Building learning and development (L&D) programs isn’t simple or straightforward. However, one key action sets companies up for success: Adopting a learner-centric design approach. For corporate training to be successful, it should be designed around the learner. This means getting to know how they learn best and what makes them stick around. 

How to Engage Adult Learners

Engaged learners are more likely to enjoy training, finish it and get real value from it. So, the key question is, how do we engage them? The starting point is understanding what makes your employees (i.e., adult learners) unique. 

Adult learners are characterized mainly by being: 

• Self-directed. 
• Intrinsically motivated by value drivers other than money. 
• Drawn to learning things relevant to a real-life context. 
• More engaged in learning that is centered around problem-solving. 

These traits underscore the need to create relevant and practical learning experiences and empower employees to direct their own educational journeys. With this in mind, let’s explore the strategies that have proven the most successful in boosting learner engagement. 

1. Personalize the Learning Experience: The days of one-size-fits-all are decidedly behind us. Now, it’s all about crafting bespoke learning paths and content recommendations that align with each learner’s unique needs and aspirations.  
2. Embrace Microlearning and Gamification: Shorter lessons, practical exercises and gamification features like points, badges and leaderboards can turn learning into a captivating experience. 
3. Encourage Social Learning: Fostering interaction and collaboration among learners can boost engagement and builds a stronger learning culture within your organization. 
4. Provide Self-Paced Training: This approach accommodates different learning styles and schedules, typically resulting in a more effective experience. 
5. Assess: From short quizzes to real-world challenges and immediate feedback, evaluations serve as a key tool for gauging progress and refining training initiatives. 
6. Be Agile and Data-Driven: Quick adaptation is key in L&D. Leveraging data and certain technologies, like artificial intelligence (AI), allows for the continuous refinement of learning strategies and ensures the delivery of the right content to the right person at the right time. 

Features That Support Learner Engagement

While learning management systems (LMS) have traditionally been the go-to for delivering, tracking and administering training programs, putting learners at the forefront often demands other capabilities. That is where learning experience platforms (LXP) come into play. An LXP is a digital platform that prioritizes the learner’s experience and engagement, enabling them to take the steering wheel of their professional development. 

The most forward-thinking learning platforms combine the robust administrative capabilities of an LMS with the modern, learner-centered approach of an LXP. This hybrid model ensures that training not only meets organizations’ necessary requirements but also deeply resonates with and empowers their learners.

In that sense, if you are evaluating learning platforms with the goal of ramping up learner engagement, make sure to check the following features: 

1. Personalized Learning Paths: Create custom journeys for individual learners or teams. 
2. Content Recommendation Engines: AI-powered algorithms can provide personalized content recommendations based on the learner’s preferences and past behavior. 
3. Robust Content Library: A collection of high-quality, off-the-shelf courses, complemented by the ability to source content from external platforms like YouTube or Wikipedia, personalizes and diversifies the training, making it more effective. 
4. AI-Powered Course Authoring Tool: Trainers and learners can easily create custom courses and thus facilitate the sharing of specific knowledge with their peers, teams, customers or other stakeholders. 
5. Social and Collaborative Features: Discussion forums, community spaces like Slack channels and collaborative projects enhance knowledge exchange and build a sense of community.  
6. Gamification and Microlearning: Single-topic lessons, quizzes and interactive exercises, combined with game-like elements, are powerful tools for boosting knowledge retention and motivation. 
7. Clean and Smooth UI: A platform’s look and feel can really make or break engagement. A slick user interface (UI) that lets learners move smoothly through the platform and quickly do what they came to do will keep them coming back for more. 
8. Comprehensive Analytics and Reporting Tools: The right tools can provide key metrics (e.g., learner performance and course engagement) at the individual, course or team level. Richer data enables continuous refinement of your training. 

AI-Powered Tools and the Future of Learner Engagement

Focusing on engaging learners greatly benefits companies, but many encounter a significant hurdle: scalability. Can personalized, engaging learning experiences be scaled? Absolutely.  

But it requires embracing technologies such as AI, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) — a prospect that can sometimes feel daunting.  

A good first step for those yet to incorporate AI into their training initiatives is to identify the areas where AI can directly contribute to enhancing learner engagement:  

• Course generation to speed up content creation. 
• Personalized content to tailor the learning experience to each employee’s context, background and performance. 
• Automated grading to provide instant and accurate feedback. 
• Predictive analytics to identify trends and skills gaps, predict performance and spot improvement areas. 
• AR/VR to create immersive experiences. 

Conclusion

Engaging employees in learning programs is paramount for both their development and the organization’s success. By adopting strategies that prioritize the learner, utilizing modern learning platforms and leveraging AI-powered tools, companies can make training an irresistible part of their employees’ work lives. 

Boosting learner engagement with the right tools is crucial, but it’s just one facet of cultivating a strong learning culture. Complementary efforts, including recognition, benefits and leading by example, also play a key role. Together, these strategies can elevate training from a basic requirement to an experience that learners genuinely enjoy and value.