How Instructional Design Services Improve Corporate Training Outcomes

Effective corporate training increases employee engagement, reduces turnover, and drives productivity.  By leveraging instructional design services when building your corporate training, you'll deliver practical learning modules that meet your employees' unique learning needs and set them up for success.

We've all had not-so-great corporate training experiences.  Irrelevant information, confounding design, and overly-long instructional videos all distract from the goal of the training: to help you acquire new knowledge and skills and show you how to apply them in real-world situations.

That's where instructional design comes in. Instructional design services offer a systematic process for creating compelling and engaging corporate training.  Organizations can use an instructional design framework to pinpoint and refine their learning materials and training programs to achieve their desired corporate training outcomes.

In this article, we’ll explore:

• How corporate training benefits businesses and employees 
• Why businesses struggle to create effective corporate training programs
• The role instructional design services play in achieving corporate learning outcomes

Are you struggling to create impactful learning programs for your employees?  Get a free quote for your training project to get started with our instructional design team. 

The Connection Between Corporate Training and Productivity

Customized employee training initiatives significantly enhance organizational productivity.  Ideally, corporate training focuses on developing learner skills directly related to new initiatives and projects.  This targeted approach can produce myriad benefits that contribute to improved corporate training outcomes.

What are the benefits of corporate training?

• Increased productivity and efficiency: Effective corporate training equips employees with the knowledge and skills they need to excel at their jobs.
• Uniform goal setting with testable outcomes: When created using an instructional design methodology, employee training will have specific metrics to evaluate the program's effectiveness.  These metrics help businesses assess and refine their training to improve corporate learning outcomes. 
• Improved upskilling and reskilling: Ongoing training enables your employees to stay at the top of their game and demonstrates your commitment to building their careers.
• Increased employee engagement and retention: If your employees feel like you are personally invested in their success, they will do better work and stay with your company longer.
• Alignment with business objectives and company culture: Well-designed employee training enables leadership to emphasize business objectives to employees.  Employee training can also reinforce company culture and values to employees, which can help them feel more like part of the team and share in the company's successes. 

Training programs do so much more than communicate a process or instruct a task—they enable employers and employees alike to evaluate how their business operates and refine their approach for better outcomes and improved productivity. 

But if corporate training benefits businesses, why do so many companies fail to implement effective training solutions?

Why do organizations struggle to achieve their corporate training outcomes? 

Planning your employee training and creating training programs are no small tasks—and that’s not even mentioning the other half of the equation: administering your training and measuring your learning outcomes.

When it comes to mapping out your employee training, numerous roadblocks can hinder a company's efforts to create practical training for their employees:

• Unsure of learning needs: Businesses that don't use an instructional design methodology are left to guess what training needs to be addressed. 
• Lack of learning design expertise: Businesses often lack the in-house skills to create an engaging learning experience. Your learners can quickly lose interest if your training program does not feature appropriate eLearning interactivity. Businesses that do not use instructional design for training creation can struggle to achieve meaningful learning outcomes.
• No way to measure learning outcomes: Without a way to measure training outcomes, businesses cannot determine whether their current training is adequate.  They also won't be able to identify which parts of their training need improvement or what may be missing from their programs. 
• Time constraints: Companies can be resistant to taking employees away from their roles to complete training.
• Employees have no say in the learning process: Employee feedback is crucial to creating an effective training program.  Without it, businesses are left to guess whether their employees are getting the training they need.

These obstacles contribute to wasted time, money, and resources for businesses administering corporate training.  If your organization is planning a new training program for employees, a formalized training framework will help you avoid these pitfalls and ensure your corporate training objectives are met.

How Instructional Design Services Improve Corporate Training

Instructional design is a systematic process for planning, creating, and fine-tuning learning experiences.  The goal of an instructional design expert is to apply relevant theories and practices to training design and creation.

To give you an idea of how different instructional design services can be applied to your corporate training, let’s review the most common types of instructional design services:

Types of instructional design services

Instructional design services help you design and create effective training programs that work to achieve your learning objectives.  The scope of instructional design services can vary depending on the project; some will influence how your entire training program is structured, while others will only impact a particular aspect of your training.  The most common types of instructional design services include:

• Strategic learning and development consulting: Partner with an instructional design consulting service provider to get guidance on your learning program development from start to finish.  Strategic learning and development consulting is the most comprehensive instructional design service, from analyzing learning needs to designing learning modules to refining materials based on learning outcomes.
• eLearning development: If your organization needs an eLearning solution—created from scratch or converted from existing learning materials (e.g., Instructor-led training to eLearning conversion)—then an eLearning development instructional design service is your best choice.  Partner with an eLearning development specialist who knows every detail of eLearning publishing software Articulate, Storyline, Rise, and more.
• Content writing: Hire instructional design writers to create clear and concise copy for your learning programs—especially for highly technical content.
• Accessible training: Ensure that all of your learners have the resources they need to complete your training by using instructional design services to create or convert it to be fully accessible.
• ILT to VILT conversion: In our online world, getting everyone in the same room for instructor-led training can be challenging.  Convert your ILT programs to virtual instructor-led training so your audience can access your training wherever they are.
• Compliance training development: Update your training based on the latest regulations of your industry to ensure your learners and organization are operating in compliance with relevant laws.
• Animation and graphic development: Many types of training rely on visual presentation as much as plain text, but not every training creator has the experience to create compelling, relevant visuals.  Instructional design services can create animations and images that engage learners and serve your learning objectives. 
• Simulation-based training development: With simulation-based training, your learners can apply their new skills and knowledge in a controlled setting. 

The size and scope of each service will depend on the nature of your learning project.  The best corporate instructional design service providers will not force you into services you do not need.  Instead, they will meet you wherever you're at to help you align your training with instructional design best practices.

How Instructional Design Service Providers Work With You 

Whether you know your employees' learning needs or are entirely new to learning design, an instructional design service provider will help you understand every aspect of your learning project.  Learning projects come in all shapes and sizes, and the specifics of your learning project will inform which instructional design model is best suited to achieve your desired learning outcomes. 

To give you an idea of how this process works, let’s cover the basic structure of how a partnership with an instructional design service provider works:

Phase 1

To begin, your instructional design team will work with you to uncover the needs of your project.  This process involves:

• Exploring the content or topic that you’re training on
• Defining your learner audience and their specific needs
• Determining the learning objectives you have for your audience and the current knowledge gap you’re addressing
• Assessing the state of your current training materials and any other details that may impact your project

These steps will give the instructional design team a robust understanding of your project.  With this information, they can apply their instructional design knowledge more effectively to your project and make informed suggestions. 

Phase 2 

The next step is developing a training creation and delivery plan.  This plan is designed to support your learners, achieve your learning outcomes, and meet your organization’s needs. 

An instructional designer will work with you to develop an outline that specifics:

• What topics and lessons will be covered in your training
• What source materials exist for the project, and how it can be found or captured
• How the information will be presented to learners
• What assessments, knowledge checks, and quizzes are required

The instructional designer compiles this information, and the outline is structured according to an instructional design theory best suited to your project.  The completed outline and delivery plan will include all the details you need to proceed with course storyboarding and content creation (if your Learning and Development team is equipped for the content creation described in the outline).

Phase 3 

In many cases, an L&D team will need additional support to build out the course content described in the outline.  Instructional design services that offer content development services—like Neovation—can help your team with the actual creation of course materials.  This can include:

• Interviewing SMEs to extract the information identified in your project outline
• Gathering and assimilating content into the new project
• Writing the training storyboards
• Developing the course using eLearning authoring tools and other creative asset creation software. 

Depending on the type of instructional design service you've selected, there will be multiple checkpoints during the content creation process to let you provide feedback and direction.  After all the project details have been finalized, the instructional design team will perform a quality assurance check to ensure your new training course works properly.

Staying ahead of the curve: How Neovation’s instructional designers use AI to streamline training creation

AI is everywhere, and the instructional design space is no different.  At Neovation, our Custom Learning team takes pride in staying updated with the latest technical innovations to ensure we can serve our clients better.

We are highly strategic when it comes to how we use AI tools.  We carefully ensure that the way we use AI adds value to our work.  We leverage AI tools for instructional design to automate repetitive processes so we can focus on the more significant tasks and challenges of your learning projects.  Some of the ways we do this include:

• ChatGPT: Our team uses ChatGPT and NotebookLM to analyze and review large chunks of source content, draft possible real-world scenarios to support learners applying their new knowledge and skills to day-to-day tasks, and create initial drafts of knowledge assessments that support learning objectives.  An experienced instructional designer carefully validates all information that goes through any AI tool.
• Text-to-speech (TTS): Our team uses AI TTS tools for clients who request it to create professional-quality voiceovers and closed captions for eLearning courses.
• Image generation: Using tools like Adobe Firefly or Photoshop, and Midjourney, our team can create stunning graphics for your learning program in less time and for less cost.

To learn more about how Neovation’s instructional design consulting firm works with you on your learning projects, check out our Custom Learning Buyer’s Guide for a comprehensive look at every stage of the partnership process. 

Achieve Your Corporate Training Goals by Partnering With an Instructional Design Service Provider

From a single freelancer to entire teams of eLearning experts, you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to choosing a provider. 

As an industry-leading instructional design organization, Neovation's Custom Learning team can help your business achieve all its learning objectives.  Our team of instructional designers, learning experts, and designers can transform your vision into a tangible plan for learning success. 

Take a look at how Neovation’s instructional design consulting service helped a nationwide association rebuild its training program online:

Neovation’s expertise in action: Canada Soccer 

Neovation helped Canada Soccer transform its training program by creating a blended learning approach that combines online eLearning courses with in-person, on-field training.

First, Neovation's Custom Learning team analyzed Canada Soccer's existing workshop material and lessons learned from webinar delivery.  They identified which training elements translated well to online delivery and which needed redesign.

Neovation developed five custom eLearning courses, creating a learning stream called the Grassroots Coach Education Program for coaches of all levels.  The courses were designed to be clear, concise, and consistent.

Through these efforts, Neovation helped Canada Soccer to achieve significant improvements in its training program, including:

• Increased revenue
• Reduced training time
• Increased member registration
• Improved learner satisfaction
• Streamlined administrative tasks
• Empowered local coaches to deliver training

By partnering with Neovation’s Custom Learning team, Canada Soccer rejuvenated its coaching training program by providing an eLearning solution that met their changing needs. 

Instructional Design Services FAQ

Here are the most frequently asked questions (FAQ) about instructional design services:

What are the key benefits of using instructional design services?

Instructional design services offer key benefits such as improved efficiency, higher-quality content, and streamlined workflows.  These services also provide better collaboration, cost and time savings, consistent and scalable training, personalized learning, and data-driven improvements, leading to more effective learning experiences.

How do instructional design services ensure content quality?

Instructional design services ensure content quality through a systematic approach that includes needs assessments, clear learning objectives, and iterative development.  They also emphasize engaging, accessible, and relevant content. 

How do you evaluate the effectiveness of corporate instructional design services?

The effectiveness of corporate instructional design services is evaluated through measurable outcomes, such as assessing changes in knowledge, skills, and on-the-job behavior, and by analyzing learner feedback, engagement, and satisfaction.  Additionally, the return on investment (ROI) is assessed by determining improvements in relevant metrics such as performance, efficiency, and profitability.

How do companies choose the right instructional design service provider?

Companies should choose an instructional design service provider by assessing their specific needs, such as the type of training content, employee learning styles, and available resources, and evaluating the provider's expertise, experience, and portfolio. They should also consider the provider's approach to project management, capacity for collaboration, and commitment to quality, innovation, and accessibility.

Foster Better Learning Outcomes with Instructional Design Service Providers

Now that you understand why instructional design matters for achieving your corporate training outcomes and how to leverage custom instructional design services to create practical employee training with instructional design best practices, we invite you to learn more about why Neovation is one of the top custom instructional design service providers in North America. 

Explore our project case studies to see how we have helped other companies achieve their learning objectives and how our Custom Learning team can take your employee training to the next level. 

Or are you ready to see how Neovation can address your specific learning needs?  Book a free consultation with our learning experts to get your next project up and running.