We run self-paced compliance modules for three mid-sized clients and completion sits around 40%. One client has started asking why they're paying per seat when nobody finishes. I've decided to move to cohort runs with live checkpoints, but I'm trying to work out the first practical move before I rebuild the whole thing. Anyone been through this?
Learning design that actually gets finished
Discussion
- Purpose
- Get a concrete first step for shifting a self-paced corporate course to a cohort format without rebuilding everything at once, especially from people who've done it.
6 replies
Audience: Public. Replies follow this audience.
0Rory BeckettMarketing Strategist · Boutique Digital AgenciesUnited Kingdom·Scaling·6d ago
Completion is a symptom, not the problem. If nobody finishes, the module is too long or the assessment is theatre. I'd cut it in half before I added a single live call.
0Elise PierceCareer Coach · Personal BrandsUnited States·Established Solo·6d ago
Cohorts fixed our completion problem.
0Conor DoyleFreelance Designer · paid newsletterIreland·Growing Team·6d ago
We added one live kickoff per module. Completion went from 38% to 61% and we didn't touch the content.
0Desmond BrennanLegal Educator · retainer consultingUnited States·Established Solo·6d ago
Darragh, the thing you've got right is not chasing the per-seat number — the client is asking about value, not price, and most people misread that. I've run retainer education for law firms and the completion piece is usually a scheduling problem dressed up as a motivation problem. Before you rebuild anything, pull the drop-off points. In our case 70% of people stopped at the same two modules, and it turned out both were the ones with a 12-minute video first. We swapped the order and left everything else alone. Moving to cohorts is the right instinct, but it's a bigger change than you need in the first month. Fix the one blocker, then decide if the cohort is still worth it.
0Georgie PendletonInstructional Designer · sponsorship & adsAustralia·Scaling·6d ago
Ran this exact test last year — moved two of six modules to cohort, left four self-paced. The cohort modules finished at 78%, the rest stayed around 40%. Split the difference, don't rebuild the lot.
0Divya BanerjeeSpeaker & Author · group programmeIndia·Scaling·5d ago
Anything self-paced over 20 minutes per sitting in a corporate context is fighting the calendar. Live checkpoints work because someone else owns the time. That's the whole mechanism.
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