L&D That Moves the Needle: Use Data to Design What Works
In high-performing organizations, decisions don’t wait for perfect clarity.
They move forward with 80% of the data and adjust fast.
Learning and Development needs that same mindset.
Too often, L&D gets stuck chasing completion rates, logging learning hours, and creating content that doesn’t change anything.
Impact starts when L&D shifts from content creators to business partners focused on real problems, real behavior, and measurable performance.
What’s Actually Happening on the Job?
Before building any learning solution, ask:
What are people expected to do?
What’s getting in the way?
What’s the fastest path to enable that behavior?
This is where action mapping comes in. It’s a way to move past assumptions and dig into what the job really requires. It often reveals that what’s needed isn’t a course it might be a checklist, a job aid, or a system fix.
The solution isn’t always “more training.”
It’s the right intervention, in the right format, at the right time.
Just-in-Time Support > One-and-Done Learning
BJ Fogg’s work on tiny habits reminds us: sustainable change happens in small, consistent moments. L&D should take the same approach:
Provide quick-reference tools in the flow of work
Embed micro-practice opportunities
Use reminders, nudges, and peer learning moments
If you design learning like a Netflix binge, but people need help in the moment, you’ve missed the mark.
Start with Data,Not at the End
One of the biggest mistakes? Treating data as an afterthought.
You don't want your first question to be “what can we pull from the LMS?”
Instead, ask early:
What does success look like?
How will we know if people are doing something differently?
What metrics already exist in the business?
Then work backwards to design for those outcomes.
What is LTEM,and Why It Matters
Most learning teams track the basics:
✅ Who attended
✅ What they scored on a quiz
✅ What they thought of the session
That’s not enough.
LTEM (Learning-Transfer Evaluation Model), developed by Will Thalheimer, is a framework that pushes you beyond vanity metrics. It includes 8 levels of learning evaluation, but the most powerful ones are:
Level 5: Decision-making – Can learners make effective choices based on what they learned?
Level 6: Task competence – Can they apply skills in real scenarios?
Level 7: Transfer – Are they using the new skill on the job consistently?
If your learning design doesn't support these outcomes, you're measuring memory, not mastery.
The Real Shift: From Delivery to Application
Here’s the core L&D mindset shift:
It’s not about what people know,it’s about what they do.
Design your learning with built-in application:
Practice during the session
Job-specific scenarios
Opportunities to try, reflect, and adjust
Manager touchpoints for reinforcement
If people walk away with knowledge but don’t use it, learning hasn’t happened.
Closing Thought
You can’t measure what matters if you don’t define what matters.
L&D teams that drive results do three things well:
Define success in business terms
Design learning aligned with behavior change
Measure progress early and often
Stop creating content for content’s sake.
Start building solutions that people use and businesses feel.