Corporate Training Reality Check: What 20+ Years in the Industry Has Taught Me
The fella sitting next to me at the regular training session was scrolling through his phone, barely hiding it behind his notebook . Fair dinkum, who could blame them. Another PowerPoint marathon about “combining our core competencies” or some such rubbish. Twenty three years I’ve been in corporate training and development, and I reckon about three quarters of what passes for professional development these days is just expensive box ticking.
Here’s what gets me wound up though. Companies are spending absolute fortunes on training programs that nobody remembers a month down the track. Brisbane organisations are wasting huge budgets 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 absolute fortunes on training programs that nobody remembers a month down the track. Brisbane organisations are wasting enormous budgets 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 rigid, cookie-cutter training formats you’ve ever seen.
My contact at a major corporate shared this story with me. She told me they’d just rolled out a leadership development program that cost more than my house. Six months later? Nobody could name a single thing they’d learned. The only lasting result was some good looking credentials.
The problem isn’t that people dont want to grow professionally. I’ve watched participants light up when training actually relates to their day to day problems. It’s like trying to fix a Ferrari with a hammer when you need precision tools.
Don’t get me wrong, people do want to develop their skills. I’ve watched participants light up when training actually relates to their day-to-day problems. The issue is we’re treating professional development like a one-size-fits-all tracksuit from Big W when it should be more like a bespoke suit from Collins Street.
The standard corporate learning session goes like this . Opening day : forced networking games that make people uncomfortable. Day two : theoretical frameworks that sound impressive but have zero application to anyone’s actual job. Day three : action planning sessions where people write down goals they’ll never look at again. It’s like watching the same boring movie on repeat, except you’re paying premium cinema prices for community hall entertainment.
The approaches that truly make a difference though
Messy, imperfect, real world problem solving. Hand them the problems keeping them awake at night. Not hypothetical case studies about companies that went bust in 1987, but the stuff causing real stress about genuine workplace situations.
But here’s what actually delivers results
Hands-on, practical challenge tackling. Focus on the issues sitting on their desks today. Forget the textbook scenarios that bear no resemblance to reality, but the stuff keeping them awake at 3am wondering how they’re going to handle that difficult client or fix that broken process.
A mining operation in Western Australia came to me with serious information flow problems. Instead of putting them through a standard communication skills workshop, we had them solve real problems happening on their actual sites. They traced their messaging systems, found the weak points, and built better processes. Six months later, their project completion rates had improved by 30%. They didnt master any elaborate frameworks, just solved actual workplace challenges.
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. Organisations demanding after hours learning are dreaming if they think people will be engaged.
This is probably going to be unpopular. I reckon most professional development should happen during work time, not as an add-on to already overloaded schedules. Companies that expect their people to do training in their own time are kidding themselves about commitment levels.
Here’s where I might lose some people though. 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.
This might ruffle some feathers : we dont all need to manage people. There’s this obsession with leadership development programs, as if the only way to grow professionally is to manage other people. Many top performers prefer staying hands on rather than moving into management. But try finding expert technical training that isnt wrapped up in management speak. Good luck with that.
What really gets my goat is the non existent follow through .
You send people to a two day workshop, they come back full of enthusiasm and new ideas, then… nothing. No coaching, no mentoring, no actual application opportunities. Imagine investing in tools and then storing them where nobody can access them.
What really gets my goat is the non-existent follow-through.
Employees return from training buzzing with possibilities, then get zero support to implement anything. No guidance, no resources, no chance to actually use their new skills. It’s like buying someone a gym membership and then locking the doors. Data indicates that without reinforcement, most learning evaporates within 30 days. Yet most companies act surprised when their training investment doesnt stick.
I’ve started telling clients to budget as much for follow up as they do for the initial training. A $10,000 training program should include another $10,000 for follow through activities across the following year. Without this, you might as well burn cash in the car park.
Now I’ll completely flip my position for a moment. Sometimes the best professional development happens completely by accident. Failed initiatives frequently provide better education than successful workshops. We might do better by supporting spontaneous growth rather than forcing structured development.
The tech companies seem to have figured this out better than most conventional industries. Google’s famous 20% time, where employees can spend one day a week on passion projects, has produced some of their most innovative products. Think of it as learning opportunities wrapped in exploration time.
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.
Savvy businesses tackle cultural change alongside skill development. They avoid the magical thinking of education without environmental support. They create environments where new skills can actually be used and valued.
Financial justification requests never stop coming. Management insists on detailed measurements connecting development costs to business outcomes. Reasonable request, but the reality is more difficult 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. Try explaining that to an accountant who only wants to see immediate productivity gains though.
The fundamental issue might be our language choices. “Professional development” sounds like something that happens to you, rather than something you actively pursue. How about “job enhancement” or “skill upgrading” instead? Less formal, more practical, definitely more honest about what we’re actually trying to achieve.
What I think will happen over the next few years. Businesses that merge training with genuine job activities will crush their rivals. Not due to better certificates or credentials, but because they’ll be more adaptable, more confident, and more engaged with solving real problems.
Tomorrow’s winners will be companies that make learning as normal as daily operations. Essential, continuous, and completely integrated into everything else they do.
Time to stop this tirade and get back to work. Off to build learning experiences that participants will still use next year.
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