L&D teams are asking the same thing we all are...
Where are we headed in 2025. And is our learning actually sticking?
What the First Half of 2025 Taught Us—and How H2 Is Shaping Up
As we cross the midpoint of 2025, one theme is clear: L&D leaders are moving beyond one-off workshops and beginning to embed learning into daily work, leadership routines, and even Slack threads. The goal? Not just attendance, but adoption.
Even the best session can fade fast. Within a week, people forget up to 70% of what they’ve learned. That’s not a failure of content, it’s a gap in reinforcement.
H1 Trends Observed
Growing focus on visible, credible leadership in hybrid environments
More interest in AI-Personalised learning paths
Shift toward real-world behaviour change over passive content
L&D Direction in H2: Learning That Lasts
As 2025 picks up pace, a powerful shift is underway in L&D—from traditional training to sustained transformation.
1. From “What We Teach” to “How It’s Reinforced”
L&D leaders are recognising that transformation doesn’t happen in the session, it happens in the days and weeks after.
The question isn’t just “What should we teach?” but “How can we ensure this becomes part of someone’s leadership style or workflow?”
The famous Forgetting Curve, first described by Hermann Ebbinghaus in 1885, shows memory loss occurs rapidly if not actively retained, often over 50% in the first 24 hours, and up to 70% by week’s end.
“If we don’t reinforce learning, it decays—fast. Within a week, most of what’s been taught can be forgotten unless we intentionally help learners revisit and apply it.”
— Forgetting Curve principle (Ebbinghaus)In response, forward-thinking organisations are:
Launching structured post-session journeys that include reflection prompts, challenges, and discussion forums
Embedding learning checkpoints into leadership routines (e.g., team meetings or coaching sessions)
Using behavioural nudges like short reminders or reflection cues to activate learning moments in real time
Recent data from the Corporate Research Forum (CRF, May 2025) confirms that programmes with reinforcement phases see 40–60% higher retention and application rates than standalone sessions.
2. Performance Nudges, Micro-Coaching & Analytics-Driven ROI
L&D teams are getting smarter and braver with data.
Organisations are integrating:
Moment-of-need nudges (text/email) aligned to workflow milestones
Micro-coaching frameworks delivered via mobile apps or embedded into leadership 1:1s
Behavioural analytics that track change over time, by team or geography
A recent MIT Sloan report (May 2025) highlighted that companies using behavioural tracking and micro-coaching showed 24% higher alignment between training goals and business results.
“ “L&D must move from content delivery to capability impact”.”
These aren’t trends, they are necessities. In the words of a Harvard Business Review article last April 2025, “L&D must move from content delivery to capability impact”. That means measuring actual behaviour change, team performance improvements, and retention metrics, not just likes or smile sheets.
3. Learning in Rhythm with Work
Training needs to move with the pulse of the organisation. The most effective programmes in H1 were:
Aligned with business calendars (e.g., sales reviews, product launches)
Timed to leadership transitions or reorgs
Delivered in formats suited for attention-challenged, screen-fatigued professionals
H2 is set to prioritise learning integration: embedding prompts into team rituals, leadership check-ins, and decision-making moments.
Building Reinforcement into the Culture
What L&D Can Take Forward: Making Learning Stick
The most impactful organisations are no longer treating reinforcement as an afterthought. They’re making it part of the learning design:
Post-Training Toolkits: Interactive tools like SmartScroll™ help turn key takeaways into usable actions long after the workshop ends.
Workflow Timing: Reinforcement is embedded into team check-ins, leadership meetings, and decision points—seamlessly aligned to how people work.
Behavioural Insight: SmartScroll™ and similar tools help L&D teams track what’s resonating, what’s being applied, and where additional support is needed.
Micro-Reinforcement Matters: It's not about mobile apps—it’s about timing, relevance, and ease of access.
Reflection + Action = Capability: Light-touch coaching prompts and reflection points help build behaviour change, not just memory.
SmartScroll™: Reinforcement Engine for Your 2H Strategy
Learning Shouldn’t End When the Coffee Runs Out. You know the question we get asked after nearly every workshop? “This was great but how do we make sure people actually remember it next week?”
And fair enough studies show that within 7 days, people forget up to 70% of what they’ve
learned. It’s not that people don’t want to remember it’s that life, emails, meetings, and group chats about “urgent-but-not-urgent” things get in the way.
As a training service company, our work is about people and helping them refine their human skills so they can be more effective at work. While we’re pretty good at delivering workshops that resonate, we know lasting change takes more than a clever activity and a good lunch.
So, when our clients asked for a way to make the learning stick, we rolled up our sleeves and built one.
Simitri SmartScroll™ is tailor-made for these trends:
Reflection prompts, post-training and on demand
Multimedia and context-rich, aligned to leadership and performance goals
Engagement analytics that show ROI on behaviour
By blending spacing, micro-coaching, and workplace timing, it helps leaders not just learn—but lead.
📥 [Book Your 1:1 Demo] – Discover how SmartScroll™ empowers H2 performance in exactly the ways L&D requires.
Ready to Reinforce?
At Simitri, we believe lasting learning doesn’t just happen in the room. It happens in the rhythm of real work. That’s why our programmes are designed with reinforcement in mind. With tools like SmartScroll™, we help learners reflect, apply, and grow long after the workshop ends.
Because in 2025, the question isn’t just what people learn—it’s what they remember and use.