How Careworks hit 87% training completion rates with SMS Microlessons
A COVID-era breakthrough that reshaped employee training forever
Executive Summary
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Careworks Health Services faced an urgent challenge: train 75+ field-based caregivers in COVID-safe protocols—fast. The caregivers typically took online courses or attended in-person training. Both were labor-intensive and expensive, requiring the office staff to call caregivers daily, nagging them to either start or complete their online modules.
Those who didn't own a laptop or struggled with logins or tech had to come into the office. Additionally, in-person training meant paying additional wages and coordinating the schedules of both caregivers and trainer.
Due to social distancing and mask rules, all training ha
Moving everything online was the only choice. But buying laptops, training employees to use them, and keeping up with constant reminders and password resets would be a costly and never-ending task. Plus, they had to manage ever-changing protocols for exposure and testing.
A colleague mentioned a company that trained employees using text messages. This was a game-changer because employees were already used to communicating this way with the company.
This experiment transformed everything.
CareWorks Health Services informed employees via text that COVID-19 safety training would be delivered through SMS. Employees simply needed to read and answer the quizzes. That was all HR had to do. The results were incredible.
Normally, online training had a 0% completion rate. But with daily bite-sized lessons and quizzes sent by text, the company achieved an 87% completion rate in just one week. No reminders. No fuss. Just results.
This case explores how a simple delivery shift—text-first learning—triggered high engagement, rapid knowledge transfer, and was easy to complete on devices employees used daily.
The success inspired CareWorks Health Services to develop Brasstacks LMS, a platform designed to seamlessly integrate training into employees' lives, anytime and anywhere.
🏥 The Challenge
Careworks Health Services' caregivers work entirely in the field, with no time or tech access for traditional online training or in person.
Careworks Health Services employs over 75 caregivers—most working in the field without access to computers or time for traditional training. When COVID-19 hit, the need for urgent, mandatory training on handwashing, masking, and distancing became critical.
But conventional training wouldn't work.
❌ Caregivers work in varied locations in client's homes
❌ Caregivers lacked time or internet access
❌ Follow-up was a constant cycle of reminders, nudging, and rescheduling.
✔️The team needed a solution that didn’t add friction to already demanding workdays.
The Innovation
In early 2020, a company emerged offering a novel concept: daily COVID safety lessons delivered by text message. Each lesson was a short burst of content, followed by a quiz. Over the course of five days, participants could complete their full training—one text at a time.
The deployment was equally simple:
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A single mass SMS was sent to 75 caregivers.
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It informed them they’d begin receiving COVID -19 safety lessons by text. Read them, answer the quizzes each day.
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No app download. No follow-up reminders. No tech support.
Caregivers could respond to each lesson and quiz, directly on their phones, anytime, anywhere.
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The Unexpected Breakthrough
A simple switch to daily SMS micro lessons resulted in:
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Employees received 1 short lesson + quiz per day for 5 days.
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No logins. No apps. No nagging.
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Just one mass text to kick it off—and the results spoke for themselves.
Why it Worked
It made training effortless, fast, and unavoidable.
SMS Delivery
Texting is second nature—no learning curve.
<5 Minutes per day
One simple action
No login required
Reduced friction—no forgotten passwords or tech issues.
🚫 No chasing
Lessons were self-running, no HR reminding required.
🧠 Retention-first
Scalable
Enrollment was easy— add one employee or hundreds.
Automated Scheduling
Ability to pick the exact days and times employees would be working.
Multi-Generational
Field workforce friendly
Lessons could be done anywhere.
The Results: Rapid Training. Real Retention. Zero Follow-Up.
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100% of caregivers started the training — every single one engaged from the first SMS without resistance.
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87% completed all daily lessons and quizzes within just five days — with zero follow-up calls, emails, or reminders needed.
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Caregivers felt genuinely supported by the company, recognizing that the microlessons delivered essential, lifesaving knowledge at exactly the right time.
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No caregivers contracted COVID-19 on the job during the period following the training rollout.
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No clients were infected due to caregiver actions — a direct result of caregivers retaining and applying the COVID-19 protocols learned through the microlessons.
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Administrative staff were freed up to focus on the fast-changing public health requirements instead of wasting hours chasing down incomplete trainings, fielding login issues, or managing excuses.
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No additional wages or overtime had to be paid for training completion — saving Careworks thousands of dollars in administrative and training labor costs.
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Employee stress was significantly reduced, both among aides and office staff, knowing that lessons were auto-delivered, easy to complete, and always moving forward without manual intervention.
By making training fit naturally into caregivers' routines instead of forcing them to use awkward systems, Careworks not only kept its team and clients safe but also boosted its ability to handle challenges during a chaotic time in healthcare.
Caregiver Training Engagement
Caregivers Enrolled: 75
Opened the Lessons: 71
Completed All Lessons: 65
Completion Rate
Days Total
Reminders Needed
“After 10 years of struggling to get people to complete training, this simple SMS solution got 87% through in five days—with no reminders.”
