Self-serve learning often doesn't work for consultants, but here's what does
Discover campaign-led learning to transform engagement levels and boost skill development
One of the biggest challenges of corporate learning is getting people to actually complete it. Organisations invest heavily in learning and development, but ensuring that employees engage with and apply their learning remains a persistent issue.
The most common approach to tackling this is scheduled live training sessions - either in-person or virtual. This works because it forces participation: the sessions are in the diary, people show up, and learning happens. But this method also has limitations. It lacks flexibility and doesn’t always align with an individual’s real-time learning needs.
Self-serve learning and e-learning platforms are often introduced as a more flexible alternative. These allow people to learn on their own time, when it suits them. However, many consulting teams find it difficult to get people to consistently complete the volume of self-serve learning needed to make a difference. Maybe your firm has a target for learning hours per month but is finding people aren’t finding the time to get it done?
A client case study illustrates the problem…
We manage the learning and development processes for this client, offering a mix of live sessions and self-serve content. Getting their teams to engage with the self-serve e-learning content was proving a challenge. They were willing but - like many consulting teams - running hard. Completing unscheduled learning was rarely the priority.
Initially, we tried to make the self-serve learning more relevant by tailoring content to individuals based on their career stage, recent project experiences, and feedback from performance reviews. While this improved uptake, we still faced the fundamental issue: when learning wasn’t scheduled and there was no immediate need, it was deprioritised.
Reflecting on this, we identified a critical missing piece - there was no shared sense of journey. Learning was happening in isolation, making it easy for consultants to push it down their to-do list.
The solution? Campaign-led learning.
What is campaign-led learning?
Campaign-led learning is a structured but flexible approach that creates a shared learning experience across a fixed period - typically three months. Participants opt into a campaign focused on a specific theme, choosing one that aligns with their development goals. Unlike traditional training programs, campaigns blend self-serve learning with interactive elements to drive engagement.
Each campaign typically includes:
Self-serve learning – E-learning modules, reading materials, and personal exercises.
Group discussions – Regular touchpoints where participants discuss what they’ve learned and share experiences.
Coach-led sessions – Live check-ins, typically an hour long, to guide progress and answer questions.
Accountability mechanisms – Structured milestones that encourage participants to complete learning activities.
The key to this model is the balance: it offers the flexibility of self-serve learning but embeds social and scheduled elements to keep people engaged.
How campaign-led learning works in practice
We recently ran a campaign on creating content independently using technology. It addresses a common challenge in consulting firms - producing high-quality content efficiently for B2B marketing and thought leadership.
The campaign included:
Learning internal writing guidelines – Setting a shared benchmark for quality.
Using AI tools effectively – Participants experimented with:
Fireflies for transcribing content.
Claude for drafting blog posts.
Hemingway for improving clarity and readability.
Iterative content creation – Participants created progressively refined versions of their content (500-word, 200-word, and 50-word versions).
Peer collaboration – A Teams channel for sharing outputs, challenges, and feedback.
Live discussions – Monthly group sessions to review learnings and refine outputs.
By the end of the campaign, every participant had produced a polished piece of content, improved their content creation skills, and built confidence using AI tools.
Other campaign themes we’ve successfully run include:
Growing as a trusted leader,
Converting opportunities and growing client accounts,
Leadership toolkits,
Core consulting skills.
The impact of campaign-led learning
Switching to a campaign-led learning approach with our client has led to an average 78% increase in learning hours per person and notably higher engagement levels.
We’ve moved from a model where self-serve learning felt like a tick-box exercise to a system where learning is a structured, interactive journey. Consultants are not just completing courses - they’re producing meaningful output, applying new skills in real time, and supporting each other along the way.
If your firm is struggling with self-serve learning engagement, consider campaign-led learning as an alternative. It combines the best aspects of structured training and self-directed learning to create a powerful, engaging experience.
We’d love to hear other ideas on this - what’s your top tip for getting more consultants engaged with learning?
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Love the campaign approach to facilitating learning/upskilling! Also, great to hear about the success you all had with it 🙌🏽