The NEURO Audit

Most Business leaders know when training isn’t working, but not always why. The NEURO Audit helps you uncover where retention breaks down, why skills are not transferring, and what to do about it.

It’s not another workshop. It’s a focused, science-based diagnostic that shows you how well your training matches how people actually learn and where value is leaking.

✔ Get clear, research-backed insight
✔ Fix forgotten learning and underperforming programs
✔ Prove training ROI without increasing your budget

Built for busy businesses who want better outcomes, not more content.

Why This, Why Now?

Australian organisations spend, on average, $2,500 per employee each year on training, and most of it simply doesn’t stick.

Whether it’s onboarding, compliance, leadership, or capability development, the issue is the same:

Training that isn’t retained is wasted.

Research shows:

• Employees typically forget between 50% and 90% of training content within a week

• Even at the conservative end of that range, a company investing $250,000 to train 100 employees could be leaking $125,000 in lost value

• Organisations with strong learning cultures and clear development pathways see significantly lower staff turnover

• When an employee leaves, it can cost the business between 12 to 18 months of their salary, due to lost expertise, rehiring, retraining, and disruption

Training is expensive, but ineffective training or losing a skilled team member costs far more.

At the same time, businesses that get learning design right see an average return of over $4 for every $1 invested, thanks to:

• Faster onboarding and time to competence

• Reduced waste in retraining and performance management

• Stronger behaviour change and skill application on the job

The NEURO Audit is designed to help you fix what’s not working, using neuroscience-backed analysis, not guesswork.

The Real Cost of Wasted Training

Even small improvements in retention rates can deliver massive value.

Let’s say your business trains 100 employees per year, spending the Australian average of $2,500 per employee. That’s a $250,000 annual investment.

Now imagine you improve knowledge retention by just 10% across the board. That’s the equivalent of reclaiming:

• $25,000 worth of training that’s no longer lost

• Content being remembered, applied, and turned into real performance outcomes

• Fewer retraining hours, better productivity, and greater confidence on the job

At 20% retention gain, you’ve recaptured $50,000 in value — without increasing your training budget by a cent.

That’s the real promise of the NEURO Audit.

Not more training - better return on the training you're already doing.

What Is the NEURO Audit?

A neuroscience-informed diagnostic designed to uncover where your training programs are leaking value, and give you a clear, research-backed roadmap to improve them.

This is not another training workshop.

This is a strategic review of your learning design, delivery, and retention methods, mapped against how the brain works.

What You’ll Walk Away With

✔ A clear diagnosis of where your current training is underperforming, across design, delivery, and retention

✔ A structured audit report with actionable, neuroscience-informed recommendations

✔ Insight into which programs are leaking value, and how to fix them

✔ Clarity on how your current training aligns (or doesn’t) with business outcomes

✔ A framework to prioritise next steps, whether that’s redesign, reinforcement, or resource shifts

✔ Optional stakeholder pulse survey - we’ll collect and summarise employee feedback on your training’s clarity, usefulness, and retention impact (you choose the team or group)

✔ Strategic talking points you can use to build internal buy-in for change

✔ The ability to take a proactive, evidence-led story to your board, executive team, or HR leadership group

How It Works

The NEURO Audit unfolds in 3 steps, each designed to maximise value while respecting your team’s time.

Step 1: NEURO Fast Start (Triggered once booking is confirmed)

You’ll receive a digital Welcome Kit that includes:

• The Training ROI Leak Check (a fast internal questionnaire)

• A one-page explainer for internal stakeholders

• A link to schedule your Initial Planning Call (30 mins)

Step 2: Deep Diagnostic

We review your current training materials, delivery methods, and outcomes using neuroscience-backed criteria:

• Retention and memory design

• Cognitive load and attention management

• Motivation, safety, and emotional triggers

• Application pathways and transfer design

This includes:

• A review of up to two training programs or modules

• Stakeholder input (via survey or short interview if desired)

• Performance and compliance context if applicable

Step 3: Strategy Session + Report

You receive:

• A strategic NEURO Audit Report outlining key findings, risks, and opportunities

• A feedback session to walk through results with you and your team

• Tailored recommendations for redesign, reinforcement, or next steps

• The option to proceed to implementation support if needed

Three Tiers to Suit Your Scope

Choose the NEURO Audit package that fits your team’s goals and scale.

Essentials Tier – $2,000 AUD + GST

For teams who want quick, actionable insights without a full deep-dive. Ideal for teams under pressure to fix one key program or justify ROI. You’ll get clear neuroscience-based fixes without the fluff.

• 1x training program analysed (eg. typically one course, module, or workshop - up to ~60 minutes of delivery time).

• NEURO Leak Check + Planning Call

• Condensed Audit Report (built for immediate action) + Strategy Session

• 7-day email support window

Growth Tier – $3,500 AUD + GST

For teams with more complexity or high-stakes delivery challenges. Designed for HR teams managing multiple programs or facing performance pressure. Adds internal feedback + richer implementation support.

• Up to 2x training programs analysed

• Stakeholder pulse survey included

• Full NEURO Audit Report

• Priority Strategy Session: extended format (60 mins), designed for either your HR team or your senior leadership group (or both)

• 30-day implementation support access

Transformation Tier – $5,000 AUD + GST

For teams ready to overhaul, scale, or present insights to senior leadership. This is the premium audit tier for organisations needing evidence-based insight, executive alignment, and redesign-ready outputs.

• Everything in Growth Tier

• Custom executive summary for board/C-suite

• Team debrief session (optional)

• 60-day support + discounted redesign services

• Optional in-person strategy or debrief session

  • Included at no extra cost in Sydney, Central Coast, or Newcastle

  • For other locations, travel costs apply - confirmed in advance and billed at cost (no markup)

Delivery Options

The NEURO Audit is designed to be delivered online, allowing us to work flexibly across locations while maintaining depth and responsiveness.

However, in-person sessions are available where on-site collaboration adds value.

• The Transformation Tier includes one in-person session (optional) in Sydney, Central Coast, or Newcastle

• Growth Tier clients can add an in-person session for $750 AUD + travel costs

• In-person delivery is available for select dates each quarter and subject to location

• We’ll always confirm travel costs upfront - no surprises or mark-ups

Our Guarantee

If you feel the NEURO Audit doesn’t deliver meaningful insight, we’ll refund 50% of your fee. No awkward conversations required. We stand by the science, and we’re not here to waste anyone’s time.

Why Dendrite Learning?

This audit is grounded in real science - not trends, gimmicks, or unproven theory.

It’s built by Daniel Smart, founder of Dendrite Learning, who combines a background in education and scientific research with hands-on experience improving training outcomes in real workplace environments.

Daniel is the author of the white paper “From Training to Transformation: How Neuroscience Can Fix Ineffective Corporate Training”, which outlines why most corporate training fails, and what organisations can do to fix it using four core principles:

• Active learning (not passive content delivery)

• Retrieval practice and spaced repetition

• Cognitive load management

• Emotional and motivational triggers

These are not abstract ideas. They’re neuroscience-based strategies that translate directly into improved learning, retention, and workplace performance.

The NEURO Audit isn’t about inspiration. It’s about clarity, insight, and evidence-based action.

Whether you're redesigning onboarding, improving compliance, or trying to get more ROI from leadership development - you’ll walk away with a roadmap that actually works.

Next Steps

Step 1: Email daniel.smart@dendritelearning.com

Subject line: “NEURO Audit Booking”

Include:

• Your preferred tier

• Whether you want online or in-person delivery

• If in-person, your location so we can confirm availability and travel costs

Once your booking is confirmed, you’ll receive access to your Welcome Kit and planning schedule.

We’ll respond within one business day with next steps.

Prefer not to email directly?
You can also use the form at the bottom of the page to express interest in a NEURO Audit. We’ll respond within one business day.

Payment Options

You can choose from two simple payment methods:

• Pay the full amount upfront - ideal if you want a clean invoice and no follow-up admin

• Pay 50% to secure your booking, and the remaining 50% after delivery - useful if you need to align with internal payment cycles

Invoices are issued once we confirm your booking, and payment secures your spot.

Bonus

Every tier includes a bonus PDF:

“The 7 Most Common Reasons Training Fails and How to Fix Them with Neuroscience”

A powerful internal explainer to help build buy-in and shape your next L&D strategy conversation.

Looking forward to helping your team turn training into a real business asset.

Daniel Smart

Founder, Dendrite Learning

P.S. We only take a small number of NEURO Audits each quarter to ensure deep, focused work with each organisation. If you're even thinking about reviewing your training strategy in the next few months, it's worth securing your place early, not because of scarcity for the sake of it, but because well-timed insight has more impact than a rushed fix later.

FAQ’s

• Is this just another training workshop

  No. This is not a workshop, and we don’t deliver training to your staff. The NEURO Audit is a strategic diagnostic tool designed to improve the quality, retention, and ROI of the training you’re already delivering.

• Can we do this if we’re only reviewing onboarding or compliance training?

  Yes. The NEURO Audit works across onboarding, compliance, soft skills, technical capability and more because it reviews how well your content aligns with how people actually learn and apply knowledge.

• What if we don’t have a lot of documentation or our training is informal?

  That’s fine. You don’t need polished documents to benefit. As long as we can look at your materials, workflows or delivery formats (even rough ones), we can assess and provide actionable insights.

• What if our team isn’t very available?

  The process is designed to be low lift. You’ll need to attend a 30-minute planning call, and later a feedback session. Beyond that, we work asynchronously with the materials you provide.

• Can this help justify a bigger L&D investment?

  Absolutely. You’ll receive clear insights and a leadership-ready summary showing where your current training is underperforming, how that impacts business performance, and what’s worth improving. Great for building internal buy-in.

• Can we involve multiple stakeholders in the planning or review sessions?

  Yes, and it’s often recommended. Whether you’re looping in compliance, HR, operations or execs, we’ll tailor the session accordingly.

• What do we need to provide to make this work?

  We’ll need access to the training materials or programs you want reviewed. This might include slide decks, PDFs, videos, delivery plans or LMS modules. If you opt for the stakeholder pulse survey, we’ll also send a link you can forward to staff.

• What if we want an in-person session?

  We can do that. In-person delivery is included at no extra charge for clients in Sydney, the Central Coast or Newcastle. If you're elsewhere, we’ll confirm travel costs up front with no surprises or markup.

• Can we book this now and run it in a few months’ time?

  Yes. You’re welcome to secure a future slot. Organisations do book ahead to align with strategy days, planning windows or capability review cycles. Booking early simply guarantees your place in the quarterly intake.

• We’ve done training audits before and didn’t find them useful. How is this different?

  Most audits focus on compliance, alignment or content accuracy. The NEURO Audit focuses on learning effectiveness, how well your training supports memory, motivation, and real-world behaviour change. It's built on neuroscience, not tick-box reviews.

• We’re already using a reputable LMS and content provider. Isn’t that enough?

  Having a good LMS or provider is important, but it's not the whole picture. The NEURO Audit looks at how your training is designed and delivered, not just what platform it's on. Even high-quality content can underperform if the learning strategy isn’t optimised for how the brain works.

• We don’t have a formal L&D strategy yet. Should we wait?

  Actually, this is an ideal time. The NEURO Audit can help you make better decisions about what to build or invest in. It gives you a roadmap before spending time or money on approaches that don’t work.

• Is neuroscience just a buzzword? How deep does this actually go?

  Fair question. This isn’t surface-level science. Every insight in the NEURO Audit is tied to peer-reviewed research, behavioural science, and proven learning models. It's practical, evidence-based, and already being used in high-performing teams.

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