Workplace training is a growing line item and in 2024: the Association of Talent Development found that organizations spent an average of $1,283 per employee on learning and development. However, much of that investment fails to stick. As FastCompany reports, the problem isn’t always the content. It’s the lack of alignment, consistency, and follow-through. 

Often training is launched without a clear connection to business goals with programs feeling disconnected from daily responsibilities, making them easy to ignore. When priorities shift quickly or frameworks change from month to month, the impact gets diluted.

Even well-designed programs fall short if company culture doesn’t support the message. A leadership course won’t work if managers are rewarded for the opposite behavior and culture shapes behavior more than content does.

Leadership buy-in is also critical. If senior leaders don’t model the behaviors being taught, the training loses credibility. People notice when expectations are not applied evenly, and this  inconsistency signals that the training isn’t a real priority. 

High-performing companies take a slightly different approach: they define what success looks like before even launching a program. They align training with strategic goals and performance systems and track progress and continue reinforcing the message over time.