Re-thinking training: Just-in-Time (JIT) Training

In part three of this four-part series, Gary Klein considers the sustainability and efficacy of traditional training approaches during events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, where conditions are rapidly changing and information is shared in unconventional ways.


In the third section of Gary’s medium.com essay, he explores the shortcomings of traditional training approaches in situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, where conditions were changing rapidly, extreme time pressures dictated courses of action, and uncertainty and high-stake decisions were unavoidable. 

At the beginning of the pandemic, time was a luxury afforded by few. Carefully curated training programs with thoughtfully designed courses that incorporate well-established best practices, were swapped for informal, Just-in-Time training methods. Despite the lack of formal structure found in conventional training programs, Just-in-Time training may be more appropriate and more effective in situations that require fast learning and adaptation to an overwhelming amount of constantly changing information. 

Our next post will wrap up the series with Gary and discuss the implications of moving away from the unitary concept of what it means to be an expert and re-thinking conventional training methods. He also provides suggestions for flexible organizational training tools such as ShadowBox to aid in accelerating learning and adaptation.