By James Glover
The 70:20:10 framework says that learning happens 70% on the job experiences, 20% through informal coaching, and 10% through formal classroom sessions.
This framework isn’t as popular as it used to be. Nothing has changed about how humans learn. But some say the numbers are too tidy. Others think the original study wasn’t rigorous enough.
I agree with both criticisms. But I think the real problem people have with 70:20:10 is different.
The problem is it’s hard to follow. Classroom and module training are old habits. We know the playbook. Training people on the job has never been easy or scalable.
But with new technologies, we can solve that problem.
The framework endures because it captures something true about how humans actually develop skills at work. Most of us learned our jobs by doing them, making mistakes, getting feedback, and trying again. The criticism about clean percentages misses the directional insight: Most workplace learning happens outside formal training sessions.
Why On-the-Job Learning Actually Works
When employees learn skills in their actual work environment, their brains form stronger connections and retain information longer. Context creates powerful memory triggers that classroom training simply can’t replicate.
Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered this over 170 years ago when he documented how quickly people forget new information. His research showed that people retain only 21% of new information after 31 days without reinforcement. Modern studies confirm the same pattern, even suggesting that as much as 90% of traditional training content is forgotten within one month.
But here’s what changes the equation: When people practice new skills immediately in their real work context, retention rates jump significantly. The difference isn’t the content—it’s the environment where learning happens.
On-the-job learning works because it provides natural spacing and repetition. Employees encounter similar challenges repeatedly, each time reinforcing and building on previous learning. They get immediate feedback from real situations with actual consequences. This authentic practice creates the biological processes that form lasting habits and behaviors.
Traditional training fights against how the brain naturally learns. People sit passively absorbing information, then return to work where they may not apply those skills for weeks or months. By then, the forgetting curve has already done its work.
The Implementation Gap
If on-the-job learning is so effective, why do most L&D budgets still flow to formal training? The honest answer: We’ve built our entire training infrastructure around the 10%.
We know how to design curricula, book conference rooms, and measure course completions. We have learning management systems optimized for delivering modules and tracking seat time. The whole apparatus of corporate training revolves around pulling people out of their work to learn.
Training people while they work has always been harder to scale. How do you deliver consistent learning experiences across hundreds of employees in different roles, locations, and contexts? How do you measure what’s happening when learning is distributed across daily workflow rather than concentrated in scheduled sessions?
For decades, these implementation challenges made formal training the practical choice, even when we knew it wasn’t the most effective choice. The infrastructure existed for classroom delivery but not for workflow integration.
Technology is finally changing this equation:
- Modern platforms can deliver bite-sized learning activities directly into employees’ daily work
- AI can personalize these activities for different roles and skill levels
- Analytics can track behavior change rather than just completion rates
Making It Work: The New Approach
The key is designing activities that enhance work rather than interrupt it. Instead of hour-long training sessions, think 30-second instructions that create practice opportunities throughout the day.
For example, rather than a workshop on giving feedback, an employee receives a series of activities to practice better feedback. One activity might be, “Next time you need to address a performance issue with a team member, start by asking them what they think went well before discussing what could improve. Note how this changes the conversation.”
This activity requires less than a minute to understand but creates an authentic practice opportunity that happens naturally in the flow of work. The learning occurs not during the brief instruction but through the actual application that follows.
Measuring Training Effectiveness
Measurement becomes behavior-focused rather than completion-focused. Instead of tracking who finished the module, track observable changes. What are the managers seeing on their teams? Have managers do before and after assessments for their team members who are receiving these training activities. Are employees applying new skills in real situations? Can you relate behaviors to specific business metrics?
The most successful implementations start with specific business problems rather than abstract skills. Choose a measurable challenge—safety incidents, customer complaints, or employee turnover—then design activities that address the behaviors contributing to that problem.
The Competitive Advantage
Organizations that figure out how to scale on-the-job learning gain a significant advantage, achieving significantly higher income per employee and higher profit margins than those relying primarily on traditional approaches.
The 70:20:10 framework gets criticized for its neat percentages, but it points to the biggest opportunity in workplace learning. The question isn’t whether the numbers are exactly right. The question is whether you’ll continue investing primarily in the 10% or start building capability in the 70%.
Stop fighting the framework. Start solving the implementation challenge. The organizations that crack this first will have employees who actually retain what they learn, apply new skills consistently, and drive measurable business results through continuous development.
The technology exists. The measurement methods are proven. The only question is how quickly you’ll shift your learning investments to where learning actually happens.
Image credit: Weedezign
