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How Remote Professional Development is Changing the Workforce
Why Most Workplace Training Programs Are Missing the Point: A Wake-Up Call from the Trenches
We've turned workplace learning into a compliance exercise instead of skill building.
After nearly two decades in the training business, and honestly? The current state of workplace learning would horrify the people who taught me. In the old days, you learned by working alongside someone who actually knew what they were doing. Unstructured, sure. But it worked.
Now we've got Learning Management Systems that cost more than my first car and engagement surveys that measure everything except whether people actually know what they're doing. It's insane.
What the industry won't tell you is that most training programs are built for administrators, not learners. I was at a client site last week where they needed a full day to explain a system that should take half an hour to learn. The facilitator kept banging on about "user experience optimization" whilst half the room couldn't figure out how to unmute themselves.
The Issues Everyone Pretends Don't Exist
Companies are pouring cash into learning programs without thinking about impact. I saw a statistic somewhere that puts global training spend at over $300 billion each year. That's a massive number. Yet studies show people forget most of what they're taught within days.
Spent time with a major mining operation in WA. Brilliant operation, safety record that would make Wesfarmers green with envy. Their required learning modules were completely worthless. Digital programs that became box-ticking exercises. Actual knowledge transfer occurred in casual conversations.
That's when it hit me. We're teaching people how to pass tests, not how to do jobs.
Manufacturing companies seem to understand learning more clearly. Seen operations where learning happens on the factory floor instead of conference rooms. Nothing beats seeing young workers pick up skills from experienced mentors.
But try explaining that to a corporate training manager who needs to explain their LMS investment.
Simple Solutions We Keep Overlooking
Mentorship beats classroom sessions hands down. I've seen it happen over and over across different industries. Match knowledge holders with eager learners and the results are outstanding.
I've seen impressive buddy systems at large financial institutions. Nothing elaborate, just experienced staff paired with new hires working on actual customer issues. The data is clear: improved retention, faster learning, increased engagement. Simple stuff that works.
Still, businesses persist with presentation style learning that achieves nothing. Why? The metrics are easy. Easy to create compliance reports and impress management with participation statistics.
All that built up wisdom walks out the door when veterans retire because we've ignored informal learning.
Fell into the same trap when I started out. Believed I could package all learning into neat courses that suited everybody. Wasted countless hours building supposedly perfect welcome modules. Professional slides, interactive elements, even some cringe worthy role playing exercises.
Total disaster.
Turns out people learn differently, need different things, and respond to different approaches. Who would've thought?
The Emotional Intelligence Bandwagon
EQ development programs drive me mental. Every second RFP I see these days wants modules on EQ development. Like you can teach someone to understand human emotions through PowerPoint slides.
I'm not saying emotional intelligence isn't crucial. Obviously it matters. Our training approach misses the point entirely. EQ grows through real relationships and honest conversations. Not by completing online assessments that tell you whether you are a "red" or "blue" personality type.
Saw an organisation waste serious cash on feelings workshops. Professional trainer, premium facility, elaborate resources that got ignored. Staff satisfaction remained unchanged. Turnover actually increased.
Know what would've made a difference? Teaching those managers how to have actual conversations with their people. How to pay attention instead of waiting to speak. How to be honest about their knowledge gaps.
But that's harder to package into a neat training module.
The Tech Industry's Learning Myths
Technology vendors keep claiming their platforms will transform how people learn. Customised curricula, smart content, bite sized lessons served when needed. Sounds fantastic in theory.
Truth is: these solutions address fake issues while missing real challenges.
I watched a company deploy a "smart" learning platform that was supposed to identify skill gaps and recommend relevant training. Expensive exercise that consumed months of effort. The platform kept suggesting Excel courses to people who'd been using spreadsheets for twenty years whilst missing obvious knowledge gaps in customer service protocols.
While this was happening, successful teams held impromptu training during meal breaks. No technology required.
The real innovation in workplace learning isn't coming from Silicon Valley startups. It's coming from organisations that figure out how to create cultures where people actually want to share what they know.
What I'm Seeing That Actually Works
Certain businesses understand effective learning, thank goodness.
Bunnings has this brilliant approach to product knowledge training. Skip the traditional training: manufacturers teach staff directly about their products. Real products, real questions, real problems. Staff learn because they need the knowledge to help customers, not because compliance requires it.
Trade training that blends theory with practical mentorship beats academic only approaches. TAFE courses that partner with industry employers create pathways that actually lead somewhere.
The formula never changes: education tied to genuine tasks, supervised by competent practitioners, with instant application possibilities.
Still, organisations prefer traditional teaching methods because they're known quantities.
What Nobody Wants to Hear About Training Satisfaction
Here's something that'll annoy the training industry: engagement scores often have nothing to do with learning effectiveness. Delivered programs that got excellent feedback but produced zero lasting impact. Provided development that seemed unpopular at first but revolutionised people's job performance.
Real skill building feels difficult because it disrupts familiar patterns and forces adaptation. Yet difficult learning experiences get negative reviews, causing us to drop them.
Development programs prioritise positive feedback over meaningful behaviour change. Similar to evaluating fitness centres on entertainment value rather than health improvements.
What Happens Next
There aren't simple answers to fix this mess. Honestly, I'm not sure anyone does. Learning and development has prioritised systems and metrics over the fundamental goal: enabling people to improve their job performance.
Could be that enhanced modules aren't the answer. Maybe it's creating workplaces where learning happens naturally through the way work gets organised and relationships get built.
Could be we need reduced classroom time and increased collaborative learning on genuine projects.
It might be that effective development requires less control over the learning journey and more faith in people's natural ability to acqurie skills with suitable assistance.
Perhaps I'm becoming a dinosaur who misses the days when training meant observing experts and slowly improving through practice.
Regardless, current approaches fail the majority of learners in most situations. Denying these problems won't make them disappear.
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Website: https://updateteam.bigcartel.com/product/negotiation-skills-for-everyday-workplace-situations
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