What do you do when your top salesperson, your newest apprentice, and your finance director all log into the same training course? If you're still offering the same content to every learner, you're missing a massive opportunity.

At Popcorn Learning Agency, we’ve seen this challenge come up time and again: how do you tailor learning to individuals without blowing your budget or overwhelming your L&D team?

Here's the good news: there are two clear, practical routes to achieving scalable personalisation, and both start with a solid Training Needs Analysis.

Why personalisation matters more than ever

Every employee brings their own experience, gaps, and goals. Traditional corporate training often flattens those differences, making it harder to engage learners or track meaningful progress. But with the right tools and strategies, personalisation can become a driver of both performance and profit.

According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), organisations that align learning closely with employee needs see higher engagement and better retention rates (CIPD, 2023). And in McKinsey's 2022 State of L&D report, businesses that personalise learning at scale report up to 30% faster upskilling compared to those that don’t.

Two proven paths to personalise learning at scale

1. Use technology to guide the journey

Modern platforms (LXPs, adaptive learning tools, and even clever LMS integrations) allow you to host a library of microlearning content. Each module targets a specific skill or behaviour. The platform then uses AI or rules-based logic to guide each learner to the resources that match their current knowledge gaps or learning goals.

What you need:

• A suite of bite-sized, searchable digital learning content

• An LMS or LXP that can recommend or assign content based on role, performance or assessment data

• A strong tagging and metadata strategy so content is easy to find and reuse

  
  

This is perfect for organisations looking for mobile learning solutions, microlearning development, or digital learning solutions that grow with the business.

2. Make the personalisation happen within the course

You don’t always need fancy tech to achieve scale. Another route is embedding branching logic inside the eLearning module itself. Here’s how it works: the course opens with a quick diagnostic quiz or scenario-based assessment. Based on their answers, learners are directed only to the sections they need.

No more trawling through hours of content that isn’t relevant. No more wasted time.

What you need:

• A well-structured course using tools like Storyline

• Clearly defined learning objectives per topic or module

• Instructional design services that ensure effective use of learning pathways

  
  

This technique works brilliantly for compliance training, onboarding, and digital learning content where time is tight and engagement is critical.

Start with a Learning Needs Analysis

You can’t personalise what you don’t understand. A learning needs analysis tells you:

• What your learners know now

• What they need to know

• How many of them need support in each area

  
  

From there, you can make smart choices: where to invest in customisation, which topics need flexible delivery, and how to align learning with commercial outcomes.

At Popcorn, we often pair this with impact analysis to track progress and prove ROI.

Final thoughts: It’s not about choosing one or the other

The most effective L&D strategies often combine both approaches. Use tech to scale breadth. Use in-course personalisation to go deep. And always anchor your decisions in data from your learners.

You don’t need a huge team or a Silicon Valley budget to make personalised learning work. You just need smart design, the right tools, and a trusted partner (hi 👋) who knows how to make it happen.

Want to see how personalised learning at scale could work for your team? Let’s talk. Popcorn Learning Agency blends award-winning content, sharp instructional design, and real-world strategy to create digital learning that actually delivers.