Learning at Work Week gives us a valuable moment to pause and ask a powerful question:
What does great learning really look like in today’s world of work?
It’s no longer just about providing courses to ‘get the job done’ or ticking the mandatory and compliance box. Today’s organisations need learning to drive culture, engagement and capability — and it must be designed in a way that people actually want to engage with.
But the reality?
📉 Only 21% of employees strongly agree they have access to the learning they need to do their jobs well (Gallup, 2023)
📉 59% of workers say the learning they’re offered at work is irrelevant to their role (Degreed, 2021)
📉 And just 32% of UK L&D professionals feel their learning strategy aligns with business priorities (CIPD, 2023)
That’s a disconnect. And it’s not just a learning problem — it’s an experience problem.
Good learning needs EX Design
At People Lab, we often say that good learning is just good EX. Or more specifically, Learning Experience (LX) — an intentional approach to designing learning that’s rooted in empathy, insight, and impact.
LX borrows the best of employee experience design and applies it to learning:
- Listening deeply to understand people’s real learning needs (not just off-the-shelf and easy to deliver)
- Mapping moments that matter — from learning when onboarding, to ongoing career development, to learning as leaders…and more!
- Co-creating learning experiences that feel inclusive, engaging and relevant
- Testing, iterating and evolving — because learning should never be static
Here’s an example.
When we supported a large organisation to improve their learning experience across multiple populations (including early careers and leadership development), we began with insight workshops to understand the current reality.
These sessions revealed major inconsistencies — in communication, structure, and accessibility. We heard how learning was often overly generic, poorly timed, and ultimately not hitting the mark.
From this, we developed a comprehensive insight report and proposed plan for improvement, which included:
- Co-creating learning personas to reflect different needs, preferences and context
- Recommendations to improve the learning infrastructure — including communication, planning and consistency
- Suggested approaches to better align learning to real needs — with styles and formats that fit different roles, contexts and operational requirements
- Cultural shifts — from transactional to social, shared and self-directed learning, underpinned by leadership buy-in and psychological safety
- A framework for continuous improvement — including reporting, ROI, feedback loops and employee involvement
By starting with insight and applying experience design principles, we were able to help the organisation reimagine its learning experience — with people, not just process, at the centre. Because when learning is designed well, it becomes a moment of trust, value and growth. Not a chore.
Ready to Transform Learning in Your Organisation?
Whether you’re looking to improve onboarding, support leadership capability, or embed new ways of working — we can help.
At People Lab, we bring our human-centred design expertise to your learning challenges, creating experiences that deliver for both people and performance.
👉 Let’s talk about designing a better learning experience. Get in touch with us
Want to build your own learning capability?
If you’re in HR, L&D, or EX and want to deepen your own skills, don’t miss The EX Space — our sister site dedicated to all things employee experience.
Inside you’ll find:
- CPD-accredited courses
- Downloadable tools and templates
- Bitesize learning and webinars
- A growing community of peers sharing real-world practice
You can now buy all courses individually (PAYG), or unlock everything with pro membership. Explore your next step 👉 www.theexspace.com or book a tour to find out which option is best for you.
