When Companies Should Invest in Training Their Employees — and When They Shouldn't

Business leaders often see the need for employee training when it becomes apparent that their decision-making processes have failed to clarify which leaders and groups own which decisions, reports the Harvard Business Review . Other factors indicating the same include narrowly distributed authority concentrated at the top of the organization, a lack of quantifiable expectations that employees make decisions, and an absence of technologies to rapidly pass information to those who need it to make decisions. However, such systemic issues make it unlikely that a training program will have a sustainable outcome. There are three conditions required to ensure the effectiveness of a workplace training solution: the deployment of internal systems to support newly desired behavior, commitment to change, and the solution's direct alignment with strategic priorities. Businesses intending to invest large sums into training must be confident that it is meeting a strategic learning need. They also must be sure their organization can and will sustain new skills and knowledge by addressing the broader issues that may threaten their success.