Are your learners not excited for learning? When you release a module to your staff, do you hear grumbles and moans or even feel the eye rolls from behind your back?
Low learner engagement is a problem many L&D teams struggle with. Employees can see training and learning as a tick box activity, where they can just keep clicking the continue button and guess their way out of it. For some, it is a chore.
But how does one change that?
We ask the experts in our field, Learning Experience Designer Amanda Nguyen and Senior Capability and Development Manager at MC, Sophia Jacobsen what are the tips and tricks in overcoming the obstacle.
What is Low Learner Engagement?
For many, low learner engagement can be determined by the attitude surrounding learning. Are your employees wanting to open up a module and do a health and safety training?
“Low learner engagement, to me, goes beyond just passive participation or silence. It's when a learning experience fails to spark curiosity, connection, or meaningful action,” says Amanda.
“It’s when learners are physically present but mentally checked out—going through the motions without emotional investment, critical thinking, or any true desire to apply what they're learning. It's that invisible wall you feel when content doesn’t meet them where they are, when it doesn’t invite them to care, explore, or stretch beyond their current understanding.”
But of course, it might not just be the content.
Sophia says that at MC, their learners are often stretched thin and are juggling heavy workloads and multiple priorities both at work and home. So low learner engagement isn’t about disinterest but rather a lack of time or a lack of understanding around how training supports their day-to-day work.
“Low learner engagement is when employees do the training but don’t connect with it. They complete the modules or a curriculum but retain very little or don’t change behaviour afterward,” adds Sophia.
When you start seeing the signs that low learner engagement might be plaguing your workplace, L&D teams need to take action. Professionals know that L&D can bring successful business outcomes, whether that is through confidence, capability, performance and culture, so why not make it impactful and valuable?
“We’re not just creating courses—we’re shaping experiences that move people, shift behaviour, and help them do their best work,” adds Amanda.
Why Tackle Low Learner Engagement?
“It is really important to tackle because when training feels like a chore it erodes trust in future learning initiatives. Employees begin to tune out and it becomes hard to build capability effectively,” says Sophia.
The most important pillar of any organisation is the people and cultivating a learning environment that focuses on bettering the workplace via productivity, efficiency and culture, the company will overall reap the benefits.
High learner engagement encourages behaviour changes that can result in high ROI for the business.
Signs of Low Learner Engagement
The first thing at identifying whether the eLearning content you are creating is boring to your learners is by looking into whether your learners are engaging.
Amanda breaks this down into five points:
- Surface-level participation
- Resistance or indifference to learning
- High dropout or incomplete rates
“It's important to remember that low engagement isn't always because the content is "boring" — it’s often about perceived relevance, emotional connection, timing, and delivery method,” she says.
“If learners can't see the “why” behind the learning—how it helps them personally grow, solve real problems, or make their work-life easier—they'll mentally and emotionally check out, even if the course or content looks flashy on the outside.”
Though this can happen in live workshops, webinars and even coaching sessions, with eLearning content there are tools in place that can help identify these flaws.
Tools like Chameleon Analytics can grab learner data such as engagement and time spent which are vital datapoints that L&D teams can immediately see, capture and take action upon. Looking at datasets such as engagement drop offs, L&D teams can take this and immediately change content. This can be called leading indicators.
Actioning Low Learner Engagement
Now that you have identified low learner engagement, how can you action on this?
- Our learners have yet to begin the module or haven’t even opened it 1 week later.
Sophia says that in this situation, L&D teams have to respect their time. It is about giving learners flexibility to complete training when it suits them and take the time to understand the pressures of the job.
If you have tackled low learner engagement and made eLearning seem like a value add for learners, they will open that module quicker than you think.
- There is a steep drop off in learner engagement halfway through my module and are completing it too fast?
Amanda suggests leaning into interactions to craft the modules, especially as it makes it more personal, relevant and joyful for the learner.
Her favourite interactions include the topic portal, text entry and custom background images to create engaging micro-moments, visual storytelling and scenario-based interactions.
This can transform static content into an experience that feels “alive, intuitive and genuinely useful”.
- Learners are not leaving feedback following a module.
With Chameleon, Sophia says MC has been able to involve more people in their learning design process. The people involved are not needing technical design skills either.
“Subject matter experts and managers can co-create learning experiences that are grounded in real roles and day-to-day challenges. When learners know their peers have shaped the content, it fosters trust and signals that learning is a collaborative effort, something we’ve seen positively influence engagement.”
“When employees start discussing learning informally, recommending modules to peers, or referencing content during meetings, that’s a sign of real engagement.”
With the use of Chameleon Analytics, L&D teams can action low learner engagement earlier on, ensuring themselves for success later down the line. Find out whether learners are engaging with content through drop off rates, time spent and much more.
Try Chameleon Creator today and get the insights that you need to help build better eLearning experiences.
