Improve Learning Retention on Your Team

In a perfect world, every employee would remember everything we ever said, all the time. Learning retention is the key metric by which training programs are measured. Every time a piece of information isn’t retained, you can chalk it up as a miss. 

But information can be a tricky thing. It’s not something you can measure in quantifiable terms. And if an employee just isn’t getting it, well, they’re not getting it. Even teams who have high confidence levels in their training programs may find they need to continually circle back to boost learning retention. 

We’ll cover the top three methods you should use to strengthen your team’s learning retention and long-term memory.

#1 Struggle

Teachers already know this one well. When students struggle through problem-solving on their own, they tend to recall information a lot better than those who keep getting the answers handed to them. This isn’t just about learning how to solve a problem independently. Firing up the problem-solving parts of your brain actually makes the connections in your brain stronger and more effective. 

As adults, it’s easy to get complacent when it comes to struggle. We assume all of the “heavy learning” is behind us and that we’ve mastered experience and expertise. There’s no shame in admitting a new position includes information you’re not used to dealing with. We feel like if we admit we’re struggling, we’re compromising our appearance as experts. 

Embrace the struggle for yourself, and embrace it for new hires. 

#2 Variation

This is another one where teachers have business coaches beat. Chalk it up as 2-0 for your old high school professors. Variation theory is something many of them have already figured out, especially when it comes to helping students through complex concepts.

Essentially, you can think of variation as the balancing factor to struggle. Working through problems is essential. However, banging your head against the same problem in the same form can become tedious at best and disheartening at worst. The best online games for employee engagement will mix up how problems are presented. 

It’s not just about making fun office games for employees. Variation is also crucial for building up a network of skills that reinforce each other. It’s like how once you’ve learned one language, learning others becomes more manageable. 

As your employees practice the different skills and learn them in different ways, they’ll build a web of interconnected information. If you run a restaurant, for example, learning more about your ingredients will give greater context for learning about putting dishes together. 

#3 Competition

Struggle and variation will be the bread and butter of any training program that seeks to improve learning retention. You can think of competition then as your spice or your secret sauce. Struggle and variation give your employees all the tools they need to learn. 

Competition lights the fire to motivate them to power through whatever training you throw their way. Competition isn’t just about giving your employees a platform to demonstrate their prowess. It also gives them an active way to gauge and view their progress, both independently and comparative to other employees.

Building a training program that incorporates these elements can seem intimidating. Or it can be easy if you use 1Huddle. Our online games for employee engagement provide everything you need for learning retention so you and your employees can handle doing what you do best, and let us handle the training.