Five key questions L&D leaders must ask to drive learner engagement

By Trena Minudri, VP & Chief Learning Officer, Coursera

As learning and development leaders, we know how crucial learner engagement is to the success of any learning and development initiative. Yet driving that engagement remains one of the biggest challenges facing L&D teams today.

In Coursera’s recently published Learner Adoption Playbook, the team explored strategies for boosting adoption of learning programs based on insights from learning leaders at Microsoft, Capgemini, Deutsche Telekom, Logitech, and LTIMindree. But adoption is just the first step—true impact comes from ongoing, enthusiastic engagement from learners.

So how can we as L&D leaders create the conditions for that kind of engagement? In this follow-up article, I will walk you through five key questions that we should ask ourselves.

1. Have I demonstrated that this is a business imperative?

Too often, we launch learning programs without clearly articulating how they connect to business outcomes. As L&D leaders, we need to draw a direct line between the learning, the skills it will build, the individual outcomes for learners in their roles, and how those outcomes drive business results.

If any of those links are unclear, learner engagement will suffer from the start. We need to spell out exactly why this learning matters—not just for individual development, but for the success of the entire organization.

Read More:Measuring the Impact of L&D: How the Best Learning Leaders Prove Value at Three Levels

2. Do I have visible leadership support and involvement?

When learners see that company leaders are behind a learning initiative—and even actively participating in it themselves—they pay attention. It signals that this is truly important to the business.

A great example of this is how our CEO Jeff Maggioncalda talks about generative AI at Coursera. In all-hands meetings, he regularly demonstrates AI prompts, shares his own learning journey, and emphasizes why upskilling in AI is critical for our company. This consistent thread in his communication ensures everyone at Coursera knows AI learning is a business imperative.

As L&D leaders, we need to actively enlist executive support and give leaders specific ways to visibly champion learning programs. Draft communications for them, create a change management plan, and provide clear direction on how and when you need them to engage.

3. Is this learning experience compelling and rewarding for the individual?

Even with leadership support and a clear business case, learners will disengage if the actual learning experience isn't engaging. We need to craft experiences that grab learners' attention and keep them coming back for more.

I like to use design thinking principles here, asking: What do I want the learner to think, feel, and do? As L&D leaders, we often focus heavily on the "think" and "do"—but the "feel" is what truly connects learners and drives engagement.

For example, if we're creating a program on decision-making for leaders, we should consider: How do we want leaders to feel when they go through this? We want them to feel confident, in control, like they've learned something immediately applicable that will make them better leaders.

This is where tools like Course Buildercan be invaluable. Course Builder allows L&D teams to create custom courses by blending curated Coursera content with your organization's proprietary materials. This enables you to design highly tailored, compelling learning experiences that directly address your specific business needs and learner preferences.

Additionally, Coursera Coach can significantly enhance the learner experience. This AI-powered tool allows learners to ask questions and get individualized explanations as they work through course content. For instance, a learner might ask Coach to provide more examples of how a concept applies in their specific industry, or to explain a complex idea in simpler terms. This kind of on-demand support can help maintain engagement by addressing learner questions and challenges in real-time

4. Have I communicated the quantitative data and anecdotal stories that demonstrate value?

Learners need to believe that a program will make a difference for them personally and is worth their time investment. We can build that belief by sharing both hard data and human stories.

On the quantitative side, this might be data showing that people who complete the program see a 60% increase in productivity, or that 85% would recommend it to peers. For the qualitative piece, share specific stories of how the learning impacted an individual's performance and career trajectory.

When learners see both the macro-level data and micro-level stories, they're much more likely to engage deeply with the program.

5. Do we have a continuous learning culture?

This final question is perhaps the most challenging, as it goes beyond any single program to the overall environment we're operating in. In organizations with a true learning culture, the previous four elements become much easier to implement.

Without that culture, it's not impossible to drive engagement—but you'll need to double down on the other four areas to overcome the lack of a supportive environment. You'll need to work extra hard to demonstrate the business imperative, secure visible leadership buy-in, create a compelling learner experience, and showcase tangible value.

Putting it all together: a systems approach

Learner engagement isn't just about how we communicate directly to learners. It's about creating a holistic system that supports and encourages learning.

Too often, L&D teams focus solely on program design and learner communications. But true engagement comes from aligning all the pieces:

• Connecting learning to business imperatives

• Activating executive champions

• Enabling managers to support application of learning

• Crafting emotionally resonant learner experiences

• Showcasing both data and stories that demonstrate impact

As the pace of change continues to accelerate, creating a highly engaged learning culture is more important than ever. By asking these five key questions and taking a systems approach, we can dramatically boost learner engagement—and ultimately drive better business outcomes through learning.

To learn more about best practices for driving L&D adoption and engagement, download The Learner Adoption Playbook.