We’ve all been there – spending months designing a learning programme that looks great on paper, only to find that it doesn’t actually change much in practice. The feedback is polite; the completion rates are fine… but behaviour in the workplace? Unchanged.

So, why do so many learning programmes fail to deliver real impact or a return on expectations?

In my experience, it often comes down to a simple misunderstanding within L&D and Learning Design teams, not clearly identifying what kind of learning outcome the intervention is meant to achieve and how to design for it.

Let me explain.
Broadly speaking, there are three types of learning objectives every intervention can aim for:

* Information-based learning – The goal here is to inform. Learners are expected to remember key facts and act accordingly. Think: new legislation, health and safety rules, or compliance training.
* Instructional learning – The aim is to teach a new process or skill. Learners need to follow a set of steps to complete a task. For example, learning to use new software or assembling a product.
* Behavioural change learning – This one’s the toughest. It’s about changing how people think and act. For instance, how managers lead their teams, or how inclusivity is practised across an organisation.

A great learning design usually includes all three, but in reality, many L&D teams lack sufficient experience with the third one: behavioural change.
And that’s where many programmes go wrong.

Designing for behavioural change is far more complex than creating an eLearning module that says, “Click this button,” or giving instructions to “Be more inclusive.” You can’t just tell people to behave differently and expect it to happen.

That’s why so many initiatives like “Unconscious Bias” or “AI training” training often fall short. They’re designed as informational or instructional, not behavioural programmes. The intent is right, but the design premise is wrong.

Over the years, I’ve designed and delivered behavioural change learning and trained L&D teams to do the same. The results are remarkable when it’s done well because the learning actually sticks, and people start doing things differently.

So, where do you start?
The first step is acknowledging that behavioural change should be part of almost every learning solution. Once you accept that, you can begin designing experiences that create real, lasting impact.

Of course, this is just one element of strong learning design, but it’s arguably the most powerful one.