Most Organisations Don’t Need More Training

This may seem like a strange statement coming from someone who works in learning and development, but I genuinely believe that most organisations don't need more training.

That isn't to say training has no value. I've seen excellent training programmes increase confidence, introduce new ways of thinking and give people practical tools they can use in their roles. Good learning experiences absolutely have their place.

What I question is the assumption that training is always the answer when something isn't working.

Over the years I've worked with organisations across a range of sectors, including prisons, charities, healthcare and social care. While the contexts are very different, I often hear remarkably similar concerns.

Managers want staff to have better conversations. Record keeping isn't as consistent as it should be. New approaches are being introduced but aren't being adopted consistently. Leaders are frustrated because despite investing time and money in development, they aren't seeing the improvements they hoped for.

Quite understandably, the conversation quickly turns to training.

The logic seems sound. If people aren't doing something correctly, perhaps they need to learn how to do it. If performance isn't where it should be, perhaps additional knowledge or skills are required.

Sometimes that's true.

However, many of the challenges organisations face are not primarily knowledge problems.

In fact, when I spend time exploring these issues with teams, I often find that people already know what good practice looks like. They can explain the policy. They understand the process. They know what they should be doing.

The challenge lies somewhere else.

The gap is often between knowing and doing.

A manager may know the importance of regular supervision conversations but struggle to find the time to prioritise them. A practitioner may understand the principles of trauma-informed practice but find it difficult to apply them consistently when services are busy and demands are high. A support worker may know exactly what should be included in case notes but rush through documentation at the end of a long shift.

These situations aren't usually solved by providing more information. They require organisations to understand what is preventing good practice from happening consistently in the first place.

This is where I think many organisations unintentionally focus their energy in the wrong place.

A significant amount of effort goes into planning training. Leaders consider content, providers, venues, attendance and costs. Yet comparatively little attention is given to what happens once people return to work.

• How will they apply the learning?

• What opportunities will they have to practise?

• Who will support them when they encounter difficulties?

• How will managers reinforce the key messages?

• How will the organisation know whether anything has actually changed?

These questions are often more important than the training itself.

When I speak to organisations about learning and development, I encourage them to think of training as the starting point rather than the finish line. Attending a course does not automatically lead to improved performance any more than joining a gym automatically leads to improved fitness.

What matters is what happens afterwards.

People need opportunities to apply what they have learned in real situations. They need feedback. They need encouragement. They need space to reflect on what's working and what isn't. Most importantly, they need an environment that supports change rather than one that quietly pulls them back towards old habits.

The organisations that seem to get the greatest value from learning and development understand this well. They don't treat training as a standalone event. Instead, they see it as one part of a wider process that includes reflection, coaching, supervision, practice and ongoing reinforcement.

As a result, their focus shifts away from questions such as "Did people attend?" or "Did they enjoy it?" and towards more meaningful questions.

• What are people doing differently?

• What improvements are we seeing in practice?

• How has this affected the people we support?

These are ultimately the questions that matter.

So before booking the next course, it may be worth pausing for a moment and asking whether training is really the issue you're trying to solve.

If people already know what good practice looks like, the answer may not be more learning. It may be creating the conditions that help people turn that learning into consistent action.

In my experience, that's where the biggest opportunity often lies.