Dear L&D Managers: Are You Sabotaging Your Learning Programs? Part 1

Learner engagement, or lack of it, is a common concern among Learning & Development managers. If employees don’t engage, they don’t learn, and the desirable new behaviors that everyone expected would translate to better performance on the job fail to materialize. 

It’s not just disappointing. A lack of engagement poses a serious risk to L&D departments – budgetary at best, and existential at worst. That question keeps more than one L&D manager awake at night, and for good reason, given the plethora of tools, technology, and AI helpmates they’ve invested in to help.

A quick quiz

We have an idea of what might be going awry. Let’s explore that with a one-question quiz.

Q: Of the following, which learning design is more likely to engage employees and motivate them to apply what they’ve learned? 

A) Present the content as quickly as you can while you have their attention, then test them to keep them on their toes

B) Use video to deliver the content — this is the TikTok generation!

C) Walk them through relevant problem-solving scenarios to make them think

D) Gamify the training so they earn kudos and badges on the learning platform

If the answer isn't obvious, it would be to your instructional designers. (We'll reveal it later.)

The real problem

Instructional designers know what promotes engagement and how to create effective learning experiences. For many companies, it's not happening. Something besides ID competency is getting in the way. 

The ID POV

Instructional designers express deep frustration in forum posts. Many want to create brilliant learning experiences but lack the time, resources, and support to "do it right."

They often complain about needing to:

• Churn out content quickly

• Check off boxes rather than create meaningful experiences

• Work with unrealistic expectations

This common situation almost guarantees failure.

Could it be that management is not listening to the people who are most responsible for creating training that leads to employee and company success? 

If so, it might be due to a gap in understanding about instructional design and how content creation teams achieve results. If a manager has never played in that sandbox, this might be a bit of a mystery. 

There are good reasons it takes longer and is more expensive than it seems it should be, especially when AI can blast out seemingly usable copy in seconds. So, why not just use that?"

What management gets wrong about instructional design

ID ≠ Writing

First of all, Instructional design is not writing. Your ID doesn’t just sit down with some content, pound out a course — and voilá, it’s done! 

The real work behind effective ID

Effective instructional design requires analysis and thought. The ID must deeply understand:

• Who the learner is

• What they're doing now

• What new behaviors are needed to improve job performance

To design the steps that will bring employee up to that level, IDs need to know the new behavior even better than employees will be required to. 

This goes beyond intellectual understanding. Instructional design requires empathy because a change in knowledge and motivation is an internal shift in the learner's mind and body.

Learning results from interacting with content, not just consuming it. This complex process is why AI-generated courses often fall short. The ID guides learners from their perspective, anticipating needs and shaping every moment of the learning journey.

ID = Science

The decisions IDs make are science-based, not opinion or conjecture. While traditional teaching worked for centuries, the scientific method and neuroscience have deepened our understanding of how people learn. 

What great IDs do

A great instructional designer:

• Keeps up with the science

• Applies proven methods to make learning engaging

• Drives behavior change through evidence-based design

The instructional designer also understands that while dazzle doesn't teach, content must be:

• Visually appealing

• Interactive

• Relevant — to grab and hold attention

Every word and image convey a message. Every click counts. Nothing is there just for show.

Designing and producing all of this requires skill, time, and meticulous attention.

The ID at a keyboard isn't just pushing words around — they're facilitating new understandings for another person. That's neither trivial nor quick.

The cost of misalignment

When there's a disconnect between expectations and the realities of instructional design, well-meaning decisions can backfire:

• Unrealistic timelines get set based on misconceptions about the work involved

• Design processes get compressed to meet urgent business needs

This creates learning that 'checks a box' but fails to engage—the very problem we started with.

The message

To ensure your team creates the learning experiences your company needs to thrive:

Trust your instructional designer and content team to know what it takes

Abandon ideas of how easy it is—assume it's three times harder than you imagine

Listen to them and provide the time, resources, and tools truly required

Then watch the improved results unfold — and be prepared to show your superiors how much your function contributes to the company's strategic direction.

A promise kept 

The answer to the question is C. You’ve seen A, B, and D in practice, but these are just techniques that skirt around the main issue: making content relevant to grab attention and prompt deep thinking so employees engage, learning occurs, and they are motivated to use it on the job—just what you’ve been looking for!