Learner Engagement is Broken – Here are 4 Ways to Fix It

Jan 5, 2026 | Articles, Employee Training and Employee Experience Design, Instructional Design, L&D Leadership & Culture

Key Takeaways:

  • 72% of L&D leaders see learner engagement as the biggest obstacle to virtual instructor-led training (VILT).
  • Focusing on engagement helps organizations build a learning culture that improves time to productivity, performance, and overall business outcomes.
  • Measuring engagement requires moving past completion rates to deeper signals like application, interaction, feedback, and links to job performance.
  • Designing for motivation through relevance, autonomy, practice, feedback, and support turns training from a checkbox into a strategic advantage.

A recent study from Microsoft and Training Magazine shows that 72% of L&D leaders see learner engagement as the biggest obstacle to virtual instructor-led training (VILT). Ever since workplace learning went online, employers have been looking for ways to maintain the attention of their teams. But what does learner engagement look like in the modern workforce? And why does it matter for your business?

In this article, we’ll define what an engaged learner looks like, what high learner engagement can do for business, and explore how business leaders can use the psychology of motivation to improve learner engagement.

Defining Learner Engagement

Every L&D professional understands the difference between a learner who logs in and one who leans in. A truly engaged learner demonstrates commitment to their work by making an effort to build critical skills. They do more than check a box, whether they’re regularly reviewing training materials, finding opportunities to apply what they’ve learned, or enrolling in relevant follow-up courses to stay fresh.

By optimizing for learner engagement in your workplace training programs, you can help build a culture of learning where every employee understands how their role fits into the strategic goals of your organization. Training employees to do more than complete the task at hand can foster a sense of career ownership, motivating them to seek out future-ready skills that drive your business forward.

As training teams focus in on proving the ROI of their L&D programs for the year ahead, they’ll need to move beyond superficial learning metrics like completion rates, and identify other markers of learner engagement that reflect learning’s impact on business outcomes. This means not only identifying what engagement looks like but leveraging proven strategies for maintaining employee engagement through skills-based and experience-driven learning.

The Business Benefits of Focusing on Learner Engagement

In the modern hybrid or digital workplace, learners expect relevance, flexibility, and immediate connection between what they learn and what they do. Research from Brandon Hall Group underscores that less than half of organizations say the mission of their learning strategy is to make learning an integral part of the organization’s culture. That gap signals an opportunity: moving from training as a checkbox to training as a catalyst.

According to Brandon Hall Group, programs that are learner-focused (rather than simply compliance-driven) achieve better results — such as improved time-to-productivity, higher individual performance, and greater overall employee engagement. In other words, completion is table stakes; engagement is what drives behavior change, skill acquisition, and ultimately business outcomes.

Business Use Cases for Learner Engagement

When learners are actively engaged, the impact of your L&D programs multiplies. Learning programs designed with the learner at the center (versus purely compliance-driven programs) can lead to stronger performance and business alignment.

Here are three examples of how learner engagement impacts business outcomes:

  1. Engagement accelerates time to productivity — Litmos customers consistently show that when onboarding and role-based training is personalized, relevant, and easy to access, learners reach proficiency faster because they can immediately connect learning to real job tasks and apply skills on the job with confidence.

  2. Engagement increases training relevance and effectiveness over time — Organizations using Litmos to create continuous feedback loops (through learner activity data, assessments, and manager input) are able to quickly refine content, close skill gaps, and keep training aligned with evolving business needs, resulting in higher participation and sustained learner buy-in.

  3. Engagement drives measurable performance outcomes — Rather than relying on completion rates alone, Litmos customers use real-time learning analytics to identify where learners disengage, which content drives stronger retention, and how learning behaviors correlate with performance indicators, enabling managers to directly link training engagement to improved individual and team performance.

In short: If you train without prioritizing engagement, you risk low productivity, less efficacy, and less ROI from your training.

4 Steps to Fix Your Learner Engagement

What motivates a learner to “lean in”? Four key instructional design elements drive learner motivational: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. To create learner-centric experiences that keep employees engaged:

  1. Give learners control and autonomy through customized learning paths tailored to their job and career goals. Ensure that your learning platform enables consistent communication about courses, so learners are always aware of what is available to them.
  2. Keep training active and engaging with hands-on activities, simulations, or interactive quizzes to combat passive consumption. Build gamification opportunities into courses and learning paths, for a more rewarding learning experience.
  3. Embed practice and feedback loops into training, so that learners can seamlessly apply new skills, get feedback, build confidence and see the value of their effort. Mentorship programs, paired with learning platforms that enable peer interaction through discussion forums, help drive deeper engagement and provide context.
  4. Encourage a participative, supportive culture, where learners feel they are part of something bigger and their contributions matter. Use personalized learning paths that adjust based on learner prompts, allowing them to customize their learning experience progress at their own pace.

By focusing on these motivational levers – attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction – your organization can make training feel like less of a chore, and more of a meaningful, motivating experience.

Strong Learner Engagement is a Strategic Advantage

Engaged learners aren’t just doing training; they’re transforming themselves, their teams and the business. They see training not as a checkbox, but as a step toward mastery, problem-solving, and organizational success. By shifting your focus from “did they complete the course?” to “are they growing and applying what they’ve learned?” – you evolve your L&D function from service to strategic partner.

Litmos is built from the ground up to support engagement and drive meaningful learning outcomes. Here’s how:

  • Personalized learning paths: Litmos’ AI l tools allow learners to discover relevant courses and create personalized learning paths, while also supporting prerequisites and multiple formats to keep paths relevant and flexible.
  • Mobile-first, social & gamified experience: Enabling learners to train from any device, when and where they like, and providing opportunities for peer-to-peer engagement and competition, increases buy-in by making learning a fun and social experience.
  • Content-rich ecosystem: With a library of 98,000+ pre-built courses from top-tier content providers, as well as multi-language support, Litmos offers expert-vetted content on a huge wide variety of topics for learners across the globe.

In short: Litmos empowers your organization to shift from simply “training for compliance” to “learning for performance and growth.”

Learner Engagement Starts with Motivational Design

Uncover what drives attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction, and start designing learning experiences that inspire action — not just attendance.

Download the Motivational Design Checklist

To see how Litmos can help your organization turn learners into high-impact performers, book a free demo today!