You’ve created an eLearning course that’s getting rave reviews. Learners are engaged, they’re scoring well on quizzes, and feedback is overwhelmingly positive. But months later, you’re not seeing the behaviour change you were hoping for.
What went wrong? Why isn’t the training leading to the improvements you expected in performance or behaviour?
The good news is: you're not alone. It's a common challenge in L&D, and the solution often lies in understanding the difference between leading and lagging indicators.
Let’s break it down and use a simple diagnostic checklist to help you uncover why your eLearning isn’t translating into real-world change and what to do about it.
You’ve got all the right signs:
High engagement – Learners are clicking through, interacting with content, and staying on track.
Great quiz performance – Learners are acing their assessments.
Positive feedback – The training was fun and helpful.
But here’s the thing: these are leading indicators. They show that your content is engaging and learners are absorbing the material. But engagement alone doesn’t guarantee that learners are actually changing their behaviour or applying their new skills on the job.
That’s where lagging indicators — like performance improvement or behaviour change — come into play.
If you’re not seeing behaviour change, it may be because something is missing. Use this quick-reference checklist to assess where things might be falling short.
Ask yourself: Did the content reflect real-world situations and challenges learners face daily? If not, your learners might be engaged in the course, but struggle to apply it to their job.
Ask yourself: Was the training designed to actively engage learners? Content that’s purely informational or too passive often doesn’t lead to long-term change. Gamified experiences, interactive scenarios, and role-playing help with retention and application.
Ask yourself: Were the goals of the training practical? Did learners understand how to use the knowledge once they were back on the job? If the training is purely theoretical, it can be hard to apply in real life.
Ask yourself: How are learners supported after the training? Behaviour change is more likely if there’s ongoing reinforcement. Managers and peers can help by encouraging application and offering feedback.
Ask yourself: Are learners being reminded of what they’ve learned after the course? Repetition and reminders go a long way in ensuring long-term retention and application.
Ask yourself: Are there workplace barriers that prevent learners from using what they’ve learned? If learners are excited to apply new skills but can’t due to time constraints or lack of resources, the training will have little impact.
Ask yourself: Are you tracking metrics that actually matter to the business? If you’re only measuring engagement and scores, you might miss the bigger picture of how the training affects performance or behaviour.
If you’ve noticed any gaps, don’t worry! It’s time to make a few adjustments:
Make the content more relevant – Align your training to real-world situations so learners can see the direct application to their role.
Encourage ongoing support and reinforcement – Bring managers into the loop to help reinforce the training post-course.
Remove barriers to application – Work with leaders to ensure that learners have the time and resources to apply their new skills.
Measure for impact – Instead of just tracking engagement, link your learning metrics to actual business outcomes like job performance and behaviour change.
With Chameleon Creator, you can get a deeper understanding of how your eLearning content is performing. By leveraging our powerful analytics tool, you can measure leading indicators like engagement, quiz performance, and more, which can also inform the impact of your training on longer-term behaviour and performance.
The real key is using both leading and lagging indicators together to get a full picture of your training’s effectiveness. With Chameleon Creator, you can continuously optimise content and make data-driven decisions that help your learners succeed.
High engagement is fantastic, but it’s only part of the story. To truly know if your eLearning is working, you need to track both leading and lagging indicators. This helps you adjust in real-time and ensure that your learners are not just completing the course but applying what they’ve learned on the job.
By using the right data to inform your training strategy, you can drive behaviour change and create real business impact.
Want to see how your training is performing?
Try Chameleon Creator today and get insights that will help you build even better eLearning experiences.
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