Nearly half of HR leaders report difficulties in aligning their training offerings with their company's skills needs. Additionally, 43% of employees believe their company does not respond promptly to their training requirements. These are two figures emerging from the Cegos’ international Skills and Learning Transformations survey.
The challenge of just in time training
This is a big challenge that HR leaders and training providers must face together. To keep our people and organisations competitive, it is important that appropriate skills training is delivered ‘just in time’ so employees are ready to use those skills when they need them and not when it is too late.
All too often, HR managers apply a ‘tick box’ approach to skills development. Programs are selected on the basis of interest or popularity, rather than need. The problem with this approach is that it becomes a little random and rarely aligns with the strategic concerns of the business. When a skills need is eventually identified, HR struggle to upskill their workers within a reasonable timeframe, causing loss to the company as well as some frustration.
Thankfully, there is a solution. All it takes is a shift in leadership mindset, a more comprehensive training plan aligned to strategic goals and a willingness to employ a range of quick learning options, both digitally and in person.
Here are 5 actions HR or L&D leaders can take to ensure training – in whatever form – is delivered ‘just in time’.
1- Give employees responsibility to drive their personal development
Encouraging employees to be proactive in their learning is key to addressing the 'time to competency' challenge. Training should no longer be pushed only by the organisation. It should also be driven or even produced by the employees themselves.
Indeed, employees are open to some autonomy when it comes to upskilling. They recognise the threat of skills obsolescence, so new skills will be useful to them as they move forward in their careers. It also means that training is likely to happen faster.
Ultimately, employees seek more on-the-job training that is directly applicable and offers immediate benefits. And that training needs to be interactive, engaging, and personalised.
According to our international study, HR leaders plan to meet these expectations by implementing new methods such as e-coaching for on-the-job performance support and adaptive learning powered by AI to individualise learning paths.
2- Employ agile practices
The days of training programs made up solely of in-person classes are over. Today, employees expect a variety of training options that meet short-term needs and fit conveniently into busy schedules.
As such, HR departments need to be more agile in the way they work by adopting a range of practices, such as:
- Distinguish between strategic projects (supporting long-term strategy) and day-to-day learning management (addressing immediate skill requests)
- Promote performance support systems that offer on-demand, on-the-job assistance
- Encourage peer-to-peer learning through mentorship, knowledge-sharing platforms, AI buddy support, or team-based problem-solving sessions
- Offer flexible, self-directed learning platforms tailored to strategic and operational needs. Develop training modules in smaller segments that can be quickly updated or replaced as needed.
- Engage with business leaders, managers and employees to quickly identify changing priorities, rather than conducting needs assessments annually. Focus on cross-disciplinary skills alongside technical or job-specific skills to cultivate a growth mindset
3- Exploit developments in Generative AI and digital learning
The rapid development of AI has been a boost to training providers as it enables adaptive, scalable, and impactful learning experiences. It is particularly useful for creating learning resources quickly, which fits neatly with the ‘just in time’ agenda.
AI-powered Learner Experience Platforms (LXPs), for example, can analyse learner data to create more personalised learning journeys, recommend courses based on individual needs and help learners set goals.
It can also predict future skills requirements – when fed data on company strategy and existing training programs – and tailor content in real time.
AI content generation tools help create just-in-time training materials, too. They can even provide real-time learning support through chatbots that answer questions, direct learners to specific resources, and simulate real-world scenarios.
HR teams themselves can use AI tools to automate many tasks, such as training scheduling, learner progress tracking, and report generation. The tools can link learning outcomes to business metrics, identify performance patterns and suggest next steps for continuous development. HR can also use data to adjust training offerings based on user satisfaction, commitment, usefulness, and impact.
4- Utilise the human resources available
While it is tempting to rely heavily on digital resources to deliver just-in-time training, you should not neglect the power of the human touch.
Create opportunities for peer coaching or mentoring. Allow junior employees to shadow senior managers, or vice versa!
You can even empower employees to share their expertise by producing their own training resources. AI helps them create materials that follow a pedagogical structure, which makes employee-generated resources much more effective. This practice also fosters a learning culture within your organisation and promotes lifelong learning.
5- Change the mindset of business leaders and company culture
Creating a strong learning culture within your company increases the effectiveness of your training programs. It also boosts morale and inspires a willingness to improve.
But this culture must start at the top. Leaders should allocate time for employees to learn, encouraging them to be curious and innovative. Indeed, a robust learning culture must lay at the core of the organisation's strategy and values if it is to have any impact.
It is also important to establish a shift from control to empowerment that motivates a proactive approach to training.
Make learning an integral part of the job with a holistic view of its impact. For example, measure training success by performance improvements, not time spent.
Foster real-time knowledge sharing and collaboration. Recognise and reward those who contribute to collective learning, such as employees who create resources or organise learning forums.
As you can see, there are so many ways to deliver just-in-time training, whether is it prepared over the long-term or reactive to immediate demands.
Using a mix of digital and human resources creatively is key to making sure people build the skills they need, when they need them.
