learners who are mostly on the move. This is because micro assets can easily be accessed by learners on their mobile device, anytime and anywhere. Also, the small size of these modules makes it easy to load and download even at places of low connectivity.

3. Can it increase employees’ access to knowledge?

Yes!

In today’s fast-paced economy where the need to apply knowledge or skills is immediate, it’s no more feasible for an employee to wait until the next ILT session or eLearning program to regain their forgotten knowledge. Neither is it practical for them to do so. What you need is an immediate solution. Enters just-in-time training.

With just a few clicks, JIT offers knowledge at the fingertips of your employees. No more do they have to spend hours hunting for knowledge or wait for managers and/or peers to come to their rescue. With JIT, all an employee needs to do is type what they want to know in the LMS, and the relevant piece of knowledge will be pulled up from the system.

The impact of artificial intelligence in increasing learners’ accessibility to just-in-time learning is profound. By capitalizing on the big data collected from learners, AI technology tracks their previous performance and uses that information to suggest to the LMS areas where a learner is struggling. The LMS then prioritizes search results and offers learners a personalized training program that is most appropriate to their needs.

4. JIT improves confidence and engagement of learners. Is this true?

Yes!

Just-in-time training gives you an opportunity to pass on the control of learning to the learners. This empowers learners and makes them more engaged in learning. Especially for employees who work on complex tasks or tasks that aren’t performed frequently, the knowledge that just-in-time learning is available at their fingertips makes them confident and self-assured.

5. Can JIT be used as a primary training method?

Again, it’s a pure no.

If the objective of your training is to cover comprehensive information on a new or complex topic, (for example, introducing them to a new business process or a new product), JIT isn’t the right choice. The purpose of just-in-time learning is to provide on-demand information that refreshes the existing knowledge of learners. In other words, JIT is used not when you need to impart new skills or knowledge to learners. Instead, it aims at helping learners when they want to accomplish a specific task on hand.

For example, imagine a learner is unsure of what a specific error code means when troubleshooting a machine, an infographic can act as just-in-time learning tool here. However, if you are teaching service technicians how to troubleshoot equipment the first time, we all know just relying on JIT tools would be a huge no.

6. Can it enhance the productivity of your employees?

Yes!

By offering learners just-in-time performance support in the form of tips, tricks, or handy solutions just when they need it the most, JIT helps you enhance their productivity. By offering learners an opportunity to crosscheck facts, review checklists, and go over tips, JIT empowers learners to execute their tasks more accurately.

Thus, just-in-time learning helps you address the learning demands of today’s modern workforce. Hope this blog gave you a better insight on what exactly a just-in-time learning solution is. If you are planning to offer JIT in the microlearning format have a look at this eBook to know more on how microlearning can fit into your training strategy.