How To: Design a Learner-first Program That Drives Business Outcomes

It’s not uncommon for beginner — and even seasoned — learning experience designers to approach their program from an unstable, imbalanced or even biased place. This results in initiatives that fail to engage learners and achieve business outcomes due to irrelevant content that isn’t accessible to learners. 

When program leaders put the learner first, and do so at every step of the design process, the results are obvious. That’s because you see the following impact:

• • Improved employee performance
  • Reduced onboarding times
  • Reduced churn
  • Improved customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores

But, this is only the start.

Let’s “Set the Table”

Until recently, it was difficult for Learning & Development (L&D) teams to prove the ROI of their programs. This is what led to learning-powered initiatives taking a backseat when compared to more measurable drivers of growth, such as Marketing, Sales and Product. 

That has changed though. Advances in theory, methodology and technology have all led to the newfound ability to strategically design and measure the impact of online training.  

We’ve had a front-row seat, especially as we’ve worked with our install base, to understand what works, what doesn’t and why. Through these experiences, we’ve derived a 3-