What happens when you bring together a panel of L&D superheroes and ask them to share what works in online training? You get straight talk, practical strategies, and inspiration you can apply right away.
At ATD 2025, we hosted a panel featuring Michelle Owens of Quest Diagnostics, Amanda Villaseñor of McCarthy Holdings Inc., and Amber Crain of Pregis. Together, they tackled one overarching question: How can you deliver training that is engaging, scalable, and tailored to business goals?
While there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, their insights reveal online training strategies that are working right now—and might just work for you, too.
Stop forcing engagement—start inspiring it
Getting learners to engage with training is a universal challenge in L&D. Amber Crain of Pregis emphasized the importance of creating a culture where employees want to learn, not where they’re forced to. Initiatives like individual development plans (IDPs) are directly tied to leadership tracks, succession planning, and mentorship programs. In short: If you want to grow at Pregis, learning isn’t optional—but it’s up to you if you choose to do it.
“People who want to learn and grow will learn and grow. People who do not want to learn and grow are not gonna learn and grow.”
Amber Crain, Director of Learning & Organizational Development, Pregis
So, how does she get people to actually show up for training? She sells it. Amber runs monthly “Management Monday” sessions for current and future people leaders, focused on the practical skills they need to succeed in leadership roles. The sessions are interactive, include polls and quizzes, and 75 percent of employees either attend live or catch the recording.
“I am a salesperson, first and foremost, in training.”
Amber Crain, Director of Learning & Organizational Development, Pregis
At Pregis, training is marketed like a benefit, not a checkbox.
Scale learning without sacrificing personalization
Personalized training doesn’t have to come at the expense of scalability. Amanda Villaseñor of McCarthy Holdings, Inc. shared how her team is evolving their learning strategy to make in-person training more efficient by supporting it with personalized learning in between sessions.
Rather than flying employees out for a full week of leadership training, they’re shifting to a blended approach—shorter in-person sessions paired with curated content from OpenSesame, personalized as needed to support different learners.
“Do we have to pull people out of their jobs for a week? We can probably pull them out for a couple of days and we can sustain them in between sessions with personalized learning.”
Amanda Villaseñor, Instructional Design & Technology Manager, McCarthy Holdings, Inc.
Amber also shared how a one-person L&D team—her—can still deliver highly personalized, multilingual training at scale. She subscribes to a “scrappy, not crappy” mindset, using tools like PowerPoint and OpenSesame’s Simon platform to quickly create and distribute role-specific training. Simon’s built-in AI translation and course creation features have been a game changer, enabling subject matter experts across the business to build and share content without needing deep instructional design experience.
“I’ve got folks in Europe who speak Polish, Italian, and German, so we’re able to put it all in their languages—and now they’ve watched their bespoke Pregis training, and I didn’t have to say it in a bunch of different languages.”
Amber Crain, Director of Learning & Organizational Development, Pregis
Prove impact: How smart teams track L&D results
ROI is top of mind for today’s L&D teams, but it doesn’t always mean tying learning directly to dollars. Michelle Owens shared how Quest Diagnostics tracks outcomes using engagement scores and turnover metrics. The results? A notable increase in employee engagement and a decrease in turnover among program participants.
“We have seen engagement scores increase by five points on average for folks who have completed the leadership development program.”
Michelle Owens, Sr Manager, Learning & Development Solutions, Quest Diagnostics
They also launched a training program for frontline employees (which included a memorable “no cuts” message for appointment scheduling) and saw patient satisfaction scores rise by four points.
At McCarthy Holdings, Inc., Amanda showed how data can help steer strategy before a program is even built. When her team discovered a 90 percent turnover rate among early-career field staff, they pivoted, redirecting their investment toward roles with higher retention and longer-term impact.
“There is some opportunity to do some measurement and some metrics before building a program. I think we forget to think about that, but it can be really valuable and really impactful to the people that are making those financial decisions for the company.”
Amanda Villaseñor, Instructional Design & Technology Manager, McCarthy Holdings, Inc.
Ready or not, AI is reshaping L&D
From writing facilitator notes to translating courses into multiple languages, AI is starting to shape how learning teams create and deliver training.
While some organizations are diving in headfirst, others are taking a more cautious approach. McCarthy Holdings, Inc. is rolling out a company-wide LLM and encouraging employees to use AI as a workplace assistant. Quest Diagnostics, meanwhile, is exploring options carefully due to regulatory constraints. At Pregis, Amber is already leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT and Simon to speed up course creation, streamline communication, and support a lean L&D function.
“It’s obviously not taking our jobs—because it doesn’t have our knowledge—but it sure makes our jobs easier.”
Amber Crain, Director of Learning & Organizational Development, Pregis
No matter where you are on the adoption curve, one thing’s clear: AI is already changing how L&D teams work.
L&D teams are reshaping training to be more personalized, practical, and adaptable. Whether you lead solo or manage a global function, one thing is clear: scalable learning starts with the right strategy.
Want to see how OpenSesame makes it happen?