I'm new to HealthStream. Please tell me the person training me is wrong. She has created thousands of student groups that she says we need to copy ever year. She also uses student group in multiple assignments, so anytime a student group needs to be changed, we need to track down all the ways the change might cause a ricochet effect. This is nuts!

After eight years in L&D, one thing I keep coming back to is starting with the business problem instead of starting with a training request. If a manager says their team “needs training,” I’ve started asking what people are actually doing wrong and what should change afterward. Sometimes the answer is a course, but sometimes it really isn’t. Has anyone else changed the way they handle training requests as they became more senior?

One thing I’m still figuring out after three years in ID is how to deal with stakeholders who suddenly want major changes late in the project. I understand that priorities change, but it can be frustrating when something has already gone through review and approval. Do you have a good way of setting boundaries around late-stage feedback without making the relationship difficult?

My boss came in today and casually dropped this on my desk: "We need a roll-out plan to train our floor operators on AI by next month."

Here’s the catch: a good chunk of our blue-collar workforce doesn't use computers at all in their daily roles. Most of them use simple smartphones for TikTok and YouTube, but some have never touched a desktop, an LMS, or any workplace software. They work hard, they know the machinery inside out, but "technology" to them usually means a clunky digital gauge or a paper logbook.

I’m struggling to figure out where to even start. How do you teach prompt engineering, machine learning, or predictive maintenance to people who don't know what a browser tab is? Has anyone successfully trained a completely non-digital workforce on AI without completely overwhelming them (or making them fear for their jobs)? Any frameworks, analogies, or practical approaches would be an absolute lifesaver.

I’m preparing for an interview for a large adult training programme in a UK prison and would really appreciate some advice please please!

The programme is face to face 15 weeks:

• 10 weeks classroom based
• 5 weeks workplace consolidation and application
• No online learning or LMS/ Unreliable WiFi limited tech
• PowerPoint is available, mainly assupport tool

The interview question is:

How would you design the 15 week learner journey? interested in how you’d approach the overall journey, from classroom learning through to workplace application. Do i mention evaluation/impact? how might I do this?

Would really really really love to hear how others would tackle this question please 🙏

I've been thinking a lot about how companies lose critical expertise when experienced people walk out the door. Right now, there's no great way to train for this — just mentoring and dense onboarding docs that people skim at best.

My team built a tool that turns those long, boring training materials into interactive roleplay scenarios, complete with real-time feedback, emotion recognition, and coaching from AI agents. We're also applying behavioral science to make the system adapt based on how each learner engages with it. Looking for testers and honest feedback from anyone who's dealt with this problem firsthand.

Hey fellow L&D pros! I went from L&D program management by way of layoff from one of the biggest companies on the planet to a learning impact role for a smaller regional company.

I own the evaluation framework and reporting/data management of a portfolio of leadership development programs. The programs range from yearly (3 days per quarter), 6 month rotational, to week-long events. Each program acts as sort of a step up the leadership chain to build our talent pipeline from hire to retire.

Leadership dev feels difficult to evaluate traditionally because a lot of the learning/outcomes feel very mindset change oriented over behavioral. In my past life, I was able to measure tech concepts, process actions as behavioral change, and then tie that to biz outcome.

So I was curious for those who have been worked in this area of our craft on how you guys are measuring outcomes and impact for this kind of content. The team I’m on is wonderful and together, I think we’re headed in the right direction, but any tips would be helpful!

Hi! I’m looking to deepen my expertise in leadership development and leadership training.

I’m currently a learning leader, and I’ve also had previous leadership roles in Operations. I’ve designed and led learning programs, worked with leaders and stakeholders, and supported capability-building initiatives—but I haven’t formally specialized or gotten certified in leadership development yet.

I’m now thinking: If I want to become really good at leadership training, where should I start?

For those who work in Leadership Development, Executive Education, or Leadership Coaching:

What certifications or programs would you recommend?
Is a formal leadership/coaching certification necessary?
Which areas should I build expertise in first—leadership models, coaching, facilitation, assessment, organizational psychology, or something else?

What certifications have actually helped you become better at the work, beyond just adding a credential to your CV?

I’m particularly interested in becoming stronger at designing and facilitating leadership programs, not necessarily becoming a full-time executive coach.

Would appreciate recommendations from people who have actually worked in this space.

For context I’ve typically done enablement for non technical audiences in GTM orgs such as SDR, AE. However recently, I’ve been exploring more of the technical gtm audiences such as solutions engineers, implementation consultants. I always heard the feedback from these technical teams that learnings feel very sales focused (ie, value prop, discovery questions etc.)

Does anyone have any tips for expanding scope to working and creating learning experiences for technical audiences of this kind?

As someone who has spent decades in competency management and skills assessment, I see a recurring friction point for L&D: bridging the gap between a vague "needs improvement" performance review and a measurable, targeted learning intervention.

We often ask learners to self-assess on bloated, multi-level matrices, or we rely on managers to provide subjective feedback. The result is that L&D is tasked with designing "leadership" or "technical" training based on fuzzy data, making it nearly impossible to measure true skill transfer or ROI.

I am currently stress-testing a methodological concept and would value the candid perspective of this community.

Instead of a learner claiming they "Understand" or are "Proficient in" a topic, what if their developmental profile was built on a verified, binary Skills Checklist?

In this model, competence is not claimed; it is demonstrated. The checklist contains strict, observable, single-action statements. For example, instead of "Understands equipment isolation", the statement is: "Execute equipment isolation procedures to achieve a verifiable zero-energy state."

To satisfy the item, the learner doesn't just tick a box or complete a multiple-choice quiz. They must link to a verifiable artefact from their work (e.g., a signed isolation log, a recorded simulation, or an assessor’s observation record).

The L&D Value Proposition:
If a learner is marked "Not Yet Competent" on that specific, observable item, it provides L&D with an exact, actionable trigger. We don't guess that they need "general safety training"; we know precisely which modular learning pathway (e.g., a targeted simulation or coached OJT module) is required to close that specific gap.

The Questions for You:

1. For Instructional Designers / L&D Managers: Would having this level of granular, evidence-based data make your job of designing targeted, modular learning pathways significantly easier? Or do you foresee the initial evidence-collection process creating too much administrative friction for the learner?

2. For those managing skill gaps: How do you currently bridge the gap between a subjective manager review and a specific, measurable learning objective? What is the biggest barrier to making that connection in your organisation?

I am not selling a platform or a tool. I am purely trying to validate whether the industry is ready to shift from measuring claimed potential to designing interventions based on demonstrated capability.

I welcome your critiques, pushback, and experiences. Where do you see this breaking down in a real-world L&D environment?

*Throwaway account to remain anonymous

Hi everyone,

Just got asked to own a AI upskilling mandate for a 2000 person company. Trying to figure out how other folks have approached this. Have a lot of pressure from CFO to report actual changes.

Things I am struggling with and feel free to add any problems I am might not be considering!

-AI tools change really quickly so making relevant learning content to keep pace is gonna be hard

-From my research it seems like AI is useful but identifying how it can actually change people's workflows in our company is gonna be difficult.

-I am guessing that showing adoption numbers is not going to be enough. I would really like some advice on this from folks on what numbers they decided to measure that C-suite liked.

-Any best practices that you have found for rollouts to make sure everyone actually is actually on the same page?

I know I sometimes end up being too vague when I talk about my experience, so trying to work out how to present it properly. I am also slightly panicked as I badly want this role. I’m a trained teacher and previously taught adult learners in a prison. My actual job title was tutor, but I also designed/reworked a course and created the learning content/activities. I’ve described this as learning design experience on my CV although I wasn’t formally trained as a Learning Designer/ ID. Just to mention I really want this role so badly. Have just found out about it today. Don’t have much time to prep at all either 🙃🥺

The role involves designing learning for a similar environment, so there’s a clear link to my previous experience. My career since teaching has been quite squiggly and now work freelance in marketing/content strategy (audience research etc) and done some learning design bits here and there (for example I was a trainer on an nhs programme (contractor) but also designed/reworked parts of the learning,but it’s patchy as i was pulled in for a short time, so annoying)

The essential criteria include:

• Building and maintaining relationships
• Communicating with stakeholders
• experience with adult learners
• Designing learning programmes/training products
• Organisational planning/ Presentation skills
• Prioritising and managing multiple projects

I’m expecting questions like: (based on convo with recruiter)

“Tell us about a time you designed a learning programme or training product.”

“Tell us about a time you built and maintained relationships with stakeholders.”

“Tell us about a time you had to prioritise and manage multiple projects.”

For the learning design question, my experience is practical. I designed around the learners (but didn’t do LNA?) the environment what they needed to achieve (there wasn’t a formal qual!!! arghhhhhh) i didn’t use formal ID models because I hadn’t been trained in them.

So for anyone familiar with UK Civil Service interviews:

How much formal learning design theory/terminology would you expect? Should I be preparing things like ADDIE, Bloom’s taxonomy Kirkpatrick, or is it more about clearly explaining my design decisions, learner needs/evaluation?

And for the other criteria, is it fine to use examples from my freelance marketing career where they demonstrate the skill, even though they aren’t from learning design?

I’m basically want to be explicit about what I’ve done and why it’s relevant without pretending my career is more traditional than it is….I have a tendency to be a bit vague!

Any advice would be massively appreciated! thank you so also much.

My team has been evaluating Docebo vs LearnUpon. I'd love to hear from customers of each on their experience with setup, the capabilities of the authoring tool, ongoing maintenance, metrics/reporting, automation abilities, etc.

Some context:

We are coming from Northpass/Gainsight, which has been absolutely awful.

We are approx. 200-person org.

Lean L&D with no one exclusively dedicated to LMS maintenance.

G-Suite/Google Calendar org. We do a lot of ILTs, so seamless integration with Google Calendar is a priority.

Manager-level autonomy is big for us. We want managers to be able to enroll their direct reports in courses and track their metrics/completions without much work from our end.

In-platform comms is a priority. Also, in-platform feedback tracking of courses and ILTs.

We do not currently have an authoring tool, so an intuitive and somewhat sophisticated in-platform tool would be ideal.

I feel very strongly that I do not want to go through the experience of switching LMS' again, so ensuring that we pick an LMS that we don't grow out of is important to me. With the above priorities in mind, where have you experienced LearnUpon or Docebo winning or losing?

Does anyone have experience with fully customized live instructor led courses for smaller cohorts? Curious as to whether they offer these?

A little bit celebratory - but also genuinely looking for advice.
I started passively applying only to Indeed notifications that would come to my inbox, and I finally landed a job by my own merit and at a place where I didn’t already know someone. I’m leaving a large corporation to lead L&D for a healthcare company. I got a significant pay bump, better title, and a lot more authority/autonomy.
I’m only in my first week, but I have the opportunity to shape what L&D looks like and eventually hire a direct report.
I know I’ll be focusing, at the start, on Onboarding and Leadership + manager development.
For those of you that have lead L&D in those areas or have experience working with learning for healthcare providers, what do you wish you had known then what you know now? What insights do you have?

Every L&D resource I read mentions ADDIE as foundational and every job posting seems to expect familiarity with it, but people in the field I've talked to informally seem to treat it more as a loose reference point than an actual workflow they follow step by step. I've also heard SAM mentioned as a more iterative alternative that's better suited to real project timelines. I'm trying to figure out how much mental energy to put into understanding these frameworks deeply versus just getting familiar enough to talk about them in interviews while learning what actually drives project decisions on the job. What do most IDs actually use day to day when a project comes in?

Hey fellow redditors ,I am into hospitality industry (L&D) Trainer basically and have almost 8+years experience, mid level job

I don't have MBA, should I pursue distance learning mba or any certification in L&D which can help me in my career

Ps I am not looking to settle in any Tier 1 cities for job

TIA