How to Speed Up eLearning Content Production
How to Speed Up eLearning Content Production (While Maintaining Quality)
By
Learning and Development Evangelist at Synthesia
Create high-quality L&D content up to 90% faster.
There’s a lot of pressure to do more, with less in L&D. Whether that’s less budget, less headcount, or even less time. And so people are turning to AI.
84% of L&D practitioners we surveyed last year said that speeding up content production is the biggest incentive for using AI in their work.
There’s one major problem with this. 63% of those same practitioners said they needed support in assessing impact beyond speed. People are churning out content so fast they can’t keep up with evaluation. Meaning they don’t know if all of that content is making a difference. (I call this the readiness debt.)
What is eLearning?
An eLearning is any learning experience delivered digitally, meaning through a learning management system (LMS), learning experience platform (LXP), or knowledge base. eLearnings come in a variety of formats, including courses and videos.
Why your process is the problem
That starts with your prioritization process. You need a way to manage content development and revision requests, so they’re aligned with your roadmap. Otherwise, you risk becoming a content factory, taking orders and fulfilling them as quickly as possible.
Fixing that is the first step to speeding up your content development without sacrificing quality. Once you can prioritize work, then you have the capacity to improve your workflow.
If you don’t have a strategy or roadmap , consider building something lightweight for this quarter.
6 steps to speed up eLearning production
Step 1. Streamline your intake process
You need a record of incoming requests, and emails or messages just don’t cut it. Even a basic form — with the who, what, where, when, and why — is a start. I recommend taking this a step further by automating it with an AI agent or workflow tool.
What to ask in an intake form
Build a lightweight, but structured intake form, that is focused on understanding why the stakeholder thinks training is necessary. Here are questions I would ask:
- Who is the audience for this training request?
- Why do you think training is needed? What’s happening, or not happening, that makes you think that, and what evidence shows it?
- If this training succeeds, what would change, and how would you know?
- When do you need this by? Be sure to note a minimum turnaround time for all requests submitted through this process.
- Why does this matter for the business? Please provide any relevant KPIs or OKRs this training should support.
Avoid any questions that encourage the stakeholder to become a learning designer. Educate your stakeholders on this new process. Explain what the process is and why it matters. Then, enforce it.
Step 2. Scope your work against your roadmap
Every Monday, allocate time to review requests from the previous week. Develop a structured scoring rubric to determine what requests you can handle, and when, and what requests don’t meet the requirements.
| Criteria | What to look for | Score (1–3) |
|---|---|---|
| Business impact | Is the training tied to a business outcome (e.g., an OKR or KPI)? | 1 = unclear tie to business goals; 3 = directly tied to a current priority |
| Evidence | Is there evidence of a behavioral gap or is this just a hunch? | 1 = anecdotal; 3 = documented |
| Effort | What resources would be required to fulfill this request? | 1 = high effort; 3 = low effort |
| Urgency | How urgent is this request? | 1 = flexible; 3 = time-sensitive with real consequences |
Step 3. Draft faster without cutting corners
Now you can focus on speeding up your content production. Leverage your tech stack or rethink your approach to learning design.
Step 4. Validate with your SMEs
Get your SMEs involved early and align on a review date. Send them a calendar hold, providing an estimate for how long it will take to review the materials. Include a targeted list of questions you're looking for feedback on.
Step 5. Publish and measure your training
Evaluate whether your faster workflow led to measurable improvements for the business. Document the behavior change you're hoping to achieve to assess if the training impacted the intended outcomes.
Frequently asked questions
How do I maintain quality while speeding up content production?
Keep a human in the loop where it matters, and automate routine parts like intake. Anything AI drafts still needs a human review before it goes out.
How do you keep AI-generated training from becoming AI slop?
Start with a clear learning objective and vetted source material, and ensure a review by an SME or L&D team member before publication.
How do you know if faster production actually worked?
Define a measurement goal during the training scoping and identify data to validate if your training impacted the behavioral and business outcomes.