“If we hadn’t done it, we wouldn’t be around today.”

That’s what one of the UK’s best-known retailers told me after launching a digital learning programme I helped design. It’s still one of the clearest examples of what can happen when learning is practical, engaging, and tied directly to business goals.

Why it mattered

This client had been in business for over a century. They were refreshing their stores, reshaping customer routines, and asking staff to change long-established habits. Classroom training wasn’t sticking, role-plays weren’t productive, and practising on live customers risked lost sales.

They needed a way for every employee – across hundreds of stores – to gain confidence in the new approach without damaging day-to-day business.

What made the difference

The programme gave staff realistic scenarios to practise on any device. They weren’t clicking through slides; they were making decisions, hearing and seeing the outcomes, and exploring multiple paths through a conversation.

For managers, the value came from data. Every response was captured, highlighting where people struggled – whether that was greeting customers, handling objections, or closing the sale. Coaching became focused and efficient.

And here’s something striking: at least a fifth of staff repeated the course voluntarily, in their own time. Engagement wasn’t forced; it came naturally because the training felt useful.

Lessons learned

This project still shapes how I think about learning today:

• Relevance beats format. If the scenarios don’t feel real, people switch off.
• Data creates focus. Feedback has to go beyond “completed/not completed.”
• Flexibility drives engagement. Give people control and they’ll often do more, not less.

So, is eLearning worth it?

Not if it’s just a box-ticking exercise. But when it’s designed around real challenges, it can boost performance, free up managers’ time, and – yes – sometimes even save a business.

At Aprendido, this is the perspective I bring to every project: cutting through the jargon, focusing on outcomes, and helping organisations deliver learning that genuinely makes a difference.