Imagine this: you spent two weeks preparing a training for your employees — beautiful slides, vivid examples, a skilled trainer, everyone listened and asked questions. And a month later it's as if it never happened.
This is not the trainer's fault and not the employees' laziness. This is how memory works. And the good news: you can work with it.
the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve: the answer has been known since 1885
In 1885 Hermann Ebbinghaus ran a series of experiments on himself: he memorized meaningless syllables and then checked how much faster he could learn them again. He called this difference savings: the smaller it is, the more has been forgotten.
According to Ebbinghaus's data, the savings on relearning dropped to about 44% after an hour, to 33% after a day and to 21% after a month.
In the first day, most of what was learned is lost without repetition. This pattern holds regardless of how smart or motivated your employee is. The problem is not the people — the problem is how most corporate training programs are built.
how the brain decides what to remember
When we receive new information, the hippocampus temporarily “stores” it. But to move into long-term memory it needs consolidation: neural connections must strengthen through repeated return to the information. If we don't come back to the material, the connections weaken. The brain literally “decides” that this information isn't needed and frees up resources.
five scientific methods that work
1. spaced repetition
It is better to repeat material several times at increasing intervals than to cram it in one sitting. Instead of a four-hour training: day 1 — a basic 30-minute module, day 3 — a 10-minute review of the key points, day 7 — a mini-quiz with a walkthrough, day 21 — a practical case. The study by Cepeda et al. (2008) showed that spaced repetition noticeably improves long-term retention.
2. testing as learning
Most companies use tests as a tool for checking. But the very process of recalling strengthens memory — regardless of the test result. In the study by Roediger and Karpicke (2006), students either took a test after reading a text or reread it. A week later the group that took the test recalled 56% of the material, and the group that reread — 42%.
3. active learning versus passive consumption
A lecture or a video is a passive format. The more an employee does with the material, the better they remember it. For a service business this means: walking through real situations, role-playing with a client, practice on the shift.
4. emotional context and stories
Information linked to emotion is remembered better. That's why stories are remembered better than bare facts. Build real stories from the locations' practice into the training — with specific people and consequences.
5. gamification and the dopamine system
When we complete a task and get a reward — even a virtual badge or points — the brain releases dopamine. This neurotransmitter not only creates a feeling of pleasure but also signals to the brain: “this is important, remember this path”. Duolingo, for example, is built on this principle.
Gamification works only when the reward is tied to real progress, rather than handed out for the person simply logging in to the platform. More in the article on when badges and leaderboards help learning and when they don't.
how it works in LMS.Knopka
A course is split into lessons, with quizzes after the lessons and a final certification with a certificate with QR verification at the end. For repetition there is a knowledge base, and the leaderboard shows the team's progress. So everything discussed above is gathered in one place: short portions of material, recall through quizzes and visible progress. More on the page courses, quizzes and certification in LMS.Knopka.
A separate question is how to make sure the knowledge holds a month after the certification. We covered it in the article how to check that someone remembers, not that they passed a test once.
what to put in place right now
- Break any training into parts — no more than 20–30 minutes per session.
- Add repetition after a day, after a week and after a month from the first study.
- Replace part of the material with quizzes — let employees recall rather than just read.
- Add real stories — from your own business, with specific details.
- Make progress visible — even a simple “60% of the course completed” mark works.
Sources: Ebbinghaus (1885); Cepeda et al. (2008), Psychological Science; Roediger & Karpicke (2006), Psychological Science.
frequently asked questions
what is the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve?
It is the dependence of how much of what was learned is retained on the time without repetition. Ebbinghaus measured it by the savings on relearning: after an hour it dropped to about 44%, after a day to 33%, after a month to 21%.
is it true that 70% of training is forgotten in a day?
Ebbinghaus's figures can't be read that way: 33% after a day is the savings on relearning, not the share of what a person remembers. The correct conclusion is that without repetition most of what was learned is gone within the first day.
what is better for memory: rereading or taking a test?
Taking a test. In the study by Roediger and Karpicke (2006), a week later the group that took a test recalled 56% of the material, and the group that reread — 42%.
how often should material be repeated after training?
At increasing intervals: for example, after a day, after a week and after a month from the first study. Spaced repetition noticeably improves long-term retention.
how are these principles built into LMS.Knopka?
A course is split into lessons, with quizzes after the lessons and a final certification and a certificate with QR verification at the end. For repetition there is a knowledge base, and progress is visible in the leaderboard.
