Organizations have spent years trying to make learning more accessible.
And by most traditional measures, they’ve succeeded—LMS adoption is high, content libraries are full, and micro-learning is everywhere.
But despite all of that, behavior change remains elusive.
Employees still struggle to apply what they’ve learned.
Leaders still default to old habits in moments that matter most.
And learning professionals are left asking: Why isn’t any of this sticking?
This is the core tension behind Just-in-Time (JIT) learning. Originally developed as a way to deliver information in the moment of need, it promised a better way to support learners—less waste, more relevance, stronger application.
But the way JIT learning has been implemented hasn’t kept up with the complexity of work today. In many cases, it’s still just a content delivery model with a new name.
To understand what needs to change, it helps to look at where the model came from—and why it no longer meets the demands of modern teams.
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The Origins Of Instructional Design
Formal instructional design emerged alongside the information revolution. IBM announced its first mass-produced computer—the IBM 650—in 1953. Just a few years later, Bloom’s Taxonomies of Educational Objectives laid the groundwork for structured learning models.
Both learning and technology took another leap in the 1990s with the rise of the Internet and the introduction of e-learning at scale.
This was also the era when the concept of “Just-in-Time” learning took hold. Writing for Chief Learning Officer, Bob Mosher—who, alongside Con Gottfredson, developed the influential “5 Moments of Need” model—later expressed some regret about how the idea was embraced:
From the learning community’s perspective, JIT was strictly a time issue; basically time saved on not attending class. It was about availability. But to our learners JIT meant something else. Say JIT to learners and they take it to a whole new level. For them it doesn’t just stop at availability. That’s the easy part. For them it’s an issue of context as well.
The material presented needs to be just the right amount of information about just the right topic to help them solve or learn something right in front of them at the right time. Try running that through your LMS and e-learning library. Few hold up to that promise and level of effectiveness. – [1]
Even in its early days, the gap between content availability and contextual relevance was clear. Learners weren’t just asking for faster access—they were asking for support in the moment they needed to act. And that’s where most systems, then and now, continue to fall short.
Make Your Just In Time Learning More Impactful
Why Just-in-Time Learning Needs to Be More Than Content Availability
Of the 5 Moments of Need — the learning framework introduced by Bob Mosher and Con Gottfredson — the first two, Learn New and Learn More, are considered good matches for traditional learning approaches like classrooms and content [2].
The remaining moments are more fragile. When someone needs to put their learning into practice (Apply), solve an unexpected problem (Solve), or internalize a new way of doing things (Change), most people won’t turn to a learning management system… Each of these three Moments of Need requires advanced L&D strategies that go beyond content libraries.
Moment 3: Help Learners Apply Classroom Learning
What is it?
According to the Harvard Business Review, after receiving training from L&D, only 12% of employees use new learnings in their jobs [3]. The infamous “Forgetting Curve” suggests that by the time an employee walks out of a classroom, across campus, and to their desk, they will have lost 42% of the information they received.
Go to lunch?
By the time they return, the information loss grows to 56%. By the next day, the typical employee only retains about a third of their training. [3] This is why the Apply moment is so challenging, and why the Just-in-Time concept is so attractive.
What does good look like?
A really good strategy for Apply would enable employees to learn in the flow of work, based on their real, experienced context, and these learnings would be personalized to each learner.
What does the market look like?
A look at current offerings shows that most platforms that claim “Just-in-Time” are an evolved version of the eLearning strategy from the 90s. Yes, it is excellent to have courses available, and the switch to micro-learning formats may help employees digest more focused content. Sometimes these platforms offer integrations, but rarely so that employees can actually engage with learning in the tools they use every day.
Personalization looks more like red sauce offerings at the grocery — you can pick Chunky, Sage, or Meat Sauce. In fact, in many cases, these personalizations are simply a learning track, each for Individual Contributors vs. Managers.
What Needs to Happen Instead
Co-founder Kirsten Moorefield has repeatedly told the Cloverleaf product team, I don’t want users to spend time on the platform, I want them to get insights inside the tools they use every day. L&D Practitioners find that when they invest in human skill training for employees, Cloverleaf helps conquer the Forgetting Curve by providing true Just-in-Time learning in Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Email.
As a team of one supporting 2,000 employees, Cloverleaf’s coaching tools have empowered our leaders to develop their teams without constant hand-holding. It’s scalable, personalized, and impactful. — Dr. Erin Meyers
Cloverleaf learnings actually matter to employees because
- They are short and impactful (driven by more than 7 years of internal refinement),
- They are context-aware (Cloverleaf’s algorithms sync with users’ calendars and activity to deliver coaching on the most relevant teammates each day), and
- They are personalized with the most individualized model of human personality available (Cloverleaf’s support across more than 12 industry-leading assessments enables unmatched depth of understanding).
As a result, learning doesn’t just get delivered—it gets used.
Cloverleaf helps turn new knowledge into daily action, accelerating leadership growth and reducing skill decay across the organization.
Moment 4: Help Learners Solve New Problems
What is it?
The original Just-in-Time marketing simply meant having content available whenever a learner wanted to access it. In theory, by hosting the right Just-in-Case content, companies could help learners solve new issues they encountered. The problem?
If you build it, they will come. Or will they? Don’t count on it. — Association for Talent Development [4]
The “Solve” moment is all about what happens when things break. L&D tools face two barriers in these moments:
- The employee needs a trigger to reach for support, and
- Stressed employees are likely to reject, or simply fail to recognize, learnings that don’t seem relevant to themselves and their context.
What does good look like?
The best solutions for the Solve moment will be available in employee tools to be encountered when difficult moments arise, will be able to provide useful learnings that clearly apply to the problem in question (context-aware), and should be personalized enough to resonate with a learner who may be feeling vulnerable (personalized).
What does the market look like?
Current offerings that can respond to the “solve” moment tend to look like content libraries or AI chatbots. Content libraries get in trouble on both fronts — they must be sought-out, so they aren’t, and they are never personalized enough to seem relevant in crisis.
Chatbots tend to be offered more in the flow of work, and would seem to be flexible enough to provide some context-awareness and personalization. The trouble with the current state of chatbots is that these qualities, and the learning they would seek to provide, are quite shallow.
L&D leaders cannot be certain what advice or models chatbots will offer up, and so cannot integrate this strategy with a broader organizational culture. The advice chatbots provide also may not resonate with users or be applicable to others who are involved because these bots have no awareness of personality.
What Needs to Happen Instead
Cloverleaf tries to be present in the tools users use each day, and therefore be available as a trigger in a moment of crisis. Daily Coaching considers users’ meetings, teams, and activity to provide a coaching tip each day on the teammate they are most likely to need coaching on.
Cloverleaf doubled our staff integration success. The tool bridges gaps in teamwork and collaboration, helping employees connect, grow, and perform better as a cohesive unit. — Kevin Mills, INSP
Quickly accessible from Microsoft Teams, Slack, Email, or Workday, Cloverleaf’s Insight Search feature enables users to ask a question in natural language, about themselves or a teammate, and get a highly-relevant, personalized insight to help them Solve their specific issue.
This means employees aren’t left guessing in moments of tension—and HR teams don’t have to step in every time something breaks.
Cloverleaf turns everyday friction into teachable moments—without interrupting the flow of work.
Moment 5: Help Learners Change, Break Habits, and Grow
What is it?
Today, more than ever, organizations face massive change from large economic forces, layoffs, and technology disruption. The fifth moment is about Change — once employees have deeply ingrained a particular view of the world or way of doing things, how can they break habits and learn a new way to do and see things?
Renowned business writer Tom Peters wrote an entire book called “Thriving on Chaos” with the thesis that embracing change is the number 1 challenge of modern business — but the businesses that succeed will learn to be excellent at it [5].
The nature of the “Change” moment is a steep challenge — breaking habits — at a time when resources are likely to be limited.
What does good look like?
Great solutions for the Change moment must provide consistent, affirming nudges in the flow of work, but also scale without requiring more staff time from strained L&D functions.
What does the market look like?
L&D functions provide critical support during organizational change, including by providing traditional offers to help employees learn the new lay of the land, but also by signaling continued investment and helping to close any new skills gaps.
Current L&D platforms tend to address “change” through these lenses — supporting content and addressing skill gaps. Frankly, there are few “Just-in-Time” offerings addressing this learner Moment of Need outside of the general 90s eLearning model.
What Needs to Happen Instead
Change management is a super power for Cloverleaf. During times of change, employees need to feel seen, which Cloverleaf regularly provides when delivering “spot on” tips and insights in Daily Coaching, in a true Just-in-Time fashion.
During periods like this, dealing with new teams becomes a first-order concern, and Cloverleaf is an excellent platform for new managers and teams to quickly move through Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development (forming, storming, norming, performing) [6].
1️⃣ First, alongside self tips, Cloverleaf’s Daily Coaching will provide daily insights into teammate personalities, with more tips provided for teammates based on reporting teams, project teams, and meetings.
2️⃣ Second, Cloverleaf provides personality insights on a team-wide basis. On a fresh team or even a single meeting, Cloverleaf can quickly spin up a dashboard showing each individual’s personality and providing recommendations and insights.
3️⃣ Third, Cloverleaf offers features specifically focused on team growth and formation, like Conversation Cards and Activities.
In times of transition, most tools focus on skills. Cloverleaf focuses on connection—helping new teams build trust faster, navigate uncertainty together, and sustain momentum even as conditions change.
It doesn’t just support change—it helps people lead through it.
Fulfilling the Promise of Just-in-Time by Meeting Learners in Their Moments of Need
While “Just-in-Time” began as a marketing term for freely-accessible content libraries, it has become an ideal that L&D professionals strive for. Mosher and Gottfredson’s 5 Moments of Need provides a model to understand the specific circumstances when Just-in-Time matters most.
When analyzed against each Moment of Need, current “Just-in-Time” solutions tend to fall short in many ways — the typical case being a content library that has adopted the micro-learning format and offers an integration or two without truly offering learning in the flow of work.
Cloverleaf’s platform has been developed for more than 7 years chasing an ideal of meeting learners with human skills and relation-based insights in their flow of work. Personalization is core to Cloverleaf’s strategies, and no other provider can match the deep, multi-faceted model of personality that Cloverleaf has. Cloverleaf’s impactful integration suite and quickly evolving AI platform power increasingly context-aware automated coaching that can meet learners in their moments of need to support and scale the best Learning and Development organizations on the planet.
