And How to Make it Actually Stick
Photo Credit: Matheus Bertelli
Every year, employees sit through the refresher. The slides look familiar, the examples sound familiar, Someone inevitably thinks, We did this last year.
They are correct and that may be the problem.
The Hidden Problem
Refresher training makes sense. People forget. Skills deteriorate when they are not used. Procedures change. Some capabilities are important precisely because employees may need them suddenly after months without using them.
The problem is not refreshing training, it is assuming that repeating training is the same thing as refreshing capability.
Annual training often follows a familiar pattern: Learn → Wait → Repeat the course → Wait → Repeat the course
That tells us when employees last completed training. It tells us considerably less about what they can still remember or perform.
There is an important distinction here: Currency: You completed the required training on schedule. Proficiency: You can still perform when the capability is needed.
Organizations need to know the difference.
What Research Shows
Research on retention, retrieval, and refresher training suggests that maintaining capability requires more than periodic exposure to familiar material.
Vlasblom et al. (2020) reviewed 40 studies examining competence retention in safety-critical professions. Most found that competence declined over time, with retention influenced by factors including initial training, opportunities to practice or refresh, individual characteristics, and task complexity. The literature was overwhelmingly medical, so the findings should not be treated as manufacturing-specific. However, the broader lesson is important: competence that is not used does not necessarily remain intact simply because it was once learned.
Kim et al. (2019) analyzed workplace-training data from more than 10,000 employees across five organizations. Their findings demonstrated the importance of spacing and retrieval for long-term retention. Employees benefit from being required to retrieve previously learned information rather than simply encountering it again.
Ruttenberg et al. (2020) examined an alternative approach among emergency response teams at automobile manufacturing facilities. Instead of relying solely on annual refresher training, the program incorporated frequent, short, hands-on drills throughout the year. Participants reported that the approach helped maintain skills and teamwork, while realistic exercises included situations such as machine rescue, severe bleeding, and trapped-person response.
The automotive study is particularly useful because it changes the question.
Instead of asking: When is the refresher due? We can ask: What capability needs to remain ready?
What This Means at Work
Consider a skill an employee may need only occasionally but must perform correctly when the moment arrives.
Emergency response is an obvious example, but the same principle can apply to equipment shutdowns, lockout procedures, troubleshooting, quality problems, unusual maintenance tasks, emergency communications, and other infrequently performed work.
Waiting twelve months and showing employees the same material again may satisfy a training schedule. It does not necessarily maintain readiness.
A better model looks more like this: Learn → Retrieve → Practice → Apply → Identify Weakness → Refresh
Not every step requires a class. A five-minute scenario can require retrieval. A short toolbox exercise can require employees to explain what they would do. A hands-on drill can reveal a procedural step people have forgotten. A supervisor can present an unusual condition and ask employees to identify the appropriate response.
The objective is not more training. It is better maintenance of capability.
What to Do Instead
Refresh what actually needs refreshing. Do not automatically replay the entire original course. Identify the knowledge, decisions, or skills most vulnerable to decay and concentrate practice there.
Make employees retrieve. Before providing the answer, ask for it. Present the situation. Ask employees what comes next, what they would check, or what information they need.
Practice important skills between annual sessions. Short, periodic practice can keep critical capabilities active without requiring another full training event.
Use performance to guide the refresher. If employees demonstrate that they can still perform a skill correctly, move on. If they struggle, that tells you where the refresher should focus.
The Bottom Line
Annual refresher training is not inherently ineffective. But the calendar is an administrative tool. It is not a measure of proficiency.
If a capability matters enough to maintain, organizations should think beyond when employees last completed the course and ask whether they can still retrieve and apply what they learned.
The goal is not to make employees take the same training again. The goal is to make sure the capability is still there when they need it.
References
Kim, A. S. N., Wong-Kee-You, A. M. B., Wiseheart, M., & Rosenbaum, R. S. (2019). The spacing effect stands up to big data. Behavior Research Methods, 51, 1485–1497. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-018-1184-7
Ruttenberg, R., Boulay, D. A., Brown, J., & Kelley, J. (2020). Perception of impact of frequent short training as an enhancement of annual refresher training. NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy, 30(2), 102–110. https://doi.org/10.1177/1048291120920553
Vlasblom, J. I., Pennings, H. J. M., van der Pal, J., & Oprins, E. A. P. B. (2020). Competence retention in safety-critical professions: A systematic literature review. Educational Research Review, 30, 100330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100330
