The annual spend on training and development is an amazingly high $US70 billion in the US and over US$130 billion globally, yet too few benefit from such corporate largesse. 

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The fact is every year many CEO’s lament the lack of talent globally. And ironically, every year leadership development remains a top priority. However lavish the amount spent on training and education, it greatly misses the mark not only for employees but also for organisations.  For some organisations, according to McKinsey research, training may have paid off, (particularly on-the-job development and executive coaching) but that is the exception. Such erratic results stem from misaligned programs or poor measurement, and it’s time to rethink and redo corporate training to show better results.

Let me first add that today, employees have plenty of learning options to consider. For a small fee, Lynda.com or Udemy.com offer programs on almost any subject, discipline, soft or hard skill. These are short, targeted online sessions which can be learned on your own time. The same goes for Edx.org, a global online provider offering undergraduate college courses from the best global universities (MIT, Berkeley, Kyoto, Tsinghua, McGill, Sorbonne, and others). Employees can utilise podcasts, blogs, informal or formal mentors, an abundance of learning options. A more self-directed, informal learning array of options can partially address employees’ needs.

Corporate learning has dramatically shifted. It is no longer the HR or T&D professionals doling out programs to resistant staff. Today- and for the foreseeable future- it is for the managers to directly engage their staff about their careers. What it is about is having career conversations.

Such conversations carry more weight, and are directly linked to employee engagement, discretionary effort and performance. Gallup runs an annual employee engagement survey, and sadly, the percentages rarely improve.  Last year’s results show that less than one-third of US employees were engaged at work. Millennials are the least engaged, as many felt disconnected or unable to use their talent at work, resulting in greater disengagement. It’s not hard to connect the dots: no one is having those conversations. No amount of corporate training, internally or externally, will resolve this problem. What will?


Having regular career conversations is one of the best and cost effective ways to start. Managers must consider how to spend more time on actually understanding an employee's needs and potential. This requires the human touch, not an algorithm; an actual conversation, discussing someone else's strengths, interests, values, needs and goals.

Believe it or not, many of us would actually like to find and hold on to some tangible meaning at work, partner with great colleagues, and increase trust with our manager. An on-going career conversation helps to sharpen the picture and erase those blurred lines between training and work.

Rather than sending employees away for offsite training, organisations should help their managers learn how to invest time wisely with more career conversations: “What are you learning?" or "What keeps you engaged?''

A ten-minute talk, done properly throughout the year, can encourage engagement, cultivate trust, and open the door to unlimited possibilities. It's a small but wise investment in time with enormous payoffs for individuals and organisations.

_{This post was first published on LinkedIn - Jane Horan and has been reposted on Executive Lifestyle with the permission of the author.}

_{Edited by Aber Valencia
Reference:
Forbes: Spending on Corporate Training Soars: Employee Capabilities Now A Priority
McKinsey&Company: Building capabilities for performance}

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