VARK at Work: Training a Team Based on Learning Profiles

Corporate Training Almost Always Misses the Same Thing

A new employee joins your team. You hand them an 80-page manual, seat them through three days of PowerPoint presentations, and ask them to "take notes." A month later, they're still struggling with basic procedures you thought were perfectly clear.

No bad intentions. No lack of intelligence. Just a fundamental mismatch between how the information was delivered and how they naturally learn.

That's the problem the VARK model -- developed by Neil Fleming and Colleen Mills in 1992 -- solves elegantly. VARK stands for Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, Kinesthetic: four distinct learning styles describing how people prefer to receive and process information.

We've known VARK as an educational tool for decades. What this article explores is the often-neglected bridge from education to business: how managers and trainers can use VARK profiles to transform onboarding, meetings, and ongoing training.

If you want to understand the model fundamentals first, the article on VARK learning styles is an excellent starting point. To understand how to adapt your own learning approach, dive into VARK: adapt your learning.

From Campus to Office: How VARK Crosses the Line

Neil Fleming developed VARK in an educational context -- to help teachers and students better align. But subsequent research quickly showed that learning preferences don't disappear when you clip on an employee badge.

A study by Felder and Silverman (1988) on learning styles in engineering showed that adults retain their dominant learning preferences throughout their professional lives. Other adult learning science research (Kolb, Honey & Mumford) confirmed that adults learn better when the format aligns with their preferred style.

The difference between school and business is that school naturally offers format variety (lectures, labs, written work, group projects). Business tends to standardize: in-person or slides, written manual or classroom training. That's exactly where VARK diagnosis adds value.

The 4 VARK Profiles in Professional Context

Visual (V) -- The Reader of Images and Diagrams

The Visual profile learns through diagrams, charts, graphs, mind maps, and spatial representations of information. Note: "visual" doesn't mean photographic images -- it means visually organized representations of information.

In corporate training:

• Works well with: org charts, process maps, visual dashboards, mind maps, flow diagrams
• Struggles with: purely verbal training, long procedural text lists
• Optimal onboarding: give them a visual overview of the organization first, then the details

Signal in meetings: Visual profiles often draw while listening -- diagrams, bubbles, arrows. That's active comprehension, not distraction.

Manager tip: Before an important decision, first present a matrix or diagram showing the options. The Visual person understands structures before details.

Auditory (A) -- The Verbal Thinker

The Auditory profile learns through oral exchange, debate, reformulation, and listening. They absorb better what they hear and say than what they read or see on a diagram.

In corporate training:

• Works well with: group discussions, oral presentations, internal podcasts, debriefing conversations after training
• Struggles with: self-directed reading training, e-learning without audio, dense manuals
• Optimal onboarding: daily verbal debrief with the manager during the first weeks, not just a procedures manual

Signal in meetings: The Auditory profile often thinks "out loud" -- they formulate ideas by saying them, not before. They need space to explore verbally before concluding.

Manager tip: Give them feedback verbally rather than in writing. A 10-minute conversation will serve them better than a 3-page email.

Read/Write (R) -- The Textual Profile

The Read/Write profile learns through text: reading, taking notes, writing summaries, structuring information in writing. This is the profile that takes the most notes in training, rereads their notes in the evening, and prefers a solid written document to any oral presentation.

In corporate training:

• Works well with: detailed documentation, internal wikis, written guides, reports, textual procedures
• Struggles with: purely verbal training, hands-on workshops without written support
• Optimal onboarding: give them a complete wiki on day one, a structured reading plan, and time to digest

Signal in meetings: The R/W profile takes lots of notes. They'll often return to their notes to validate what they retained. They prefer a written record to "we all remember it, no need to write it down."

Manager tip: Send your feedback, decisions, and expectations in writing. They'll process them better than an improvised conversation.

Kinesthetic (K) -- The Learner Through Action

The Kinesthetic profile learns by doing -- through practice, experimentation, real case studies, simulations. They only truly absorb information after experiencing it concretely.

In corporate training:

• Works well with: shadowing (observing someone in real situations), trial-and-error learning, role play, simulations, pilot projects
• Struggles with: long theoretical phases before "touching" the subject, classroom-only training
• Optimal onboarding: rapid immersion in real work, with progressive support. Don't make them "learn the context" for two weeks before giving them a real project.

Signal in meetings: The K profile can seem impatient with long theoretical discussions. They'll always prefer to "try it" rather than "plan more." That's not impulsiveness -- it's their learning mode.

Manager tip: For a new procedure, get them into a real situation as quickly as possible (with a safety net). They'll learn 10 times faster by doing than by reading.

3 Concrete Applications for Managers

Application 1: VARK-Aware Onboarding

Onboarding is the period where the mismatch between learning styles and training formats has the most consequences. A new employee who spends their first two weeks in a format mismatched to their style takes longer to get up to speed, and sometimes leaves before they've had a chance to prove their value.

Adapted onboarding protocol:

First action: have the new employee take the VARK test on their first day (or before they arrive). It takes 5 minutes and gives you a concrete starting point.

Then adapt the first three weeks:

• Week 1 (regardless of tendency): overview of the organization, culture, key processes
• Weeks 2-3: tools and procedures training, adapted to the identified VARK profile

Application 2: Meetings That Work for Everyone

A meeting that works well for a V profile can be exhausting for a K profile -- and vice versa. Here's how to design meetings that activate multiple modalities:

Before the meeting:

• Send a written document (R/W) with the agenda and visual materials (V)
• Share discussion questions in advance so Auditory profiles can "pre-think" out loud

During the meeting:

• Start with a diagram or visual overview (V)
• Allow time for verbal exchanges and questions (A)
• Include a concrete action moment: "now, we decide and assign actions" (K)
• End with a real-time written record (R/W)

The "comprehension checkpoint" technique: Halfway through a dense training or meeting, ask everyone to reformulate what they've retained in their preferred format: the V draws, the A explains out loud, the R/W writes, the K proposes a concrete action. It's revealing and consolidates learning for everyone.

Application 3: Multi-Modal Continuing Education

Standard corporate training is often single-modal: a day in the room with slides, or an e-learning module. Result: about a quarter of your team actually learns, the others go through the motions.

Principles of multi-modal training:

1. Format variety for the same content. Each important concept can be presented in several forms: video + text + practical exercise + group discussion. This isn't redundancy -- it's accessibility.

2. Format choice. Where possible, let participants choose how they want to receive information. Simply offering "I can send you a detailed document or we can talk it through in person" creates engagement.

3. Practical assessment, not just multiple choice. A Kinesthetic learner who "failed" a written quiz may perform very well in a real situation -- theoretical evaluation doesn't measure what they've actually learned.

To understand how VARK profiles interact with high-performance team composition, the article on building the ideal team explores these dynamics in detail.

Frequently Asked Questions About VARK in Team Training

Is VARK scientifically valid for adults in the workplace?

VARK is a preference tool, not a cognitive ability measurement. Its practical utility is well-documented in educational and professional training contexts. Some researchers debate the rigidity of "styles" -- the reality is that most people have a preference but can learn via multiple modalities. VARK remains useful as a practical guide for diversifying training formats.

How do I administer the VARK test to an entire team?

The VARK test on Profilia is free, quick (5 minutes), and accessible from a smartphone. You can ask your entire team to take it before a training session. You don't need to know individual results if privacy is a concern -- you can simply ask each person to "note their profile" and indicate their format preferences at the start of training.

What if my team has very different profiles?

That's the norm, not the exception. The solution isn't to find a "universal" format -- it's to vary the formats. A three-part training (visual/textual theory + group discussion + practical exercise) covers all four VARK profiles in a single session.

Does VARK change with age and professional experience?

Underlying preferences remain relatively stable, but professional experience can develop competencies in secondary modalities. An Auditory engineer who works ten years in an environment where everything is documented generally becomes more comfortable with R/W, without it becoming their primary preference.

How do you combine VARK with other HR tools (DISC, MBTI, etc.)?

VARK and DISC are complementary rather than redundant. VARK describes how someone learns. DISC describes how they communicate and make decisions. Knowing both dimensions gives you a more complete picture: a collaborator might be D (direct, results-oriented) in communication and K (kinesthetic) in learning. That intersection clarifies how the manager and trainer should adapt their approach.

Take the VARK Test With Your Team

Knowing your team's learning profiles is a 5-minute-per-person investment that can transform the effectiveness of all your future training.

Start with yourself: take the VARK test and discover your dominant learning profile. Then share it with your team.

This test is for fun and informational purposes only. It does not constitute a psychological diagnosis.