Every time the word “training” is mentioned in the office, you can be guaranteed to see more than a few employees roll their eyes. Leadership training; executive education; planning and organizing skills – call it what you want but it will still make everyone groan whenever the subject is broached. Training sessions take employees away from the tasks they need to accomplish, and, let’s be honest: they’re boring. Sometimes they require travel, and then you have to make up for lost time when you spend a day or two at some hotel or convention center listening to someone drone on endlessly. A couple of long days away could easily lead to a few more long days at the office, catching up on all you didn’t get done while you were attending some leadership development program.

That was just one scenario depicting why corporate training fails more than it succeeds. Here are some more reasons:

Lack Of Accountability

What good is training when you’re never held accountable for what you’ve learned? Many corporate training programs measure their success by the numbers of bodies in the seats. If there is no accountability for implementing what is learned, than why bother showing up? Not many programs have solid follow-up or monitoring in place to keep track of past participants.

Lack Of Implementation

Implementation is especially important when employees need to update soft skills or human resources protocols. Leaving access to old software programs employees know well will just encourage them to keep using them instead of updated versions. Not following through on implementing new HR protocols can endanger employees and leave businesses vulnerable to lawsuits.

Lack Of Monitoring

Once the seminars or sessions are completed, reports are written and there is often no monitoring between teacher and student. Many training companies do not have solid monitoring practices in place to follow-up with supervisors to see if employees are using new skills.

Loss Of Focus

When there is little coordination in learning programs, employees will lose focus. Seminars that go on for too many consecutive days can wear out attendees, causing them to lose focus at some point along the way. There needs to be a balance struck between how much and how often.

No Lasting Results

Very often, training programs provide short-term “feel good” results that quickly fade. If little is learned and nothing is implemented, than the training program is not worth the time and effort it takes to attend.

No Specific Objectives

Many training programs specialize in throwing a lot of information at attendees to see what sticks. Most of the time, very little sticks. If there are no specific objectives, then the programs will not be worthwhile.

Is Online Training the Answer?

Online training has many advantages over traditional organizational development. For one, employees no longer have to trudge to off-site meetings; they can partake in sessions in the office, at home, or anywhere. Moreover, online training providers deliver training in small modules, rather than long, drawn-out seminars, making them more effective, and better retained. Plus, most training allows employees to learn at their own pace, so they can stop, start over, or review sections to ensure they are absorbing the material.

Got questions about the effectiveness of online training? Visit www.coggno.com now.