Nothing makes your busy employees switch off quicker than being faced with training that’s irrelevant. Want to stop them just clicking through and start getting them engaged? Make passive learning experiences a thing of the past by harnessing the power of scenario-based learning. Let’s dive into why it works and how you can use it to deliver long term impact.

What is scenario-based training?

Scenario-based learning brings training to life by placing learners in realistic situations and enabling them to put their knowledge and skills into action. Whether they’re building soft skills or mastering product training, learners can make decisions and see how their choices play out in a risk-free simulated environment. 

It’s hands-on, people-centered, active learning that boosts competence and confidence. Leaving your learners ready to take on their work in the real world. 

In essence, it’s learning by doing and it can be incredibly effective.

Why scenario-based training works

Scenario learning is proven to improve skills and increase confidence. But how does it achieve this? 

Here are its 4 key benefits:

• It gives context: 38% of learners say they’re more engaged when training reflects their reality. Realistic training scenarios make learning easier to apply on the job.
• It keeps things practical: Whether you’re sharpening decision-making skills or driving behavior change, practice creates progress. Learners take action, get feedback and see the impact of their choices, so they can improve.
• It increases engagement: Humans love stories. Compelling digital storytelling immerses your learners and keeps them engaged. They’ll be eager to explore what happens next and see how their decisions affect the outcome.
• It’s a safe space to fail: Making mistakes is part of learning. With scenario-based training, people try new things without fear of real-world fallout. It’s a great way to tackle sensitive or high-risk topics too tricky to practice in person. 

Key elements of effective scenario-based training 

Effective scenario-based learning isn’t just about telling a good story. If you’re going to maximize the impact with immersive learning scenarios, you need some key building blocks in place.

• Realistic context: Establish scenarios and characters that are relevant to your learners. Present realistic challenges that put their skills and knowledge into practice.
• Decision points: Give learners the freedom to make choices. Let them explore different paths, experiment with their choices, and see how things play out.
• Consequences: Make sure each choice has clear, immediate consequences. This is where the learning happens – feedback is key for improvement and knowledge retention.
• Moments to reflect: Encourage learners to pause and analyze. What worked? What didn’t? What can they do better next time?

How to build a scenario-based elearning course

If you’re going to incorporate all these elements, you need a robust scenario process. 

Like any digital learning project, there are 4 steps you can’t go without.

1. Capture – Start with a clear plan

Rather than diving in and risking rewriting your elearning scenarios later, take the time to make a plan.

• Understand your learning needs: Start with a clear understanding of the problem you’re solving and who you’re training. This insight will help keep you focused and shape your scenario approach to deliver maximum impact.
• Explore critical situations: Talk to your learners to uncover their key challenges and pain points, as well as what good looks like in reality. The situations they highlight will be the foundation of your scenarios.

2. Conceptualize – lead with a prototype

With the learning needs clear in your mind, you can set about generating some ideas for how they can be met with scenario-based learning.

• Determine your approach: From simple linear situations to complex, branching experiences, there are different ways to approach scenario-based learning. Choose the format that best suits your learners and training goals. Make sure your authoring tool provides the functionality you need for the approach you’ve chosen to take.
• Prototype: Whether it’s a simple wireframe or an interactive elearning walkthrough, prototyping a small piece of scenario-based learning allows you to check that you’re heading in the right direction. 

3. Create – Build with confidence

Once prototyping has confirmed your thinking, it’s time to get stuck into developing your full learning experience. When designing your scenario, make sure you’re including the key elements: 

• Realistic context: Select a setting, characters and situation or task that will resonate with your learners and deliver the greatest impact. 
• Decision points: Map out the situation and pinpoint key decisions your learners need to make. 
• Consequences: Identify the common mistakes, the impact these have and the feedback that learners will need to get back on track. 
• Moments to reflect: Highlight where there’s opportunity for your learners to reflect on their own experiences and how what they’ve seen relates to their work.

For simple linear scenarios, work straight into your authoring tool. With more complex branching scenarios, it’s important to map out how this will work. It will save time in the long run and avoid headaches later.

4. Cultivate – Improve and refine

Once your scenario is built, test it with a small group of learners. Gather comments on everything – from the context to the feedback. Then refine your scenario based on their input to ensure it delivers the best results.

Explore more practical tips in our blog on designing branching scenarios.

Examples of scenario-based training done well

Ready to dive into planning your scenario-based learning? Here are five powerful elearning examples to spark your creativity.

1. Linear scenario-based learning 

In this example, the learner chooses from one of two scenarios based on where they work. The linear scenario sets up a discrimination dilemma and asks the learner to investigate. They need to get input from different people, before making decisions about what to do next. 

Explore this example

Why it works:

• In large organizations with diverse teams, one scenario is unlikely to suit all. A role selector personalizes the scenarios that learners see.
• Complex topics, such as ethics or discrimination, require multiple viewpoints and inputs into decisions. 
• By allowing learners to investigate and draw their own conclusions, they’re empowered to take control of their learning journey.

2. Immersive branching video scenario

This branching simulation-based learning builds soft skills around mental health. The learner watches a video before they’re asked what they think is going on and what action they would take. Personalized results analyze the approach chosen, compares it with others’, and sets out how other approaches would have played out.

Explore this example

Why it works:

• Learners control the story and feel the impact of their decisions on others.
• Feedback comes at the end, making the branching seamless and the experience more authentic.
• Comparing their approach with others’ choices adds another layer of real-life learning context.

3. Audio-driven, first-person scenario 

This audio-driven, first-person scenario helps salespeople learn by practicing in a simulated environment. Adding game mechanics – like points and timers – taps into a fundamental aspect of human behavior: motivation. In this case, it’s the competitive nature of salespeople.

Explore this example

Why it works:

• Taking a first-person perspective puts the learner in the hot seat, experiencing the scenario instead of observing it.
• Using audio keeps costs down while creating a highly engaging experience, simulating the real-world environment learners work in.
• Game elements bring a competitive edge, replicating the urgency and pressure of a fast-paced sales floor.

Want to see more examples? Read our blogs on simple branching scenarios and more complex branching, and explore some other scenario-based examples.

Common pitfalls  of scenario-based learning

When done well, scenario-based learning can maximize your impact. However, to achieve this you’ll need to avoid some common pitfalls. 

Overcomplicating branches

More complex “deep branching” can take learner engagement up a gear, but only if it’s thought through. Branching can quickly get out of control within a few decision points. Before you know it, you’re facing a complex build and risking errors creeping into your digital learning. 

• Do balance the complexity of the scenario with the impact it will achieve.
• Don’t assume that complex branching automatically means more impact.

Lack of relevance or realism

Remember, you’re the learning expert and not the Subject Matter Expert (SME) so you won’t automatically know what scenarios work best with your learners.

• Do use focus groups and user testing to check that your scenarios are realistic.
• Don’t get carried away with developing exciting scenarios which few learners will relate to. 

Forgetting feedback

While seeing the outcome of decisions can engage learners in your scenario, they can only build their critical thinking skills with feedback on their choices. 

• Do provide clear feedback either after each question or at the end of the scenario.
• Don’t just show the outcome of the learner’s decisions and leave them guessing how to improve. 

Summary

Scenario-based training is a powerful way to boost engagement by immersing the learners in interactive scenarios where they can apply their decision-making skills. It provides context, connects theory to practice, fosters engagement and creates a safe space to build confidence.

If you’re going to achieve this, you need a robust process for developing your training scenarios: 

• Capture: Start with a clear plan based on your learners’ needs and the situations they face.
• Conceptualize: Prototype your ideas to test the direction of your scenario before full development.
• Create: Design your scenario using key elements: realistic context, decision points, consequences, and opportunities to reflect.
• Cultivate: Test and refine based on feedback to ensure maximum impact.

With the right approach, scenario-based learning can get your learners engaged and deliver real world impact.

Find about more about scenario-based learning and other ways to deliver truly engaging digital learning in our elearning best practice guide and How to create engaging elearning course. 

Ready to start creating scenario-based learning experiences with impact? Book a demo of Elucidat and start your free trial today.

Blended learning isn’t new, but it’s never been more relevant for workplace learning. With today’s dispersed teams, varied job roles, and rising pressure to deliver real business results, blended learning offers one of the most effective ways to support performance and growth at scale.

In this article, we’ll explore what blended learning is, why it works, common pitfalls to avoid, and practical ways to implement it. We’ll also share real-world examples and advice tailored to busy learning managers and content authors. So read on for how you can create performance-enhancing blends.

What is blended learning?

Blended learning is an approach that combines multiple formats and channels – from elearning and face-to-face sessions to coaching, on-the-job tasks, social learning, and more – to help people learn and apply new skills more effectively.

It’s not about format for format’s sake. At its best, blended learning is a response to real workplace needs – offering the right support, in the right way, at the right time to drive performance and behavior change.

What goes into a blend depends on the objectives of the learning. Sometimes it’s a simple combination – for example, adding a coaching conversation as a follow-up to elearning. In other cases, it could involve a full program made up of virtual classrooms, peer groups, independent assignments, job aids, and microlearning modules.

Traditionally, blended learning meant pairing elearning with face-to-face training, often using a flipped classroom model. Learners would complete some pre-work online, attend a live workshop, then apply what they’d learned through a follow-up activity.

Today, blended learning has evolved.

With more digital tools available, hybrid working models, and a stronger focus on personalization, learning blends can now be delivered entirely online or through a mix of digital and human touchpoints. That might include:

• Online chat forums (e.g. Slack, Teams)
• Virtual coaching or mentoring
• Peer-led discussion groups
• Microlearning and elearning
• Video explainers and interactive scenarios
• Job aids, checklists, and digital toolkits
• On the job practice tasks and demos

The key? Every element should serve a purpose. Blended learning works best when each piece is chosen to meet people where they are and help them take the next step forward.

What are the benefits of blended learning?

It’s not just about creating variety for variety’s sake. Done well, a blend can:

• Support real-world behavior change: Blends connect learning to the flow of work – so people can build confidence over time and apply knowledge in the moment.
  
• Offer flexibility for time-poor teams: Especially important for customer-facing or shift-based roles where time is tight and access to online learning may be limited.

• Caters to different needs and contexts: Field teams, desk-based roles, senior managers – they all have different working patterns. Blended learning gives you more ways to reach them effectively.
  
• Improves engagement and depth of learning: Live interactions, peer conversations, and practice all help embed knowledge and build skills that stick.
  
• Build accountability: A key insight from our roundtable – when people know their learning will be discussed or acted on later, they take it more seriously.
  

As one learning manager told us, “You work harder at your learning when you know someone will follow up, ask questions, or care about what you think.”

Common mistakes with designing blended learning

Designing effective blends isn’t just about using lots of formats. Watch out for these traps:

• Spamming learners across too many channels: Choice is good. Overload isn’t. Good blends require being intentional.
  
• Lacking cohesion: Each element of your blend should add something new and link clearly to the big picture. The key messaging can be repeated, but the parts of the blend should build upon one another to create cohesive learning.
  
• No clear purpose or performance focus: Don’t build a beautiful blend around content. Start with what people need to do differently, and what activities or practice will help them get there.

• No follow-up: If there’s no feedback loop or sense that learning will be seen, it’s easy to disengage – especially for remote or shift-based employees. Solo learning, even with a blend, can be lonely.

Best practice strategies for creating blended learning

Here’s a round-up of the strategies that work best when it comes to designing blended learning.

• Design backwards from the behavior or outcome: What does ‘better’ look like on the job? How can we best support that and help people make the change?
  
• Use channels learners already access: If Teams or Slack is popular, that’s a great place to drop in nudges and reminders. If regular ‘lunch-n-learns’ already exist, how can you utilize those? Don’t try to bring people to a whole new place or channel – that’s an uphill battle!
  
• Blend human and digital: Self-paced content builds foundation, but reflection and discussion drive deeper learning, and accountability.
  
• Keep touchpoints short, purposeful, and well spaced: Think of the blend as a campaign, not a course.
  
• Introduce light-touch accountability: A chat, a nudge, a quick reflection – not always a full workshop.

• Respect people’s time and context: A good blend supports performance without adding stress.

Why driving accountability is key to effective blends

Without accountability, learning often slips down the list. On the flip side, if you know you need to present something, discuss your learning with a coach or manager, or take part in a role play activity with your team – you’re likely to get focused!

Blended learning’s secret power is when it brings in an element of accountability. 

You don’t need lengthy workshops or formal assessments to create accountability. Even a short, well-timed nudge, a check-in, or a manager-led huddle can provide that vital ‘moment that matters’.

The key is choosing the right kind of follow-up – something light, practical, and supportive – that helps people apply what they’ve learned and shows that it matters.

One Elucidat customer shared a novel approach to bring accountability and ownership to product training:

“We gave staff new products and asked them to share videos of their experience. It exploded! They owned the learning – it felt real.”

Blended learning examples

Example 1 – A product training blend for sales teams

Context: A new product line is launching in retail stores. Staff need just enough product knowledge and confidence to talk to customers – fast.

The blend:

• 10-minute elearning module with visuals and voiceover, accessible on mobile.
• Printed handout or break-room poster with FAQs and messaging.
• Store manager huddle guide: a 5-minute discussion with questions and a “tell me one thing you learned” round-robin.
• Sales practice session in pairs, during downtime, with a peer
• Manager observations on the job or of practice sessions
• Feedback: managers pick 1-2 team members per week to demo how they would sell the new product, and get feedback.

Why it works:

• Doesn’t take staff off the floor for long.
• Multiple access points (phone, paper, team chat).
• Light accountability via peer conversation and a manager follow-up.
• Keeps the focus on application and customer conversations, not just content.

Explore examples of how elearning can be used to support product training here.

Example 2 – A Leadership development blend

Context: A program for emerging people managers in a global organization.

The blend:

• Microlearning topics on key leadership topics, accessible anytime
• A workshop that focuses on working through scenarios collaboratively
• A personal digital workbook to prompt self-reflection and log tasks completed
• Live virtual sessions with peer breakout discussions and role-play scenarios
• Action learning groups to explore real-world challenges together
• Monthly manager nudges and feedback prompts
• Optionally – add in an applied project, shared with senior leaders at the end of the program

Why it works:

• Flexible formats for busy schedules
• Builds knowledge, skills and confidence over time
• Encourages reflection, connection and conversation
• Adds weight through senior leader visibility and real-world application

The future of blended learning

As organizations look ahead, blended learning is set to become even more dynamic and data-driven.

New technologies from AI-powered coaching to smarter learning analytics are enabling more personalized, in-the-flow experiences. We’ll likely see:

• More intelligent blends: Content recommendations based on role, goals and behavior patterns.
  
• AI-facilitated reflection and nudging: Helping learners stay engaged and accountable in the moment.
  
• Integrated tools and channels: Breaking down silos between LMSs, authoring platforms, and workflow platforms.
  
• Greater emphasis on skills and outcomes: With talent marketplaces and skill data rising, blends will align more closely with business capability-building.

What won’t change? The need for thoughtful, people-centered design. However advanced the tech becomes, effective blends will always start with understanding your audience: their needs, their context, and their challenges.

Conclusion – what to take away

A great blend doesn’t just deliver learning. It supports people to perform, grow and connect – over time.

That means being strategic. It means building in reflection and accountability, even in small ways. And it means designing for real people, not ideal circumstances.

Start simple. Test and evolve. And always keep the learner’s world at the heart of your design.

Interested to learn even more about how to design effective learning programs? Check out our elearning best practice guide.You can also subscribe to our Learning at Large newsletter for monthly inspiration from the front line of L&D.

Everyone loves a good game, especially when it makes learning more fun. Want to use the power of games to – quite literally – level up learner engagement?  It’s easier than you think. This guide explains how to incorporate gamification into your corporate training, whether you’re a seasoned gamer or a total noob. 

What is gamification and how does it help learning?

Gamification is when you add gameplay elements into a non-game activity. In this case, learning. 

You might reward learners with virtual badges, add a countdown timer to create urgency while they complete an activity, or get them competing against colleagues for a spot on a leaderboard. 

The benefit? Think of how engaged people are when they’re playing a game. 

The most gripping games have people playing late into the night as they push to level up or complete a quest. While you don’t want to deprive your learners of sleep, gamification done right can significantly boost intrinsic motivation to engage with your content.

The stats say it all. 83% of people who receive gamified workplace training feel motivated, compared to just 28% who receive non-gamified training.

Gamification vs traditional learning: what’s the difference?

Gamification exists on a spectrum. On one end, there are fully immersive games designed for learning. On the other, there’s learning with a single gamified element, like rewards for completing modules. 

Whether people are learning online, in-person, or through a blend of both, the line between gamification and traditional methods is fluid. How far you take it is entirely up to you.

Types of gamification elements for elearning

What options are available for gamifying your elearning? Read on to discover the top ways to add gamification to digital learning. 

Storytelling

Not all elearning games include immersive storying, but it’s a powerful way to give context to other elements of gamification. 

Try positioning the learner as the hero. Start with a high-stakes mission, where their success depends on completing a series of tasks. The narrative unfolds as the learner progresses, with each activity bringing them closer to their goal. 

You could even incorporate video-based branching paths, where learner choices shape the storyline and final outcome:

Today, elearning is easier to produce than ever before; authoring tools like Elucidat are simplifying the build process and empowering novices to do the jobs once confined to tech-savy developers. With Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) now able to work directly into these tools, you might wonder: Is it time to ditch the elearning storyboard?

What is an elearning storyboard?

An elearning storyboard is the blueprint for an online course or other piece of digital learning. It provides a detailed breakdown of the content, including a description of the interactions and multimedia to be used, along with the actual words to appear on screen (and in any video or audio you plan to create). Whoever builds your course – whether an SME, instructional designer, or developer – will do so using the storyboard as guidance.

Why use storyboards in elearning development?

Though storyboards might seem redundant to someone not au fait with instructional design, they actually serve several key functions:

• Providing a holistic view of the learning experience: Whilst it’s easy to get bogged down with visual and technical details when working inside an authoring tool, a course content storyboard helps you focus on the bigger picture…Does the narrative flow make sense? Have you covered all the essential learning messages? Will each page be interactive enough? These questions need considering before you think about details like how your content will transition on screen.
• Managing scope: Planning out content ahead of building helps you establish how long each section should take your learners and whether anything needs tightening up.
• Outlining your visual approach: A visual storyboard for elearning will serve as a reference for your graphic artists, animators, or videographers to work from later, so they can bring your ideas to life. 
• Ensuring stakeholder alignment: Some authoring tools limit the number of reviewers that can access your draft course or make it difficult for them to leave comments in situ. Conversely, a storyboard can be easily shared, annotated and tweaked by all relevant stakeholders. (However, with collaborative tools like Elucidat now leading the way for course creation, it’s becoming much easier to refine your built courses as part of a team.)  
• Saving resources: Even with the most efficient authoring tool, it takes time to populate a course, sometimes requiring support from graphic artists and developers. Providing the opportunity for your course reviewers to edit content at the storyboard stage means less time is wasted down the line. 
• It improves course quality: Working in a storyboard encourages you to think carefully about things like wording and storytelling, whilst providing an early opportunity for your QA team to review your content – all of which equate to a quality end-product. 
• It promotes careful multimedia planning: Storyboards are an opportunity to script your video drama, vox-pops, animations, and/or voiceover, which need careful consideration and sign-off before you start recording. 

You can explore the rationale for elearning storyboards further in this blog post from the elearning industry.

Key components of an effective elearning storyboard

Even with a powerful authoring tool up your sleeve, a shoddy storyboard will leave you with, at best, a confusing learning experience. So, what should you include in yours?

• A course menu and/or introductory screen, which might include completion instructions.
• A clear outline of the course structure, with content sectioned into topics, pages, interactions, and display items.
• Expected durations (in minutes) for each section of content. 
• A description of what interactions you plan to use and what options there are within these. For instance, if you decide to include a multiple-choice question, what are the possible answers? How many are correct? How many versions of feedback are there? 
• The exact text that will appear on screen. This includes page headings, body text, instructions, and any accessibility aids (for example, alt text). 
• The script for any video or audio elements that need recording, such as the dialogue for video drama or the voiceover for animation.
• A rough plan of the visual assets. You might include links to existing photos, or if you want a new asset creating, a sketch that your graphic artist can use as a reference. 
• Direction on how learners will navigate the content, such as how they will get from one page to another. 
• Links to any resources you want to embed.

Step-by-step guide to creating a storyboard

Use these 10 steps as guidance for constructing your elearning storyboard: 

1. First, agree your learning objectives with your team. These are your bottom line – everything that goes into your course should be based on these. 
2. Create a course outline to structure your initial ideas. Paving the way for your storyboard, this is a much higher-level plan of your course, mapping out what content will appear where and with what creative treatment. (Essentially, it helps you structure your content and ensure you’re delivering against your learning objectives, without worrying about specific wording.) 
3. Choose an authoring tool that will support your design. There is a wealth of information out there to help you pick! You can start here. 
4. Choose a storyboard format. This could be a template in Word, PowerPoint, or some other application but, if possible, use one that your L&D team are already familiar with. 
5. Write your copy, including on-screen text, audio, and video, clearly, concisely and in line with your brand voice. This is where most of your efforts will be expended. To get started, you can find guidance on best practices here. 
6. Include references for what visuals you’d like to see alongside each section of text. In fact, you’d ideally determine these things in parallel, as they should influence each other. For example, by using a diagram to convey a complex process, you can swap out that waffly paragraph of text! 
7. If handing over to a developer and/or graphic artist, add any notes that will make their life easier… If an infographic needs creating, what graphic style should it have? What should it highlight? How will learners interact with it? 
8. Give everything a readthrough to check that the copy flows, that there’s a consistent tone of voice, and that your word counts are reasonable. 
9. Review and iterate with your wider team of SMEs and ideally, your QA team.
10. Brief your graphics team so they can source the necessary assets, then move into development using your storyboard and chosen authoring tool. 

For further guidance on developing effective learning, take a look at this blog post on creating engaging content.

Common mistakes to avoid

Here are some common pitfalls we see when it comes to storyboarding:

• Skipping the storyboard entirely: When deadlines are tight, it can be tempting to go full steam ahead into the build, with just your learning objectives for direction. However, this will nearly always lead to quality problems later when you realize you’ve overlooked key learning messages, or your content order doesn’t make sense. (And it typically takes much longer to rework a build than a storyboard document!) That being said, it’s worth highlighting that Elucidat provides a flexible way for confident SMEs to storyboard in situ; The authoring interface allows you to see your course pages and chapters from a single top-level view, where you can easily change your interactions and locations. Find out more in this feature focus. 
• Not using a template or consistent format: Page elements will get muddled during the build stage if they aren’t clearly identified. For example, your course could end up with missing page titles or text that appears alongside the wrong images.
• Including too much copy: Generally speaking, the more reviewers involved, the greater the risk of last-minute content being shoehorned into your storyboard. So, collaborate with your reviewers to keep the text as tight as possible…If in doubt, cut it out!
• Ignoring the learner’s perspective: Remember to put yourself in your learners’ shoes and consider how, when, and where they will be accessing your content. If you have mobile learners, don’t include interactions that will be clunky to navigate on a smartphone. And if you have some learners who can’t view video content, make sure you add transcriptions. Find out more about how to support accessibility requirements here. 
• Not establishing a consistent writing style: Make sure you have agreed upon a suitable tone of voice from the get-go, so your content doesn’t jump around from colloquialisms to policy speak, for example.  
• Ignoring brand guidelines: Keep your brand guardians happy by writing according to your organization’s guidelines. If you don’t have any, establish your own conventions early on for things like capitalizations and bullet points. Oversights and inconsistencies can come back to bite you later!

Real examples of elearning storyboards

You can find an elearning storyboard example here. This template is specifically designed for drafting microlearning and includes instructions for completing each section.  

Download the template

Here are some key features in this document:

• It starts with a snapshot of how the course will fit together – in this case, as a single scrolling page. 
• There’s a column dedicated to the visual direction for each section. This has been populated with mock-ups for each type of interaction, but you could also use this space for sketches, example photos, or even just descriptions of what you’d like to see in the build. 
• Placeholder headings for each interaction have been included.
• There’s consistent formatting throughout the document, for example, on-screen text is on the left, visuals are on the right, and headings are picked out in bold.
• There’s guidance around word count for each section, to ensure everything will fit nicely on screen.
• There are placeholders for instructional text on interactive page elements. Remember, these should be completed with mobile users in mind (for some authoring tools, this might require two types of instruction).  
• It incorporates all possible learning journeys, for example, offering different feedback text depending on how the learners answer a multiple-choice question. 

You can see an example of how this template translates into a course build here.

Final thoughts 

When it comes to building an elearning course, off-the-cuff usually equates to off-the-mark. So, plan your course carefully and save time in the long run by using a storyboard for instructional design. 

And if you do feel confident enough to skip this phase of development, use an authoring tool like Elucidat that enables you to storyboard flexibly in situ.

Download your free storyboard template 

Download a blank elearning storyboard template for you and your team here. We use it on all of our projects! 

To learn more about creating engaging elearning prior to, throughout, and after the storyboarding phase, take a look at this guide. 

Interested in a free elearning design course? Check out this engaging elearning course, built in Elucidat.

Measuring learning impact is a major challenge for L&D teams. With lack of resources, scattered data, and sometimes an unwillingness from stakeholders to engage, it can be hard for L&D to prove its value. But you’re not alone. By gathering insights from sales, product, and HR leads about the metrics they track, and taking input from our recent learning managers roundtable, we’ve created this guide to help overwhelmed learning managers measure learning impact effectively.

What is learning impact?

Learning impact refers to the tangible effect that training and development initiatives have on business outcomes. It’s about more than just assessing if employees complete courses – it’s about measuring how that learning improves performance, drives productivity, boosts employee engagement, and contributes to overall company goals. 

In short, learning impact shows how effectively training translates into real-world results, whether it’s higher sales, faster onboarding, or better customer satisfaction.

Types of learning measurement

Measuring learning impact is more critical than ever, but with so many factors at play, it can be tough to know where to start. To truly demonstrate the value of your learning initiatives, you need to track the right metrics – those that show how training translates into real business outcomes.

Many, but not all, L&D teams still rely on completion rates, survey feedback, and assessment scores as their main evaluation methods. While these metrics have their place, they don’t fully tell the story of how learning impacts business performance or helps teams experiment with future techniques.

To measure learning impact effectively, collaborate with stakeholders to find and focus on a key business metric. There’s no magic metric that will work across all your projects. It’s about honing in. Here’s some examples:

• Sales training: Look to revenue growth & sales performance: Are trained employees driving more revenue, closing more deals, or working more efficiently?
• Onboarding: Look at time to productivity: How quickly do new hires reach full performance, and how does training speed up their integration? Are employees staying longer? 
• Product training: Look at uptake in usage & satisfaction: Is product usage on the up? Is product knowledge translating into better customer interactions and higher satisfaction e.g. with support tickets?

By tracking core metrics like these, you’ll have a clear, data-backed picture of how your learning initiatives are driving business growth and success. You can hear more about this from learning measurement expert Dr. Alaina Szlachta in this podcast episode.

Why does measuring learning impact matter now more than ever?

Measurement is always on L&D’s priority list. Year after year, “showing value” appears in industry reports as both a top priority and a key skills gap for L&D teams.

Is putting it as a priority a symbolic gesture? A superficial nod to the concept of learning and development? Or are L&D teams genuinely committed to fostering growth and enhancing performance in a way they can prove?

Here’s why proving value is more crucial than ever, especially for in-house L&D teams:

• Cut backs: Budgets are under scrutiny and there have been major cut backs. L&D teams need to be able to show their impact and necessity to organizations.
• AI: With AI set to revolutionize workplace learning, offering real-time personalization and on-the-job support, L&D professionals must lead experiments. Data is key for doing so.
• Skill training: As organizations push to upskill their workforce for the future, L&D teams need to prove they’re up for the job and that their skill training works.

Challenges of measuring learning impact

What stops learning teams from measuring more than completions and scores? Here are four key challenges we uncovered in our recent roundtable that learning managers say get in their way:

• Measurement is inconsistent – When working at scale, there are so many types of learning for many different teams. It can be hard to find a success measure that works for all. (Perhaps this ‘magic metric’ doesn’t exist?)
  
• Stakeholders rarely ask for measurement data – Are stakeholders proactively asking for your learning data, or only when something (like a compliance incident) goes wrong? Learning managers shared they are rarely asked for data. (But maybe that’s because it’s not data business leaders are interested in?)
  
• Data is often trapped in different systems – Making it hard to get a clear, joined-up picture of learning effectiveness.This is where AI and AI-driven data tools can now really help.

• Evaluation is often reactive, not proactive – Measuring the effectiveness of learning can often be driven by when there’s a key interest in the learning from the business. For a business critical learning programme for example. Where does that leave other learning programmes? (Hint – perhaps they shouldn’t be developed if they aren’t driving a business outcome?)

How to measure learning impact effectively

Here’s how to take a practical approach to measurement and evaluation, without getting lost in data.

1. Be proactive, not reactive

Many L&D teams only measure when they’re asked to or when a problem arises. Others are focused primarily on completions and scores. Instead, start embedding performance measurement into the learning design process from the beginning.

Ask before design work starts:

• What business problem are we solving?
• How do you know it’s a current problem or gap that needs to be addressed?
• What existing business data could indicate success?
• What will stakeholders care about most?
• How can we make it easy to track?

When you start with business goals and create a collaborative conversation, measuring impact becomes easier and more meaningful.

2. Focus on one or two metrics

Some L&D professionals hold back from evaluation because they assume it’s all or nothing. Full blown ROI evaluation or nothing. This procrastination can keep us in the completion tracking box! Instead, consider a leaner, more sustainable model.

Measure one or two outcomes, rather than trying to do everything. And try to hone in on a metric that already exists!

For example:

• What’s the business goal? (E.g., “Reduce new hire onboarding time from 60 days to 30 days.”)
• Who is affected? (Target audience: “Customer service reps in Europe.”)
• What should change? (Behavioral goal: “Reps should resolve complaints 30% faster.”)
• How will we measure success? (KPI: “Complaint resolution time drops from 5 to 3 days.”)

3. Use what exists already

You don’t need to invent new metrics or data! Ask your stakeholders to show you the metrics they already track in that area – For example:

• HR data –  Retention rates, churn, time to productivity  – e.g. Workday, SAP
• Sales data –  Revenue uplift, deal size, conversion rates – e.g. Salesforce, Hubspot
• Customer metrics – CSAT, product adoption, call resolution times – e.g. Qualtrics, Jimminy

4. Utilise AI to help you integrate and evaluate data sources

Many L&D teams struggle to connect training data with business KPIs because data is siloed and in different systems. AI tools like Tableau, Looker, Power BI, or xAPI-enabled learning platforms can integrate multiple data sources.

For example: You can merge LMS data (course completions, quiz scores) with HRIS data (performance ratings, retention rates) to see if training is improving employee performance and retention. (Or just look at them side by side – it’ll be clear if there’s a correlation!)

5. Test small, then scale

Instead of tracking every learner, find top-performing teams & compare them to low performers.

Look for patterns: What did the successful teams do differently? Did they engage more in learning? Did they have coaching conversations with their managers?

Use these insights to scale up best practices rather than trying to look at all the data.

6. Tell the story, not just numbers

Leadership doesn’t care about completion rates – they care about business results. Use data storytelling to show impact e.g., “We cut onboarding time by 30%, saving $X per new hire.”.

Present data visually and bring it to life with quotes and short case studies.

If you’re looking for even more in-depth advice around learning impact, check out these 20 learning measurement ideas to show impact and improve performance.

Final thoughts

Measurement doesn’t have to be a burden. By aligning with existing business data, focusing on a few key metrics, and using practical measurement models, you can build a stronger case for learning’s value – without adding unnecessary admin.

Start small, track what matters, and share your insights in ways that resonate with business leaders. Because when L&D proves its impact, it gets a stronger seat at the table.

Interested to hear more about learning measurement from an expert? Check out this podcast episode from Dr. Alaina Szlachta, where she shares how learning leaders can drive impact with what’s already at their fingertips.

You can also discover even more learnings, insights, and best practices from the learning community by subscribing to our newsletter.

What’s the point of training without results? Learning should deliver real impact for your organization – and that starts with knowing your learning outcomes vs objectives. But what do these terms really mean? How are they different? And can they work together to drive training effectiveness? In this article, we break it all down.

What are learning outcomes and learning objectives?

Learning outcomes vs objectives: what’s the difference? 

A learning objective is what a learner will be able to do by the end of training. 

Example:

By the end of the training, learners will be able to describe the global warming process, list emissions sources, and explain how to stop global warming. 

These actions can be achieved immediately after completing the course or program. Learning objectives describe the knowledge, skills, and competencies gained straight away. 

A learning outcome, on the other hand, is the result of training in the real world. It’s about learners applying what they’ve learned in practice. 

Example:

Learners will change their everyday behaviors to save energy, reducing the organization’s electricity use by 10%. 

The best learning outcomes are measurable like this one, so you can see whether the training is having the desired impact. 

When it comes to learning outcomes vs objectives, it’s not a case of choosing between them. Instead, they work best together. Learning outcomes define the desired results of the training, while learning objectives tell you what to include in the training to reach those results. 

Learning outcomes vs objectives: Why the distinction matters

Learning outcomes and objectives may seem similar, but they’re not the same. And it’s crucial to keep them distinct. Here are three reasons why. 

Clarity and focus

Learning outcomes focus on the long-term impact you want your training to achieve. Learning objectives clarify the specific content needed to reach those outcomes.

Measurement and evaluation

Learning outcomes evaluate the overall success of training, linking it to organizational goals through performance metrics or KPIs. In contrast, learning objectives let you track progress during the learning experience through tools like assessments.

Design and implementation

Learning outcomes bookend a project. They define the training you need at the start and measure its impact at the end. Learning objectives come in the middle, guiding content creation based on the desired outcomes.

Create your learning goals with the 5C Framework

Not sure where to start when it comes to learning outcomes vs objectives?

The 5C Framework is a simple process for creating successful learning. The first step, Capture, is all about making a plan. Here’s how it can help you create learning outcomes vs objectives. 

What are you doing?

Start by identifying your training goal: what are you trying to achieve and why? What will your project do in the real world that you can measure? These answers will guide the creation of your learning outcomes.

Who is it for? 

Next, define your target audience, what you need them to do differently, and any barriers that stand in the way. This helps you create the behavioral change part of your learning outcomes. Knowing learner gaps and challenges is the foundation for developing learning objectives too.  

What will make it a success?

Success might go beyond learning something new. Perhaps you want to drive motivation, awareness, or engagement too. If so, include these goals in your learning outcomes and design your objectives to support them.

Follow this structured planning process to align your learning outcomes and objectives with your organization’s needs. The result? Maximum training effectiveness. 

Find out more about using Capture and the 5Cs to plan your project. 

How to write learning outcomes vs objectives in corporate training

What about writing learning outcomes vs objectives? Having a general idea is one thing, but putting it into clear, actionable words is another.

Don’t worry. These tips and examples can help.

Creating learning outcomes

Create your learning outcomes before your objectives. Think of it as starting with the big picture, and then drilling down into the steps needed to achieve it. 

Good learning outcomes describe two things:

• The change you want to see in your learners 
• The measurable impact this change will have on your organization 

Example:

Learners will be able to identify workplace hazards and act appropriately, reducing on-site incidents by 20% over the next six months. 

Always align your learning outcomes with organizational goals – such as improving workplace safety in this example.

Creating learning objectives

To help write learning objectives, a specific set of verbs – action words – is often used. These are based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, a model that categorizes learning into levels, from basic knowledge to advanced skills. 

Corporate training typically targets the lowest two levels: remember and understand. That’s because learners often haven’t yet had the chance to reach the next highest level and apply what they’ve learned. 

Here are the verbs for those levels:

Understand

Describe, explain, paraphrase, restate, give original examples of, summarize, contrast, interpret, discuss.

Remember

List, recite, outline, define, name, match, quote, recall, identify, label, recognize.

Using specific verbs helps you create clear, actionable, and easy to evaluate objectives. Let’s use them to write three learning objectives that align with the earlier learning outcome: 

By the end of this training, learners will be able to list common on-site hazards, describe the correct process to address each hazard, and explain the potential consequences of failing to do so.

Notice how each objective directly supports the broader learning outcome. Together, they create a roadmap for learners to achieve meaningful, measurable change.

Conclusion

Learning outcomes vs objectives: they’re not the same. To create learning that delivers the right results for your organization, it’s essential to distinguish between them.

The good news? It doesn’t need to be complicated. Start defining your learning outcomes and objectives in simple steps using the Capture guide from the 5C Framework. 

Ready to create training programs that deliver real results? Book a demo with Elucidat and see how our elearning authoring platform helps organizations, like yours, achieve measurable success.

Developing training in large organizations brings together a lot of different people. Getting everyone engaged at the right time, in the right way, is key to producing quality learning experiences at scale. But this isn’t always straightforward. If you’re not careful, budgets spiral, deadlines slip and quality goes out the window. But don’t worry, our guide to streamlining your training design process is here to keep you on track!

Understanding the training design process 

ADDIE, Agile, Waterfall… there are plenty of project management models to choose from. But which works best for developing training? We observed the varied processes used by our customers, took the best bits, and created a 5-step process with impact at the center.

We call these 5 steps the 5Cs Framework for successful elearning:

1. Capture – start with a clear plan: Understanding the problem, so you can shape your solution.
2. Conceptualize – lead with a prototype: Turning what you know about your audience’s needs into a vision for an effective training program.
3. Create – build with confidence: Starting to build in your authoring platform with a streamlined, efficient development process.
4. Cultivate – improve and refine: Using data to improve projects and inform strategy.
5. Commercialize – deliver better ROI: Making sure your product works for your business.

Defining roles and responsibilities

A streamlined training design process will help you plan, design, create, optimize, and commercialize your training. But even the best plan will fail if your project team isn’t onboard. 

Clearly defined roles are essential for keeping everyone aligned and empowered to bring their best to the table. For example:

• You and your team are the L&D professionals. Will you get hands-on or play a supportive role, guiding others to create impactful online courses?
• Stakeholders can be a broad group, including anyone who has an interest in your project’s successful delivery. From kick-off to sign-off, who needs to provide feedback and approval at each stage?
• Your internal experts are essential to every learning project. Will your Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) just provide training content or could they build elearning courses for themselves (with the right support and collaborative tool)? 

5 step guide to streamlining your training design process

Let’s take a closer look at what’s involved for your project team at each step of the training design process.

1. Capture – Start with a clear plan

Every project is different. Rather than rushing in and risking rework later, take the time to set a solid foundation. 

• Define your training goals
  You can’t create an effective training and development solution if you don’t understand the problem you’re trying to solve. Conduct a needs analysis. Define the current situation and the desired impact of the training.
  
• Understand your audience
  Before you start your training development, take a closer look at who will take your course. Create learner profiles. A good understanding of your target audience and their learning environment will enable you to create more relevant and effective learning content.
  
• Set measurable goals
  Work with your stakeholders upfront to decide on the goals you’re going to measure for your project. Elearning can generate a lot of data, but data doesn’t always mean insight. So, think about what you want to discover and identify the relevant metrics upfront.

• Identify barriers
  While you can’t predict every curveball you’ll face; some challenges will be clear from the start. Compressed timelines, limited budgets and resource constraints are common barriers to any project’s success. Identify strategies to navigate these barriers at the start and you’re more likely to overcome them.

Ready to get clear on what your project is trying to achieve? Check out our resource on how to Capture – start with a clear plan.

2. Conceptualize – lead with a prototype

With training goals clear in your mind, it’s time to generate some ideas for how to meet them. For best results, do this in collaboration so your project team is aligned and moving forward with a shared vision.

Here’s some approaches you could take:

• Brainstorming:
  Generate lots of different ideas before narrowing your focus to one solution. Avoid looking at the detailed course content. Think about what types of activities, experiences, and tools will work for your learners and goals.
• Action mapping:
  Build out your solutions based on competency and change with Cathy Moore’s Action Mapping. Start with your learning objectives, then work backward to determine the actions learners need to take to achieve these goals. 

Once you’ve defined your training solution, get prototyping to check that you’re heading in the right direction. 

Don’t prototype everything. Focus on the flow and learning design. If you’re designing a blended learning solution, show how the different delivery methods fit together, including face-to-face or virtual classroom-based training. 

For elearning, you can demonstrate your approach with a:

• Wireframe which sets out layouts and sample content, without getting caught up in styling.
• Prototype which provides an interactive walkthrough with visual styling. Remember, you don’t have to start with a blank canvas. Your authoring tool may have ready-made templates which can create a prototype in just a few clicks. 

Top tip: Don’t make prototyping a big deal – do it early, rapidly, and collaboratively. Developing a prototype saves time by identifying issues sooner and providing a reusable template you can build from. 

Want to find out more about how you can do this? Check out our resource on how to Conceptualize – lead with a prototype.

3. Create – Build with confidence

Having confirmed your thinking with a prototype, you can dive into developing the detailed content. After all that needs analysis and ideas generation, this stage may appear comparatively straightforward. However, it’s actually where a lot of elearning falls down. 

Here are some simple actions you can take to keep your training on track:

• Start with your design model:
  Seeing this stage as just about populating the screen with detail is the path to ineffective learning. Reframe how your project team think about their content. Use your prototype as the blueprint and see how the content can support this learning experience.

• Collaborate in your authoring tool
  Invite your SMEs to add their content directly into your approved prototype. Include short instructions to this framework, guiding them on the type of content that will be effective for these interactions. Work with them in real-time to finesse wording and support them with visuals and practical activities.

• Work iteratively
  If you build everything in one go and then gather feedback, you risk finding out something isn’t working and your effort is wasted. Add in regular check in points to gather feedback from your key stakeholders and some end users. For example, you might build out topic 1, gather feedback, and make changes before building topic 2. 

• Set up structured testing
  It may not be the most exciting part of a project, but Quality Assurance (QA) can make or break your digital learning. QA as you go, but always do a full check before you release your elearning.

Top tip: Don’t forget your L&D best practice in the rush to deliver! If you’re going to create engaging content, your team needs to stay focused on delivering a quality learning experience during this stage. For a quick reminder, check out our Designing quality elearning guide and How to create engaging elearning course.

Ready to streamline your authoring process while still delivering quality? Check out our resource on how to Create – Build with confidence.

4. Cultivate – Improve and refine

Your training design process doesn’t end when you upload your elearning to your Learning Management System (LMS). One of the big benefits of digital learning is that data dashboards can help identify how you’re meeting your business goals. The key is to balance data about users and performance by:

• Tracking engagement:
  Most L&D teams measure completion rates. It’s a great start, but it’s not the full picture. Explore the range of analytics your authoring tool offers. For example: 

• Most visited topics: Which topics within your elearning are most popular. This could indicate your audience is actively looking for support in certain areas. 
• Common incorrect answers: Which questions your audience are getting right, and which are tripping them up. This could indicate knowledge gaps that impact performance. 
• Popularity in audience groups: Which countries / departments / locations are engaging most with the elearning. This could indicate where you need to do another round of promotion.

• Measuring impact
  Next, measure the impact your training has had on the business. Here are three steps to help you identify your course’s impact on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
  1. Review your goal and the business metric you plan to impact. Identify a benchmark to measure against. 
  2. When you’ve reached significant engagement levels with your elearning, measure your key metric again and compare it to your benchmark. 
  3. Use what you’ve learned from your engagement data. For example, if you’ve seen more engagement and more improvement in the US compared to the UK, get UK managers involved in promoting the elearning again.

Armed with this information, you can learn, improve, and update your training. You can also take forward any learning into your next project. 

Explore how you can do this our resource on how to Cultivate – Improve and refine.

5. Commercialize – deliver better ROI

Having measured the impact of your training, you can work out whether your streamlined training process has delivered Return on Investment (ROI). A traditional ROI calculation takes the benefit (or return) of your investment and divides it by the cost (or investment) you spent. However, this is quite simplistic. 

That’s why we look at the three factors we see at the heart of designing a training program that’s effective:

1. Scalability: The reach that your training has achieved.
2. Quality: The engagement and performance impact your elearning had.
3. Speed to market: Whether the training project was delivered in a timely manner.

Want to find out more about demonstrating your value? Check out our resource on how to Commercialize – deliver better ROI.

Choose the right authoring tools

If you’re going to create a training plan that’s efficient and effective at every stage, you need an authoring tool with the right capabilities. For example:

• Content import: The days of tedious copy and paste content transfer are gone if you can import your PowerPoints into your tool.
• Ready to go templates: Speed up your elearning production with templates that already have design thinking and layouts in place.
• Easy collaboration: With a cloud-based tool, you can build and review all in one place. People can work on the same project at the same time, while permissions allow you to stay in control.

Here’s a quick overview of some of the most popular tools you could consider:

• Elucidat – Helps teams to create impactful elearning quickly and easily by unlocking expertise from any employee.
• Adobe Captivate – Gives experienced authors the power to create high-quality content.
• Articulate Storyline 360 – Ideal for individual users who prefer PowerPoint, with an added layer of customization.
• Articulate Rise 360 – Users with access to Articulate 360 can produce simple elearning courses fairly quickly.
• Gomo – Best for experienced learning designers that are not looking for advanced customization.
• Lectora – Gives traditional, capable authors an effective tool for producing HTML5 content.
• Adapt – Designed for technical authors who are looking to design bespoke HTML5 authoring through back-end design.
• DominKnow – Perfect for teams whose focus is on responsive screen capture and software simulation.
• Easygenerator – Authoring software designed for learning teams who need to create elearning content, easily.
• iSpring Suite – Desktop PowerPoint-based tool that’s a great option for novice learning designers who don’t have to worry about updating content regularly.
• Evolve – Built for teams who need to collaborate together and don’t mind putting in the time to learn how to use it.
• Camtasia – Video editing suite most commonly used for screen recordings, tutorials or product demos.

Read a full comparison in our review of the top elearning authoring tools.

Conclusion

A streamlined training design process can make late feedback, missed deadlines and budget bloat a thing of the past. That’s why we took the best bits from common design models and created a 5-step process with impact at the center.

1. Capture – Start with a clear plan: Put time in upfront to make sure the solution you design is meeting the real business need.
2. Conceptualize – Lead with a prototype: Don’t rush ahead with a solution, generate ideas in collaboration with your SMEs and try them out in a prototype.
3. Create – Build with confidence: Use collaborative and iterative ways of working that involve your SMEs, stakeholders and end users so you’re more likely to hit the target.
4. Cultivate – Improve and refine: Explore the data and analytics your tool offers to tweak and enhance your elearning.
5. Commercialize – deliver better ROI: Measure the impact your elearning has had on your business goals so you can learn and increase your impact.

Find out more about how you can use these steps to deliver business impact with our 5C resources, elearning best practice guide, and engaging elearning design course.

Want to start testing this training design process? Book a demo of Elucidat to get started with a free trial.

Embarking on the journey of online learning presents numerous advantages – it’s swift, adaptable, and cost-effective. Yet, the true value lies in its ability to make a significant impact. To ensure that the elearning content you develop aligns seamlessly with your business objectives, explore our comprehensive guide on how to create an elearning course that resonates and drives lasting results.

Why create an elearning course?

The digital transformation of the workplace has continued to accelerate since the pandemic. In the world of corporate training, online learning has never been so in demand. And it’s no surprise, when you look at the benefits it can create. 

• Reducing costs: Whether it’s printed material or face-to-face classroom learning, traditional training formats can be expensive. Identifying when these types of training can become digital will make your L&D budget go further.
• Saving time: Time is precious. On average, employees only have around 20 minutes a week for learning at work (Bersin & Forbes). If it’s a short digital module, it’s much easier to fit into their day. A digital course is also easier to deliver and maintain as busy L&D teams can automate training management tasks.
• Improving performance: Create bespoke elearning content in-house and you can respond more quickly to new development needs. Employees are able to quickly and easily access the learning they need when they need it. And this results in improved performance and greater productivity.
• Lowering environmental impact: Reducing the carbon footprint of a business is a key part of every corporate responsibility strategy. Going digital lowers the environmental impact of L&D. Elearning involves less travel and resources than traditional face-to-face and paper-based training. 

Where to start when creating an elearning course

Want to maximize these benefits? Don’t just rush ahead and create an course. If you’re going to design a digital solution with real impact, you need:

•  The right learning approach
•  An effective development process
•  The input of your internal experts

Choosing the right learning approach

There isn’t just one way to approach digital learning. So, before you start creating an online course, ask yourself these key questions:

• Is elearning the right approach?
  An effective corporate online learning strategy will include a wide variety of digital assets. From simple PDF checklists and quick selfie videos to interactive webinars and online coaching sessions, there are plenty of approaches to choose from. Make sure that elearning is the best way to meet your development need. 
• Should it be part of a blend?
  Elearning doesn’t have to be a standalone course. Divide your elearning up into more manageable chunks. This microlearning can integrate with other digital assets and face-to-face formats as a part of a flexible blended learning journey.
  
• Does this content already exist?
  Videos, blogs, journals, articles… there’s lots of great content on the web. And that’s before taking into account all the digital learning your organization has produced. Before you spend time creating elearning, make sure there isn’t something out there that will do the job just as well, or even better. Content curation could save you time and increase your impact.
• What’s the best way to create your elearning?
  If you decide that elearning is the answer, you need to consider how you’ll deliver your learning solution. There are three main approaches you could take:
  
  • Purchase off-the-shelf elearning: Some areas of training are relevant regardless of the sector or organization (for example, health and safety, information security and customer service). Off the shelf elearning can be a quick and cost-effective solution to these training needs. However, it won’t be tailored to your organization or learners, which may reduce its impact.
  • Engage with an agency or contractor: Expert learning course design agencies can take care of every aspect of your online course creation. They will deliver a high-end training course tailored to your target audience. However, using agencies can be expensive and time consuming.
  • Create elearning courses inhouse: Creating your own elearning inhouse using an authoring tool, lets you and your colleagues design a course with content that’s relevant to your organization and learners. You can make use of interactions and activities that have been specifically designed for effective online delivery. Read our elearning best practices guide.

Since you’ve found yourself reading this blog, it’s likely you’re interested in this third option. If you’re going to build your own elearning, make sure you have an authoring tool that’s right for you and your team, and creates the user experience you’re after.

Using an effective development process

Developing digital learning in large organizations can involve a lot of people – all with different priorities, experience and skills. Providing the right level of support is key to producing quality learning at scale. A clear process will help you stay on track with your project plan while empowering everyone to bring their best to the table.

3 common development process models

Although there isn’t one right process, there are common models that L&D teams use. You need to choose one that works for your organization and team. Here’s a quick overview of some of these models:

• ADDIE is a longstanding elearning development process. It stands for Analyze, Design, Development, Implement and Evaluate. In its traditional form, it guides everyone through one stage at a time. You can’t move on until you receive “sign off”.
• Agile started off as a software development process. At its core is the idea that small multi-skilled teams work collaboratively in “sprints” – short time frames of 1-4 weeks – to develop, share, test and iterate a solution.
• 5Cs framework has been created by learning designers for elearning projects specifically. The 5Cs are:
  • Capture – start with a clear plan: Understand the problem, so you can shape your solution.
  • Conceptualize – lead with a prototype: Turn what you know about your audience’s needs into a vision for effective and engaging learning.
  • Create – build with confidence: Start building in your authoring platform with a streamlined, efficient development process.
  • Cultivate – improve and refine: Use data to improve projects and inform strategy.
  • Commercialize – deliver better ROI: Make sure your product works for your business.

Find out more about the steps you can take for successful online learning in our elearning best practice guide.

Getting input from your internal experts

With your learning approach and process in place, you’re setting out on the right path. But even the best thought out plan will fail to deliver, if it’s not supported by effective collaboration. Developing impactful digital learning can’t be done alone. So, who should you involve?

• L&D: You and your team are the learning experts. You can get hands-on and create elearning yourself or play a supportive role, guiding authors to create online courses that deliver business impact.
• Learning designers: If your organization employs dedicated learning designers, then they will have the skills to build a course that is relevant, engaging, and effective elearning content.
• Stakeholders: A stakeholder is someone who has an interest in your course’s successful delivery. This can be a broad group and include senior management, department heads, managers and trainers. From kick off to sign off, your key business partners’ feedback and approval is essential.
• Subject Matter Experts (SMEs): Internal experts are essential to every learning project. SMEs make sure your learning is relevant, up to date and engaging. Without them identifying or creating credible examples, case studies and stories is almost impossible. 

Collaborating effectively with these colleagues will ensure your digital learning project goes smoothly and delivers results. Once everyone is onboard, you can even start to increase their involvement. Rather than just providing course content, SMEs can become elearning authors. With the right support and collaborative tool, they can input content directly into your authoring platform. 

4 steps to create an effective elearning course

Building a course alone or working in collaboration? Keeping it simple or creating customized interactions? Adding audio or video? It can be easy to get overwhelmed by all the things you need to consider when creating an elearning course. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with some simple steps to deliver effective learning experiences. 

1. Capture – Start with a clear plan

Rather than diving in and risking rework later, take the time to plan your course. 

• Define your training goals and objectives
  You can’t begin your elearning design until you’ve understood the problem you’re trying to solve. Conduct a needs analysis. This analysis can range from a simple interview to broader data collection. Define what the current situation is and what the desired impact of the training is. Make sure that it really is a skill or performance gap that training can fill, and not a wider issue such as process or communication.
• Understand your audience
  One size doesn’t fit all. Before you get started with training development, take a closer look at the people who are going to take your course. Create learner profiles. From basic demographics to the specifics of the job, an understanding of your target audience will enable you to create more relevant and usable learning content.
• Set measurable goals
  The purpose of all elearning is to bring about change. But how do you know if it’s been successful? Work with stakeholders upfront to decide on the goals you’re going to measure for your project. Elearning can generate a lot of data, but data doesn’t always mean insight. Only by carefully considering what you want to discover and identifying the relevant metrics and benchmarks, can you measure the success of your project.

2. Conceptualize – lead with a prototype

With the goals of your elearning clear in your mind, it’s time to set about generating some ideas for how they can be met. Don’t do this alone. You’ll get the best results if you do it in collaboration with your team and SMEs.  

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is great for coming up with lots of different ideas before narrowing your focus to one solution. Try to avoid looking at the course content. Instead ask everyone to think about what types of activities, experiences, tools and tips are most likely to work for your learners and goals. Here are a few techniques you could use to do this:

• Mindmapping: Explore ideas freely and sometimes collaboratively, primarily through text
• Storyboarding: Set out a sequence of potential pages or videos, like a comic strip
• Cathy Moore’s Action Mapping: Build out solutions based on building competency and change

Things you could consider when brainstorming include:

• Learning journey: Can you outline the full learning experience? How does your elearning fit with communications, other learning material and face-to-face activities?
• Learning approaches: Are there any tried and tested learning approaches which would meet your needs e.g. personalization, scenario based learning, gamification or social learning?
• Assessment: How will you check your learner’s understanding? Do you need a formal assessment at the end? Will you include an upfront diagnostic to serve or direct the learning to relevant content?
• Media: Will audio or video help bring your learning to life?

Prototyping

Prototyping is a crucial step. It allows you to check that your solution is heading in the right direction. You don’t have to prototype everything. It could be one piece of microlearning or 5 minutes of your 20-minute topic. You can do this with a:

• Wireframe: Sets out layouts and sample content, without getting caught up in styling
• Prototype: Visual styling and interactive walkthroughs of an idea to test reactions

Don’t make prototyping a big deal – do it early, do it regularly, do it collaboratively. Even if you’ve worked up ideas on paper with a wireframe, always look to build out some interactive content for your SMEs and stakeholders to try out and review.

And remember, you don’t have to start from a blank canvas. Your authoring tool may have ready-made templates which can create an effective prototype in just a few clicks. You can also seek inspiration from top elearning examples, many of which are available for re-use.

3. Create – Build with confidence

Once prototyping has confirmed your thinking, it’s time to get stuck into developing the detailed content. This stage can be seen as the “easy” step. Your design is pinned down, so you might think it’s just a case of writing the content, creating the graphics and bringing it all together in your authoring tool. Simple, right? But this is where a lot elearning falls down. So, how can you avoid some of the common pitfalls?

Start with your design model

Whether it’s copying and pasting dry content or opening the floodgates to everything your SMEs know, thinking your task is just populating the screen with detail is the path to ineffective learning. Instead of focusing on content, start with your design model. Use your prototyped learning approach as the blueprint. Your content is there to support the learning experience you’re setting out to create.

Collaborate in your authoring tool

SMEs are content experts not learning designers. To help them produce quality elearning, invite your SMEs to add their content directly into your amended and approved prototype. It already has the activities and interactions built in. Add short instructions to help them provide the type of information you need. This will help your SMEs include effective content into that framework rather than simply adding paragraphs of text. You can work on it with them at the same time, finessing wording and supporting them with visuals and practical activities.

Get agile with your build

If you build everything in one go and then gather feedback, you risk finding various parts of your elearning aren’t working as you had intended. Borrow from Agile and work in sprints with regular check in points. Here are a few examples of how you could break down your build process:

• Set up your overall styling and navigation elements
• Set up any elements that will be replicated and re-used – e.g. topic structures, menus and/or pages you will re-use
• Build out one topic first – check in on feedback and make changes
• Build out the other topics in parallel or one at a time – checking in on feedback as they are completed and making changes

These regular check in points allow you to gather feedback from your key stakeholders and some sample end users along the way.

Don’t forget to QA

It may not be the most exciting part of a project, but Quality Assurance (QA) can make or break your digital learning. QA as you go, but always do a full check before you release your elearning.

• Do several QA reviews: It’s not possible to review everything at once. If you’re focusing on testing links and buttons, you’re not paying attention to the flow of content and the sense of the narrative. Do at least two separate end-to-end reviews: one to look at text and overall sense, and another to look at visuals and functionality.
• Check the responsive experience
  If your authoring tool’s output is responsive, it should adapt to provide an optimal experience for the device it’s viewed on. But remember, you’re responsible for making sure your learning content works effectively. Don’t force lengthy, hard-to-use courses on people. Instead, keep your topics bite-sized and your content short form.
• Make sure it’s accessible
  Everyone should be able to have great learning experiences. Make sure your QA process includes an accessibility test. Check that your content is compatible with assistive technologies (e.g. screen readers) by checking you’ve added captions, provided transcripts and chosen your language wisely. Here are seven tips for designing accessible elearning to consider. 

Learn more about creating effective training modules here.

4. Cultivate – Improve and refine

It doesn’t end when your fully QA’d elearning is uploaded on to your Learning Management System (LMS). In fact, it’s only the beginning. One of the main benefits of online courses is that it’s easier to gather data about how you’re meeting your specific business goals. Armed with this information, you can learn, improve and update your elearning. 

Measure engagement

Most L&D teams measure the completion of their elearning courses. This is a great start, but it’s not a full picture of learner engagement. Many authoring tools other more detailed analytics so you can identify:

• Which topics within your elearning are most popular. This could indicate your audience is actively looking for support in certain areas.
• Which questions your audience are getting right with no problem, and which questions are tripping them up. This could indicate knowledge gaps that impact performance.
• Which countries / departments / locations are engaging most with the elearning. This could indicate where you need to do another round of promotion.

Measure impact

Once you’ve explored your learner engagement, you can start to measure the impact your elearning has had on your business goals. Has it delivered a Return on Investment (ROI)? Here are 3 steps to help you work it out:

1. Review your goal and the business metric you planned to impact. Make sure you have a benchmark to measure against.
2.  When you’ve reached significant engagement levels with your elearning, measure your key metric again and compare it to your benchmark. How are you doing?
3. Use what you’ve learned from your engagement data to double down your efforts. For example, if you’ve seen more engagement and more improvement in the US compared to the UK, get UK managers involved in promoting the elearning again.

Want to find out more? Check out our template guide to creating online training content.

In summary

If you want to maximize the benefits of moving your learning online, don’t just rush ahead and create elearning. To design a digital solution with real impact, follow our 4 steps to create an effective elearning course:

1. Capture – Start with a clear plan: Put time in upfront to make sure the solution you design is meeting the real business need.
2. Conceptualize – Lead with a prototype: Don’t rush ahead with a solution, generate ideas in collaboration with your SMEs and try them out in a prototype.
3. Create – Build with confidence: Use collaborative and iterative ways of working that involve your SMEs, stakeholders and especially your end users so you’re more likely to hit the target.
4. Cultivate – Improve and refine: Explore the data and analytics your tool offers to tweak and enhance your elearning and deliver more impact.

Using Elucidat to build a successful elearning course

New to elearning course creation or looking to take your next step with creating learning? Whatever your level of confidence, Elucidat can help you maximize the impact of your digital learning. New authors can use Elucidat’s guided workflow to create an online course quickly and easily. Experienced authors can leverage the full power of Elucidat to create custom elearning courses that are tailored to your learners needs. 

At Elucidat, we’re also constantly improving our platform based on customer feedback. So, you can be sure you’re using a tool with the latest UI, UX and learning design best practice baked in. 

Want to see for yourself? Book a demo of Elucidat to get started with a free trial.

Gamification is a word with a lot of baggage! Maybe you hear it, roll your eyes and think “buzzword”. Or perhaps gamification in elearning sounds a bit daunting to you? The truth is, there are loads of ways to incorporate games and gaming elements into your corporate elearning. Read on to learn more and for a few inspiring examples of gamification in elearning.

• What is gamification?
• How to use gamification in elearning?
• 5 best gamification in elearning examples
• The benefits of gamification to businesses & employees
• Challenges of gamification in elearning
• Best tips for effective gamification elearning

What is gamification?

Gamification allows you to supercharge your elearning experience. It is the strategic use of game elements to enhance the learning experience. It involves integrating features like points, badges, and leaderboards into online courses to motivate and engage learners. No more dull, passive courses. Instead with gamified elements, your elearning is transformed into an interactive and enjoyable learning experience.

How to use gamification in elearning

Now we’ve taken a look at some best practices in gamification, it’s time to see it in action. Here are five examples of gamification in elearning that show different ways to incorporate some or all of these gaming elements.

1. Stories

Create a compelling storyline to captivate your users and take them on a journey. Create a story that embeds users in the plot as they tackle each section of the content. This is a great way to create immersive content and keep learners engaged throughout. Incorporating characters or avatars to represent employees can add an extra layer of fun to this form of gamification in business.

2. Visual design

Eye-catching visuals and aesthetically pleasing designs can make your corporate elearning more appealing and draw your users in. Combine bright colours and graphics for a visually stimulating gamified learning experience.

3. Competitions

Who doesn’t love a bit of healthy competition? Gamification at work can allow users to compete against others in their team or anonymous players, or even against themselves to keep motivation levels high. Consider including leaderboards so learners can see how they’re performing against their peers. This is especially effective for sales reps and top-performing employees, who particularly want to keep achieving more.

4. Challenges

Use elearning gamification to reward your learners with smaller, more frequent tasks and then ramp up the difficulty level as the session progresses. This will not only help them get into the swing of things, but leave them primed and ready for more difficult, rewarding challenges using what they have learnt along the way. 

5. Rewards

Gamify your learning to incentivize your users in the way of rewards such as badges, medals or unlocking new levels can help to boost their motivation and keep them engaged for longer periods of time.

6. Feedback

Providing instant feedback when a learner completes a task or quiz is a great way to keep them focused and engaged as it allows them to track their progress as they move through the different stages of the game.

Are you seeking additional advice on creating effective elearning with gamification? Look no further. Access the ultimate guide to transform your elearning to the next level.

5 best gamification in elearning examples

Now we’ve taken a look at some best practices for gamification in elearning, it’s time to see it in action. Here are five examples of gamification in elearning that show different ways to incorporate some or all of these gaming elements.

1. A gamified quiz with badges to motivate

When does a quiz become a game? Perhaps when visual rewards and badges are introduced alongside basic point-scoring, or maybe when a timer introduces an element of competition. This gamified elearning example does both of those things, as well as demonstrating several different question types.

See this example

This game-like quiz challenges learners to prove their financial crime knowledge. It includes question rounds that increase in difficulty, points to reward correct answers, and bonus questions with badges to collect.

Why it works:

• Gamifying quizzes with badges boosts participation by creating competition and motivating users to actively take part, resulting in higher completion rates and an immersive learning experience.
• Incorporating gamification and badges into quizzes makes learning interactive and enjoyable. Badges represent achievements, fostering a sense of progress and accomplishment, making learning enjoyable, reinforcing positive behavior, and encouraging continuous learning.
• Badges provide recognition and reinforcement for participants’ efforts. Earning badges for completing quizzes or reaching milestones validates accomplishments, boosting self-confidence, motivation, and the desire to continue participating in quizzes and learning activities.

2. Scenario + game elements = sales simulation

This gamified elearning demo shows how simple gaming mechanics can be cleverly applied to a scenario-based approach. The result: a realistic learning environment that really resonates with salespeople.

Try this sales simulation example

The elearning example provides interactive scenarios and simulations mirroring real-world sales situations. It enhances sales skills and decision-making through safe practice, fostering effective sales strategies and improving overall performance. It offers a hands-on approach for learners to develop their abilities in a realistic environment.

Why it works:

• The sense of competition and urgency created by the game mechanics is relevant to the subject, with real life scenarios reflecting a fast-paced, target-driven sales floor
• The user isn’t controlling a character; they are the character – so the stakes feel higher and the game can be more directly transferred to the workplace
• It’s a low-cost audio-driven simulation and a great demonstration of achieving gamification in employee training without huge expense

3. Product knowledge game-like quiz

Creating a sense of play in your corporate elearning is great for engagement and easy to achieve through gamification. Fun, game-like product knowledge quizzes, like the example below, are a great, interactive way to test a learner’s understanding.

Test this gamification example.

This game-like quiz is designed to enhance product knowledge by offering an interactive learning experience through gamification elements such as badges, competition, and achievements. Learners engage in the quiz to earn badges, reinforcing their learning progress and providing recognition for their achievements. 

Why it works:

• With this example of elearning, question rounds are used to emphasize increased difficulty using different points assigned to different questions.
• Learners are incentivized to apply their skills correctly, making the content more likely to stick in the learner’s mind when handling a real-life situation.
• Game-like quizzes are great for the creation of content that involves high-pressure scenarios. Gamification is great for replicating this sense of pressure or less serious topics that you can have a bit of fun with.

4. Game-like quiz: General purpose

This fun, game-like quiz is made up of three rounds on your chosen subject. Each round offers the chance to win points and badges. Decide whether to formally assess learners or not.

See this example.

The showcased elearning is a game-like quiz with a general purpose. It offers an engaging and interactive experience for learners through gamification elements. The quiz aims to enhance knowledge and understanding in a fun and enjoyable way and can be catered to a wide range of topics or subjects.

Why it works:

• You can appeal to the learner’s competitive spirit by rewarding correct answers, as well as providing bonus questions with badges to collect. 
• The interactive nature of the elearning helps improve knowledge retention. By actively participating in the game-like quiz, learners are more likely to remember and understand the content, as they are applying it in practical scenarios.

5. Time-saving tailored retail training

This piece of elearning offers a personalized and engaging learning experience for retail professionals. It showcases how to cater to a range of learner needs by offering different paths through the content.

See this example.

In this gamified elearning example, tailored retail training comes to life. Learners embark on a journey filled with interactive scenarios, practical challenges, and real-world simulations. The training focuses on enhancing customer service skills, product knowledge, and sales techniques, ensuring that each participant gains valuable skills and insights that are directly applicable to their roles in the retail industry.

Why it works: 

• This type of training is great for businesses with high staff turnover, seasonal staffing, and busy learners.
• Incorporating interactive elements such as scenarios and simulations ensures that the content closely mirrors real-life situations encountered in the retail industry. This gives learners the practical skills and knowledge they can apply immediately.

The benefits of gamification for businesses & employees

Gamification in business comes with a number of benefits, both for the organization and participating users. Here, we take a look at some of the most prevalent benefits of gamifying your learning.

1. Encourages active learning

The gamification of elearning encourages learners to take an active role in their learning by providing them with ample opportunities to interact with the content. Rather than passively absorbing information, learners can test their knowledge as they go and gain instant feedback. 

2. Promotes continuous learning  

The competitive element of gamification can spur users on to beat their score or move to the next level, which promotes continuous learning. Users are also more likely to revisit a module if they feel they can score higher, meaning they’re more likely to retain the information through repetition. 

3. Improves productivity

Incorporating gamified elements into your corporate elearning can help employees to stay engaged for longer, meaning they get through more content in less time. Instead of spending half an hour watching a training video, learners can take part in three 10-minute quizzes, for example. Research has concluded that 89% of respondents would be more productive if their work was gamified, with increased happiness levels at work.

4. Creates more enjoyable learning experiences

Not only does gamification help employees to stay engaged for longer periods of time, but it also provides a more enjoyable learning experience. This helps your digital learning become less of a chore and something users can enjoy getting stuck into, instead!

5. Allows companies to collect performance data (and track performance against learning objectives)

L&D teams can leverage gamified workplace assessments to gain useful insights into employee performance and uncover topics or concepts that employees may need further training on. This can help to inform future elearning material and identify where existing modules may need improvement.

Limitations of gamification in elearning

While gamification in elearning has many benefits, it’s not necessarily right for every purpose. In some instances, where you’re dealing with more serious or challenging topics, such as compliance, for example, it may not be appropriate to gamify your content as it may detract from the key messages or takeaways. 

It’s important to treat each topic or module as unique and set your learning objectives before you decide whether gamification will be effective. Gamified content may also not be the right fit for your company depending on your company culture and/or sector, so you should also factor this in when designing your corporate elearning content. 

The most effective elearning programs are tailored to their users and individual learning needs, so if gamification isn’t right for you, experiment with other formats. Check out our guide to elearning best practices for inspiration.

Best tips for elearning gamification

1. Start small but don’t cut corners

Rather than going all-in on a high-profile gamification project, target a particular business area, audience or programme and experiment with different approaches. Make sure you have some control data and gather more after implementation to assess value add. Build up to more complex or widespread implementations. Just remember, starting small doesn’t mean just adding points to a task or tacking a leaderboard onto an end-of-course quiz. The game mechanics have to serve a purpose beyond ‘making it fun’ for gamification in business to be truly beneficial.

2. Prioritise the learning, not the game

Points and competition only deliver value if they’re tied to behaviours and performance. Always get the employee training objectives straight first and design game mechanics to be in service of those. It can be worth developing a hierarchy, whereby points are easily earned (maybe for completing a profile or sharing the course) and accumulate quickly, but badges are more meaningful, offered only in return for doing something that demonstrates new knowledge, competence or skills.

3. Be clear on criteria and progression

Transparency and clarity about how the game works will keep people engaged and motivated. What tasks earn points? What do points mean? Perhaps they translate into badges or unlock new content. What’s the criteria for reaching the next level or reward? What do rewards mean in reality? (Maybe they translate into tangible or financial benefits, or serve as accreditation of a skill that opens opportunities.)

4. Ramp up the challenge gradually

Learners need frequent, easy achievements to begin with. Once they’ve got to grips with things and seen that effort reaps reward, they’re primed and ready for a bigger challenge. The aim should always be for the next level to be within sight, challenging but attainable. Even better if each new challenge requires learners to draw on what they’ve most recently learnt.

5. Don’t disregard individual competition

It isn’t always feasible or appropriate to pit learners against learners on public leaderboards – but that doesn’t mean you can’t successfully gamify your content. Social polling lets an individual see how they compare to others, but anonymously. Or take FitBit: it has the community aspect, but plenty of people use it without that. There’s something intrinsically rewarding, even slightly addictive, about setting a goal and measuring your progress towards it (then hopefully achieving it!).

6. Facilitate continuous learning

Look for ways to encourage learners to keep returning and improving their score (and therefore, their skills and competence!), such as resetting leaderboards regularly or introducing new challenges or rewards periodically. Give people a reason to keep coming back rather than considering their learning ‘done’ and you’ll be supporting a culture of continuous, informal or on-the-job development.

Summary

These four examples show that including gamification in elearning doesn’t have to be daunting. Gaming elements such as points, badges, and levels can – with a little thought – add an extra dimension to your online courses that will help engage learners and make your content stick. To discuss these gamification examples or to find out how Elucidat can help you add gamification at work, get a free personalized demo today. We can help you do it!

Want to create engaging gamified examples like these? Take your elearning to the next level with this certified course in engaging elearning design.

In the world of corporate training, one size doesn’t fit all. Bespoke elearning offers personalized and impactful learning experiences tailored to your team’s unique needs and business objectives. But when should you opt for custom solutions over a ready-made one? This article will help you make an informed, cost-effective choice for your employee’s elearning needs.

What is bespoke elearning & off-the-shelf elearning? 

Broadly speaking, there are two main types of elearning courses available for you:

• Off-the-shelf: These are ready-made courses, often purchased from a third party. While they cover standard topics such as compliance, soft skills, and general business practices, they often miss the mark when you have specific training needs.
• Bespoke: Say hello to personalized elearning. Bespoke courses are designed around your exact requirements and objectives, giving you the freedom to tailor the learner experience from start to finish. Bespoke content is mainly created in-house by learning teams. 

Types of custom elearning

The beauty of bespoke elearning lies in its endless possibilities. Here are some types to consider:

Gamification: Imagine your colleagues having fun while learning. Gamified modules can lead to increased engagement and retention.

Immersive scenarios: Transport your employees to real-world settings where they can practice skills in a safe, controlled environment.

Interactive tools: Think drag-and-drop exercises, clickable flowcharts, or interactive video content that keeps your team active during learning.

Simulations: These provide opportunities for practice without any real-world risks, ideal for complex tasks or compliance training.

Your best bet for creating this type of content is with an elearning authoring platform. 

Choosing the right customized corporate elearning solution will determine what your goals are, as well as what your content development team need. Learn more about choosing the best elearning software to use with these resources:

• 12 best elearning tools, platforms, and software
• 13 best SCORM authoring tools
• Choosing the right HTML5 authoring tool

Benefits of bespoke elearning

Why go bespoke? Here’s why:

Increased productivity: Skill-building happens more naturally when your courses speak directly to your employees’ everyday experiences and challenges. This leads to higher productivity levels.

Easy updates: A bespoke elearning course that’s created in-house is easily editable. New regulations? Updated processes? Your course can be adapted without having to go back to square one.

Personalized content: Bespoke courses can include real examples, case studies, and scenarios relevant to your business. This makes the content more relatable and compelling.

Cost-effectiveness: Although the initial investment might be higher than ready made solutions, the long-term ROI of a bespoke course more than justifies the cost.

When to choose bespoke elearning over off-the-shelf

Off-the-shelf courses are like fast food—convenient but not always satisfying. Sure, they serve a purpose and do it quickly. However, these courses often lack the nuances that make learning memorable and relevant for your specific team and business objectives.

Bespoke elearning, on the other hand, is the gourmet meal prepared specifically for you. It aligns closely with your business goals and addresses your organization’s unique challenges. What you get is a tool for knowledge retention and skills development, honed to your specific requirements.

Feeling torn between ready-made and custom courses? Let’s break down when bespoke elearning shines:

Complex training needs

You’ve got a complex business, so a cookie-cutter approach just won’t cut it. Maybe you’re tackling industry-specific compliance or teaching intricate software—whatever it is, bespoke elearning is your best bet.

​​Business-centric objectives

Off-the-shelf solutions focus on broad topics. But what if you need to zoom in on, say, boosting your team’s performance metrics? Custom courses allow you to set business-centric objectives tied to tangible outcomes.

Branding and culture

Want your training to breathe your brand? Bespoke elearning can incorporate your company’s branding, values, and culture, making the learning experience resonate more with your employees. Explore why branded training is essential here. 

Specialized skills

If you’re in a niche sector, finding an off-the-shelf course that perfectly matches your needs can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Bespoke elearning can cover any specialized skills or knowledge your team requires.

Examples of bespoke elearning

Curious to see bespoke elearning in action? We have two shining examples that bring innovation and engagement to the forefront.

Game-like quiz: product knowledge

Ready to make learning fun and engaging? This interactive quiz spices up product learning with a game-like twist. 

Try this course

Simple branching scenario
Immerse yourself in this branching scenario. This simple branching scenario course places learners in decision-making situations.

Try this course

In summary

In a world brimming with elearning solutions, bespoke elearning stands out as a game-changer for organizations craving tailored training experiences. This custom approach aligns perfectly with an organization’s unique goals and learners’ specific needs.

• Customization: Bespoke elearning is tailored to fit an organization’s unique learning objectives and requirements.
• Engagement: Bespoke courses capture and maintain learner interest with immersive designs and interactive elements.
• Flexibility: Unlike off-the-shelf courses, bespoke elearning can be adapted easily to include critical updates and changes. 
• Cost-effectiveness: Over time, investing in a custom course can prove more cost-effective than repeatedly licensing generic content.

If you’re deciding between custom-made and off-the-shelf courses, don’t hesitate. Bespoke training isn’t just for learning; it’s a long-term investment that evolves with you.

Bespoke elearning with Elucidat

Feeling inspired? Ready to turn your elearning vision into a reality? Book a demo with us and see how Elucidat can help you translate your vision into bespoke, engaging elearning content. 

Looking to expand your elearning design initiatives? Then check our best practice elearning guide for fresh tips and tricks for designing high-quality elearning quickly.