There are two basic approaches to use to avoid or reduce lost contacts. One is proactive in nature; the other is reactive in nature. The proactive approach encompasses all that is done to engage the interest and participation of the learner and all that is done to meet his or her needs and expectations in a satisfactory manner (offering services of quality and of value to the learner, using an adult-learning approach). This approach is based on the premise that the learner who is satisfied with the services given is a person less likely to drop out and leave the LBS program without notice. The reactive approach is all that is done to reconnect with a learner who has left the program and is no longer in contact. It is obvious that the first approach is the more important of the two. The second approach is the one to use as a last resort.
The proactive approach is one where the learner remains the focus of attention and interest in the training establishment. The learner is, therefore, never taken for granted. Just as a company must satisfy its clients to survive, a literacy establishment must recognize the importance of the learner to its reason for being and must do everything to retain that learner, otherwise the learner will turn away from its services, leave without notice and become a lost contact.