Corporate Training Reality Check: What 20+ Years in the Industry Has Taught Me
Last week l watched a room full of executives zone out during another “breakthrough” leadership workshop. Fair dinkum, who could blame them. Yet another session filled with buzzword bingo and meaningless corporate speak. After 25 years running workplace training programs, and I reckon about three quarters of what passes for professional development these days is just overpriced box ticking.
What really winds me up is this. Companies are spending serious money on training programs that nobody remembers three weeks later. Melbourne businesses alone probably blow through millions each year on workshops that teach people how to “think outside the box” whilst keeping them firmly inside the most rigid, cookie cutter training formats you’ve ever seen.
The thing that drives me absolutely mental. Companies are spending serious money on training programs that nobody remembers after the first coffee break. Sydney companies are throwing away serious dollars on workshops that teach people how to “think outside the box” whilst keeping them firmly inside the most mind-numbing, one-size-fits-all approaches you’ve ever seen.
Here’s what gets me fired up though. Companies are spending serious money on training programs that nobody remembers a month down the track. Sydney companies are throwing away serious dollars on workshops that teach people how to “think outside the box” whilst keeping them firmly inside the most mind-numbing, one-size-fits-all approaches you’ve ever seen.
I was chatting to a mate who runs HR at one of the major four banks. They’d invested in an leadership training package worth more than most people’s annual salary . Six months later? Nobody could name a single thing they’d learned. The only lasting result was some nice looking credentials.
It’s not that employees lack drive to improve. You can see the engagement spike when sessions address actual workplace issues. We’re delivering McDonald’s training when people need restaurant quality development.
The problem isn’t that people don’t want to grow professionally. Trust me, I’ve seen the hunger in people’s eyes when they finally get training that actually connects with their real work challenges. It’s like trying to fix a Ferrari with a hammer when you need precision tools.
Most training programs follow this predictable pattern. Day one : icebreaker activities that make everyone cringe internally. Day two : theoretical frameworks that sound fancy but have zero application to anyone’s actual job. Final session : goal setting workshops that produce plans destined for desk drawers. It’s like watching the same tedious movie on repeat, except you’re paying premium cinema prices for community hall entertainment.
But here’s what actually delivers results
Messy, imperfect, real world problem solving. Focus on the issues sitting on their desks today. Skip the theoretical examples from decades ago, but the stuff causing real stress about real workplace situations.
But here’s what actually delivers results
Down and dirty workplace issue resolution. Hand them the problems keeping them awake at night. Not hypothetical case studies about companies that went bust in 1987, but the stuff creating genuine anxiety about tomorrow’s challenges.
I remember working with a development company in Brisbane where the site managers were struggling with communication breakdowns. Rather than enrolling them in standard corporate communication training, we had them solve real problems happening on their actual sites. They mapped out the communication flows, identified where things were falling through the cracks, and developed their own solutions. Six months later, their project completion rates had improved by 30%. No theoretical breakthroughs, just genuine solutions to everyday issues.
This is probably going to be divisive. I reckon most professional development should happen during work time, not as an add on to already overloaded schedules. Businesses pushing weekend workshops shouldnt be surprised when attendance drops off.
This is probably going to be controversial. I reckon most professional development should happen within business hours, not piled onto people’s personal time. Companies that expect their people to do training in their own time are kidding themselves about commitment levels.
Now I’m going to upset a few readers. I reckon most professional development should happen in paid hours, not squeezed into evenings and weekends. Businesses pushing weekend workshops shouldn’t be surprised when attendance drops off.
Here’s another unpopular opinion : leadership isnt for everyone. There’s this obsession with leadership development programs, as if the only way to grow professionally is to manage other people. Many best performers prefer staying hands on rather than moving into management. But try finding advanced technical training that isnt wrapped up in management speak. Good luck with that.
The missing piece that makes me want to bang my head against the wall : ongoing support.
You send people to a two day workshop, they come back full of enthusiasm and new ideas, then… nothing. No support, no check ins, no way to put into action what they’ve learned. Imagine investing in tools and then storing them where nobody can access them.
The other thing that drives me mental is the follow-up. Or complete lack thereof.
You send people to a two-day workshop, they come back full of enthusiasm and new ideas, then… nothing. No guidance, no resources, no chance to actually use their new skills. Think of it as purchasing exercise equipment and hiding it in the garage. Data indicates that without reinforcement, most learning evaporates within 30 days. But organisations seem shocked when their education spending produces no lasting results.
I’ve started telling clients to budget as much for follow up as they do for the initial training. If you’re spending $5,000 on a workshop, plan to spend another $5,000 on coaching, mentoring, and applying support over the next six months. Skip the follow up and you’re basically paying for expensive entertainment.
Now I’ll completely flip my position for a moment. Occasionally the greatest growth comes from unexpected situations. I’ve seen people learn more from a difficult project that went sideways than from any formal training program. We might do better by supporting spontaneous growth rather than forcing structured development.
IT organisations get this concept while old school companies lag behind. Google’s famous creative freedom policy giving workers time for self directed learning, has produced some of their biggest breakthrough developments. Essentially skill building masquerading as passion projects.
The thing that absolutely infuriates me. Training programs that ignore the reality of workplace culture. You can teach people all the collaborative leadership techniques in the world, but if they face supervisors stuck in command and control mentality, why bother? Think of it as training pilots and then giving them bicycles.
Intelligent organisations address both environment and education together. They refuse to rely solely on external training programs. They create environments where new skills can actually be used and valued.
ROI discussions happen in every planning meeting. Executives demand exact calculations linking education spending to profit increases. Reasonable request, but the reality is more complicated than that. How do you measure the value of preventing a key employee from quitting because they finally felt supported in their development? What value do you place on mishaps that never happen due to better preparation?
One industrial client tracked $3.1 million in prevented workplace incidents following their safety development program. Good luck convincing finance teams who focus solely on quarterly profit improvements.
The fundamental issue might be our language choices. This phrase implies external action rather than personal drive. Maybe “performance boosting” or “capability building” would be more correct? Less formal, more practical, definitely more honest about what we’re actually trying to achieve.
My forecast for the coming decade. Businesses that merge training with genuine job activities will crush their rivals. Not due to better certificates or credentials, but because they’ll be flexible, assured, and committed to addressing actual challenges.
The future belongs to organisations that stop treating professional development like a separate activity and start treating it like breathing. Essential, continuous, and completely integrated into everything else they do.
I should wrap up this rant before it gets any longer. Time to get back to designing training that people might actually remember next month.
If you loved this article therefore you would like to acquire more info concerning Tailored Courses please visit the web site.