From Once-and-Done eLearning to Microlearning in the Flow of Care

The Partner

A South Australian provider focused on practical workforce capability

Alwyndor is a South Australian provider delivering residential aged care, support at home, therapy and wellbeing services.

With a workforce spread across residential care, community care and corporate services, the organisation needed a learning approach that reflected the operational realities of aged care — not simply another compliance-driven training system.

Like many providers, Alwyndor had historically relied on traditional “once-and-done” eLearning modules delivered through a conventional Learning Management System.

Over time, however, the organisation began questioning whether the model was truly supporting competence, retention and quality care outcomes.

The Industry Challenge

Why traditional eLearning no longer fits frontline aged care

Across the aged care sector, workforce learning is often constrained by the realities of delivering care:

For Alwyndor, these challenges were becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

“Anything above 15 minutes is quite unrealistic given that delivering care is our top priority.” — Sharyn Osborn, Senior Manager

The organisation identified three major friction points with traditional eLearning delivery:

The Time Debt

Finding uninterrupted time for long-form eLearning was increasingly unrealistic for frontline workers.

The Financial Burden

Staff frequently needed to complete learning outside paid shifts, creating additional labour costs.

The Forgetting Curve

High-volume annual learning events resulted in low long-term knowledge retention.

Why Many Providers Remain Stuck in Legacy eLearning

Alwyndor believes many aged care providers remain reliant on traditional eLearning because the model has become deeply embedded across the sector.

“The old accepted way of eLearning is ingrained in the industry.” — Sharyn Osborn, Senior Manager

Like many organisations, providers often continue using traditional models because:

• existing LMS investments already exist

• compliance reporting is familiar

• implementation change feels risky

• learning teams are resource constrained

• “completion” is often mistaken for “competence”

However, Alwyndor questioned whether the traditional model was still the most operationally sustainable way to build workforce capability.

The Shift

Why Alwyndor chose Forget Me Not®

After evaluating alternative approaches, Alwyndor selected the Forget Me Not® platform with its companion aged care microlearning library because it aligned with how frontline staff actually work.

Key reasons included:

Evidence-Based Learning Design

Forget Me Not® uses proven learning science principles including:

• the spacing effect

• retrieval practice

• repeated reinforcement

• short-form microlearning

This provided staff with ongoing practice opportunities rather than one-off training events.

Learning in the Flow of Care

The mobile-first design allowed staff to complete learning in natural gaps during the day rather than stepping away from residents or clients for extended periods.

Support at Home workers regularly completed learning:

• during cancellation windows

• between client visits

• during short operational gaps

“Because it’s so easy, they just get on and do it when they want.” — Zoe, Alwyndor

Tailored Learning Experiences

Rather than relying solely on generic off-the-shelf microlearning content, Alwyndor progressively began tailoring learning using:

• internal policies

• Alwyndor system names

• organisational terminology

• specific operational scenarios

This significantly improved relevance and engagement.

The Implementation Strategy

A carefully managed organisational change process

One of the most important aspects of Alwyndor’s rollout was its implementation strategy.

Rather than launching organisation-wide immediately, Alwyndor adopted a phased “test and learn” approach.

Implementation Journey

Change Champions Drove Adoption

Alwyndor established a Learning & Development Advisory Group with representatives from:

• residential care

• Support at Home

• corporate teams

• operational leadership

The group:

• reviewed learning pathways

• provided implementation feedback

• identified operational barriers

• acted as internal advocates for the rollout

“It was a cultural piece of changing the narrative around what learning is.” — Zoe, Alwyndor

From Compliance to Continuous Capability

Over time, learning shifted from being viewed as a compliance obligation to becoming part of everyday operational practice.

Rather than overwhelming staff with large training volumes, Alwyndor intentionally released learning in 3 to 5 minute bursts.

This reduced learning fatigue and improved engagement.

“It’s now just become business as usual.” — Zoe, Alwyndor

Early Outcomes and Operational Impact

While the organisation continues to evolve its learning strategy, several outcomes have already emerged.

Reduced Medication Incidents

Following the rollout of tailored medication management microlearning, Alwyndor observed a reduction in medication-related incidents within community nursing.

Importantly, the learning was customised specifically to Alwyndor’s own systems and workflows.

Improved Readiness for the Strengthened Quality Standards

Alwyndor used Forget Me Not® to reinforce learning on the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards over an extended period rather than relying on single-event awareness training.

This created:

• broader organisational awareness

• earlier workforce readiness

• stronger reinforcement of person-centred care expectations

“Everyone was aware of the standards.” — Sharyn Osborn, Senior Manager

No Additional Headcount Required

Despite introducing an entirely new learning methodology, Alwyndor did not need to increase L&D staffing.

Instead, the organisation improved capability through:

• automation

• smarter workflows

• manager visibility

• operational integration

“We have not had to increase headcount. It’s just working differently.” — Sharyn Osborn, Senior Manager

Looking Ahead

From learning delivery to workforce capability intelligence

Alwyndor is now exploring the next phase of workforce capability development using:

• manager coaching dashboards

• competency assessments in the flow of care

• targeted learning interventions

• leadership development pathways

• observational competency assessments

The organisation sees future opportunity not only in compliance learning, but also in:

• leadership capability

• performance management

• workforce development

• coaching conversations

• operational quality improvement

What Alwyndor Learned

1. Learning design matters as much as content

Short, reinforced learning proved more practical than long-form eLearning.

2. Implementation determines success

Strong change management and internal champions were critical.

3. Staff embrace learning when it respects operational realities

Frontline workers responded positively when learning became flexible and accessible.

4. Compliance does not equal competence

Completion data alone does not demonstrate workforce capability.

5. Learning can happen in the flow of care

Microlearning enabled capability building without significantly disrupting care delivery.

A New Model for Workforce Capability in Aged Care

Alwyndor’s experience demonstrates that microlearning and spaced repetition is not simply a new content format.

It represents a more operationally sustainable model for workforce capability — one designed around the realities of frontline aged care rather than traditional training assumptions.

For Alwyndor, the shift to Forget Me Not® has helped move learning:

• from episodic to continuous

• from compliance-focused to capability-focused

• from disruptive to operationally integrated

• from generic to organisation-specific

Most importantly, it has created a learning model that better supports both workforce capability and quality care outcomes.