Learning in the Flow of Work: Why Training That Interrupts Fails
A new employee is handling his first customer complaint on his own. He has a rough idea of what to do — but right now, in this exact moment, a 3-minute walkthrough of "how we handle complaints" would be worth its weight in gold.
Instead, he opens the learning platform. Finds the relevant course. Sees it runs 90 minutes. Closes the tab and asks a colleague.
That's the problem learning in the flow of work is designed to solve.
#Josh Bersin's concept
Analyst Josh Bersin coined the term in 2018 after observing a paradox: companies were investing more in L&D and seeing less impact. His diagnosis: learning works best when it's embedded directly in the work context. Not beside it. Not after it. Inside it.
The concept rests on a simple observation: the average employee has roughly 24 minutes per week for formal learning, according to Bersin's research. Not hours — minutes. Anyone insisting that learning happens in 2-hour blocks is demanding something the day doesn't allow.
Learning in the flow of work doesn't mean the end of formal training. It means learning is available where work happens — not only in a separate learning environment.
#The five moments of need
Bob Mosher and Conrad Gottfredson gave the concept more structure with their 5 Moments of Need framework. People learn when:
- Something is new (learning for the first time)
- Something requires more (going deeper)
- Something must be applied (at the moment of action)
- Something goes wrong (fixing a problem)
- Something changes (new processes, new tools)
Formal training handles the first two moments reasonably well. The other three happen in daily work — and that's exactly where most L&D strategies fall short.
#Why traditional training misses these moments
When an employee makes a mistake or runs into a new problem, they don't have time to start a course. They need an answer in two minutes.
Traditional e-learning courses aren't built for that. They're designed for structured progression through content — not rapid access to a specific piece of information in the right moment.
That's not a flaw in the courses. It's a format mismatch.
#What learning in the flow of work looks like in practice
Different organizations implement this very differently. Some approaches that actually work:
#Short reference content alongside longer courses
In addition to formal modules, create short "performance support" assets: a 2-minute walkthrough, a checklist, an FAQ document. Not for learning — for looking things up when you need them.
#Integration into existing tools
When the LMS integrates with Microsoft Teams, Slack, or the intranet, employees can find content without leaving their work context. Search for "complaint process" directly in a chat tool — not in a separate app.
#Context-sensitive recommendations
Modern LMS platforms can surface learning recommendations based on the employee's current role or task. Someone just promoted to team lead gets relevant leadership modules suggested — at the right moment, not randomly.
#Microlearning as the bridge
Microlearning units of 3–7 minutes are fast enough for in-between moments and structured enough to build real knowledge. They're the link between formal training and quick reference lookup.
The first step doesn't have to be a major technology project. Start by creating short reference documents or videos for your most critical internal processes — and make them easy to find.
#What this means for your L&D strategy
Learning in the flow of work changes the question L&D is trying to answer. Not just: "How do we build good courses?" But: "How do we make sure employees can access the right information exactly when they need it?"
That requires rethinking two things:
Content strategy: Alongside long courses, you need short, searchable reference assets. Not for every topic — but for the processes where mistakes happen and where looking things up is frequent.
Technology: Your LMS needs to be searchable and filterable. Employees should find what they're looking for in seconds — not minutes. And ideally without an extra login, extra app, or extra click.
#What it doesn't mean
For completeness: learning in the flow of work doesn't make formal training obsolete. Building new skills, compliance training with documentation, complex topics — all of these still need structured courses with dedicated time and focus.
It's not either-or. It's about having the right format for each situation.