Commissioning learning design can be tricky – there’s an ever-changing world of technical possibilities, new learning insights to digest and the pressure to prove a return on investment.

Desq has been designing digital learning for 25 years, so our team has put together a handful of killer questions that L&D teams should put to their learning design partners, to get the best out of a project. You might not get an easy answer, but you start the conversation that enables collaborative, creative work towards better solutions.

How are we going to know it’s worked?
“The best learning experiences deliver a real benefit back into the business. To know it’s made a difference, we need a measure. So when a client starts with questions about this it’s music to our ears. Talked about early on we can build in measures – measures of impact, not just completion or take-up. So, how has this changed behaviour? What are people doing better as a result of this learning? There might even be impacts on the bottom line. If we can identify measures of impact we can review and enhance, take lessons from what really works and is impactful for that audience and client.”

Leanne, senior producer

What will this really change?
“We always ask clients what they want to be different because of this learning – what should it change? Good learning design will change things – for people, for one part of a process, or beyond. It’s a good conversation to start with because it focuses on outcomes and encourages us to be open-minded about how we’ll get there. When we start by talking about numbers and durations of modules, or the media we’ll use, we might miss the chance to pin down real purpose. ’Why are we doing this?’ should always be the starting point.”

Heather, head of client and creative

How do we make this belong to our brand?
“Digital learning, especially onboarding, should look and feel like it belongs to a client brand. So a good set of brand guidelines and a good handover of assets means we can create something that strengthens employer brand value. We know that onboarding is a vital opportunity to build a relationship with new hires, so it makes sense to use it as a channel for sharing the best of the brand. The best learning and onboarding projects have a distinctive voice and character, just like the best brands.”

Will, senior designer

What do you think this should be?
“Sometimes we get a brief that’s got it all set out – clients know the platform and tech they want, the learner journey, the content and media…they’ve worked it all out. But learning designers love a challenge and I like it when clients don’t know what they need, they just know the goal they have and they set us the challenge of mapping the way there. I think Desq does its best work when we have the chance to play with technical possibilities, learning design ideas and to do some of the ‘working out’ so when we get involved early and clients say ‘this is the challenge – what might the answer be?’, that’s the perfect starting point.”

Nick, head of production