Should Corporate Training Go Fully Online in 2026? A Hybrid Model Case Study

🤔 Why did ACCCIM Academy struggle with enrollment?

ACCCIM Academy’s full-day, in-person programs created high opportunity costs. Professionals could not leave work, and companies could not spare key staff. A consultant inputted the prompt that

“I manage ACCCIM Academy. Due to low enrollment since its 1 September launch, I am planning for 2026 and considering moving from physical to online classes starting 1 January 2026, and would like guidance on next steps”

into Atypica to examine how professionals, SME owners, and HR managers actually make training decisions—revealing that low enrollment stemmed from value misalignment, not whether training was physical or online.

🧩 What Was the Research Plan?

This research addressed a classic new product launch and market entry problem. The goal was to produce a practical business and manufacturing plan covering target customers, product positioning, pricing, go-to-market execution, and manufacturing strategy.

The plan combined two frameworks: STP to define the most viable customer segment and positioning, and Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) to understand the real functional and emotional reasons customers buy gaming peripherals.

Research was conducted in two phases. First, market and manufacturing context was analyzed through focused web research. Second, in-depth, one-on-one interviews were conducted with 5–8 budget-conscious gamers to uncover purchase triggers, pain points, and value expectations.

Insights from this research directly informed product design priorities, pricing ranges, positioning logic, and early go-to-market decisions.

🧠 How did Atypica’s AI Research clarify the real decision?

Atypica’s AI Research combined persona framing, in-depth 1-on-1 interviews with real decision-makers, and Malaysian market and regulatory data to show that low enrollment was caused by value misalignment—not training format.

At first, moving fully online seemed like the obvious solution. To avoid a premature decision, the consultant used Atypica to structure the research instead of jumping to conclusions.

The process began with defining five representative personas, ranging from career-driven professionals to SME owners and corporate HR managers. Atypica helped clarify what each persona was hiring training to do, and what constraints—time, operational disruption, budget approval, or compliance—would immediately block a purchase.

Based on this framing, the consultant conducted in-depth, one-on-one interviews with five real participants, supported by Atypica’s research workflow. These interviews focused on how training decisions were actually made: how ROI was evaluated, why courses were approved or rejected, and how scheduling, practicality, and certification affected outcomes.

Across interviews, a consistent pattern emerged. Flexibility increased interest, but it was never sufficient. Two requirements repeatedly determined decisions: practical, immediately applicable skills and HRD Corp claimability. Without these, format changes alone did not matter.

Finally, Atypica integrated interview insights with market and regulatory data on Malaysia’s training landscape, confirming that demand existed—but the delivery model failed to align with how customers defined value.

This reframed the core decision from “Should training move online?” to “Which parts of training need flexibility, and which must remain hands-on and claimable?”

🗣️ How were AI Interviews conducted with real humans?

The consultant used AI personas to frame early questions, then conducted in-depth interviews with real professionals—and carried those insights forward as living reference personas for later research.

The research began with AI personas to surface initial hypotheses and areas of uncertainty. These early signals made it clear that real conversations were necessary before making a strategic decision.

The consultant then conducted in-depth, one-on-one interviews with real professionals, supported by Atypica’s interview workflow. These conversations focused on how participants actually evaluated training value, made trade-offs, and justified decisions inside their organizations.

As interviews accumulated, patterns became repeatable. Rather than treating each conversation as an isolated input, the consultant used Atypica to consolidate interview materials into private, human-based reference personas—grounded entirely in real interviews.

These reference personas were not used to replace future research, but to preserve context. In later studies, the consultant could return to them to sense-check assumptions, compare decisions across scenarios, and avoid restarting analysis from scratch.

Throughout the process, the consultant spoke directly with real humans.

AI remained in the background, helping structure interviews and retain learning across projects—without changing the nature of the conversations themselves.

Final Takeaway

Fully online training is often a tempting shortcut—but real growth comes from understanding real humans.

By using Atypica’s AI Research and AI Interview, the consultant avoided a costly strategic misstep and helped ACCCIM Academy reposition around a hybrid model aligned with real customer needs.

Ready to explore how Atypica can support your next strategic decision?

Talk to us and see how AI-assisted research with real humans leads to better outcomes.