The Learning Curve in Corporate Training: Meaning and Types

In the context of corporate training, applying it boosts growth strategy and makes training programs highly adaptable.

While the general trajectory of learning may seem straightforward, that is not the case in practice. Its progression depends on a wide range of individual, social, and organizational factors. Thus, learning curves for different training areas or products and services will look and behave differently.

Keep reading to find out more about the various intricacies of organizational learning curves.

Its Origins and Definition

Arthur Bills introduced the learning curve in his 1930s book “General Experimental Psychology.” This curve, thus, arose from a large body of past experimental research on learning and memory, including the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve.

Bills proposed that learning could be studied by measuring a learner’s progressive improvement on a specific criterion of efficiency. Accordingly, he described it as “a graphical device for picturing the rate of improvement in terms of a given criterion of efficiency, as a result of practice.”

In Bills’ definition, a criterion of efficiency is simply the performance of a behavior that indicates new learning has occurred.

Thus, he said, it represents the correlation between effort (practice) and achievement (rate of improvement). The phrase “practice makes perfect” expresses the essence of this model flawlessly.

The Learning Curve in the Context of Organizational Learning

For a business, it is the change in an employee’s productivity or output over time. As an employee’s experience grows, the time it takes for them to produce one unit of output decreases and eventually reaches a stable plateau. This method of measurement is also known as the Direct Labor Hours Model and was proposed by Adler and Clarks as a business-specific extension of Bills’ learning curve.

The output usually appears on the Y-axis and time on the X-axis. This kind of curve starts close to the Y-axis and slopes upwards. Bills described such curves as “acquisitive curves.”

In cases where the Direct Labor Hours Model is not applicable, calculating the decrease in an undesirable variable such as errors per unit over a specified time period might be useful. Such curves are “eliminative curves” and slope downwards. Here, the Y-axis will represent the number of errors, and the X-axis will stay the same.

No matter the approach taken, constructing it will always require the following three variables:

• A way to measure the output or its quality (batches, spell-checks, well-defined quality control protocols, client satisfaction surveys, number of sales, etc.)
• A defined unit of labor cost (such as time, money, calls, trials, and more)
• A fixed time or productivity target (e.g., 6 months, 150 units, 200 sales, and so on)

Why Do Organizations Need it?

All businesses have one overarching goal – increasing profits. There are many ways to do so, but the most vital ones are linked to producing goods and services. The primary method of increasing profits is to decrease the time, money, or effort taken to make a single unit of output, so there is more of it to offer in the market. An organization cannot do much without a competent workforce in this whole process. Thus, it help firms to measure two things:

• How well their employees are performing
• How relevant their training programs are

If the learning curve is not functioning as expected, the organization can adjust its learning and development strategy accordingly.

Additionally, having an idea of past learning curves helps a company to:

• Plan for future projects
• Allocate budgets and other resources
• Develop internal protocols and standards
• Set price ranges for new products and services

Types of Learning Curves

There are four types of that indicate different things.

1. Diminishing-Returns Learning Curve

Such a curve is seen when the new learning is simple with little room for further growth once done. The performance gains are rapid in the beginning, peak quickly, and then start decreasing gradually from there.

2. Increasing-Returns Learning Curve

This curve is concave in the beginning, representing a slow progression. However, it rises as the learner starts developing higher proficiency with time. Complex skill sets have such curves.

3. The S-Curve/Sigmoid Curve

Simply put, this is the “increasing-decreasing returns curve”. The curve starts off concave, indicating a slow improvement in performance and skill acquisition. After a point, though, it becomes convex, showing an increase in the time they take to perform a task. Finally, the curve plateaus once the learner has gained complete mastery. New learners who start from scratch often display such trajectories.

4. The Complex Learning Curve

This curve starts off convex; then there’s a dip in performance, followed by a sudden spike. The plateau in such a curve occurs in the middle when the curve dips.

Use it to Increase Productivity

Coming back to Bills and his book, let us look at two general memory strategies he suggested that organizations can use to balance the learning curves of their employees

1. Memory Span – In memory span, the idea is to introduce chunks of information that learners can memorize in one go. Thus, learning sessions remain focused and precise. Microlearning, one of the most widely used tools in corporate e-learning, is a great example.
2. Sense Avenue – This strategy suggests that learners can process multiple visual contents simultaneously. However, when content has both audio and visual elements, only one piece of information should be presented at any given moment. Multimedia tools are a mainstay of e-learning content, and the general rule of thumb is to use them judiciously. This strategy, thus, condenses the rule even further.

Lastly, according to a Harvard Business Review article, planning learning along an S-curve can greatly benefit organizations. Learning curves have long faced criticism for lack of predictability, and this suggestion bridges that gap. By visualizing organizational learning as an S-shaped curve, companies acknowledge that learning becomes obsolete after a period of relevance. When this occurs, re-training is necessary. However, planning in advance puts the business a step further from its competitors and builds a confident and competent workforce.

Conclusion

Learning curves possess a wealth of data about employees’ performance and can give businesses an edge over competitors. They can also help organizations remain ahead of market trends and make efficient plans for upcoming projects. Companies can get innovative with their L&D endeavors by exploiting its different kinds and the unique benefits and indications each of them offers. This will also create an organization-wide culture of learning.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the four types of learning curves?

The four types are:

• Increasing-returns learning curve
• Diminishing-returns learning curve
• The S-Curve/Sigmoid Curve
• Complex learning curve

What is a learning curve?

It represents the correlation between effort (practice) and achievement (rate of improvement). For a business, the learning curve is the change in an employee’s productivity or output over time.

Who gave the learning curve?

In his 1930s book “General Experimental Psychology,” Arthur Bills introduced the learning curve. This curve, thus, arose from a large body of past experimental research on learning and memory, including the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve.

How can we reduce the learning curve?

Organizations can use strategies like memory span, sense avenue, and s-shaped curve planning to balance out learning curves.