Building Internal Training Capabilities That Actually Work

If you believe that rolling out a one day workshop and 'ticking compliance' means that you have built organisational capability, think again.

Very often, organisations talk about "upskilling" as though it were a one off. In truth, developing internal training capacity is a strategic programme of small, repeated investments, more like pruning a bonsai than planting an entire forest overnight.

I've worked with teams from Sydney to Perth and witnessed the cycle over and over: initial excitement, a couple of good initiatives, followed by a flat line because the training option wasn't built to last. That's avoidable.

Why this matters now

The modern workplace is fast paced. New tech lands one week, regulatory change lands the next. "If your people are not able to adapt, if training is episodic, as opposed to embedded, your Business pays for that in productivity, morale and retention," Mr. Law says.

The World Economic Forum has been signalling this for years: substantial reskilling is the new normal for organisations. And yes, some will say that formal learning is overrated, you can learn on the job!, in my experience, it's exactly the opposite: you need both structured learning and hands on practice. One without the other underdelivers.

Begin with a proper needs assessment, and then actually do something about it

Too many training teams start with content, and work backwards from there. That's not putting competencies before the cart; it's just putting the cart where "it belongs": nowhere.

The most durable programmes begin with a deep needs assessment. Not a survey that you email to your staff a week before it is due, but an approach based on a combination of:

• structured interviews with leaders and managers
• skills audits (both observed and self report)
• actual performance data, and
• market benchmarking

Engage stakeholders across the business. Far too often HR does a needs analysis in isolation and hands over a training plan that to line managers feels completely irrelevant. Getting stakeholders involved is how the output gets used. It also helps you prioritise; you'll find some gaps are burning (safety, regulatory), some more strategic (digital fluency, leadership depth) and others fancy to have (great impact delivered through presenting for a specific team).

Identify real skills gaps, not symptoms

Symptoms are often mistaken for problems. If your product isn't competitive, low sales is not a training issue. Bad customer satisfaction isn't always about frontline skills, sometimes it's policy, system limitations or resourcing.

A critical assessment guides you to ask the right questions. Where the answer indeed is training, be specific: what change in behaviour do you hope to see? How will that be measured?

A contentious, yet accurate view: centralised capability often wins

Here's a controversial opinion that will enrage decentralised teams, centralise a capability hub for core capabilities. Centralising core training content and governance enables consistency, economies of scale and clearer career paths. You still decentralise delivery where it does, but a central function of quality and (probably) obviously less duplication too.

Yes, you lose some autonomy. Yes, it can be bureaucratic if you stuff up. But the alternative, 10 different versions of "management skills" for every region or country you add, say, is both wasteful and inconsistent.

Or, rephrased: centralised design, decentralised application.

Design learning for the user, not the LMS

The platform is a support system, and not the solution. It's tempting to let a shiny LMS drive learning design. Don't.

Start with the learner journey. What problem are they trying to solve? What is the smallest behaviour change that will have the largest impact? Then design a blended pathway:

• micro learning for 'just in time' on the job prompts
• workshops for practice and experiential learning
• coaching/mentoring to embed new behaviours, and
• refreshers/performance support to maintain change

People underestimate the effectiveness of short, intensely focused learning! A 20 minute module or an application that takes 10 minutes trumps a standard 90 minute lecture most days.

Blended delivery, because one size doesn't fit all

Blended isn't a buzzword, it's a necessity. When processes or products need to be in compliance, or to simply refresh the team on a product, it's hard to beat e learning (and self paced is best). For leadership ability, there's nothing that quite replaces facilitated sessions with real time feedback. For technical proficiency, integrate labs and simulated practice. And for distributed teams, the best models are hybrid (virtual and in person).

One firm we work with in Melbourne carries out 90 minute virtual masterclasses and then hosts local practices, face to face sessions, it has much higher levels of engagement and transfer than either without the other.

Train the trainers, no assumption of subject matter equals learning capacity

Subject matter expertise doesn't mean training proficiency. Internal SMEs are gold for relevance and examples, but they don't generally know how to structure learning or encourage behaviour change.

Invest in training the trainers: principles of adult learning, coaching skills, how to design a session and approaches to assessment. Develop a lightweight certification so managers know who on their team is formally trained to facilitate, and that requires would be internal trainers to lead exercise in front of paying customers (and "sweat test" them with an untrained teacher.)

And support them, once home, with prefab discussion guides and helpful resource materials.

Measure what matters, and don't get caught up in course completions

Completion rates are vanity metrics. The standard of true measurement is: did behaviour change? Did performance improve? Did the business outcome shift?

Set clear, measurable outcomes upfront. Use a mix of:

• Kirkpatrick style rating for reaction and learning
• "can do" practical assessments scores and roleplay scores for skills events
• manager observed behaviour changes, where possible
• business KPIs (error rates, sales conversion, net promoter score) as they apply

A good rule of thumb: connect learning objectives to two business metrics. Read through to get a sense for the right intervention, they need your training programme.

Leash the data, fast

Learning analytics are powerful. Follow engagement trends, time on task, assessment scores and retakes. Use that information to pinpoint areas where content is failing, learners are dropping off, and cohorts that need additional support.

But don't forget that analytics is a tool to inform decisions, not replace judgement. Interpret data with context. Find the story behind the statistics.

Generate practice opportunities, real practice opportunities

The transfer of skills (which we've just gone over) refinement after the tools are mastered. Design learning that necessitates application: shadowing, action learning projects, simulations, role plays with peer feedback.

The organisations that are improving at transfers make it part of performance expectations, learning isn't a thing apart, an extra; it's what you do on the job. Having been in Canberra for sometime now, we have seen teams integrate micro goals from training into the monthly KPIs and that simple action lifts application significantly.

Make learning part of the manager's job

Managers are responsible for transfer and reinforcement. Arm them with short toolkits: scripts, checklists, 15 minute coaching guides. Have an expectation among managers to check in and follow up training, not as admin but it's part of performance development.

Where the manager is not involved, learning evaporates.

Culture eats training for breakfast, so form your culture first

You can have a shiny new training offer, but if the culture punishes experimentation, people won't try on any new behaviours. Generate psychological safety: experiment encouraged, small wins celebrated, managed failure tolerated. Reinforce the learning in action attributes during performance conversations. That's how learning becomes light, rather than episodic.

Two takes you may not like

Micro credentials matter. I like these bite sized, stackable credentials of capability. Not everyone agrees, some would like to see the signal of full course completion. Yet marketplaces and candidates increasingly demand micro credentials.

In some roles, formal qualifications are overrated. Practical skill plus demonstrated on the job performance is worth more for many operational and client facing positions than one more certificate on a resume.

Practical limitations and cost considerations

Building power is a commercial activity. Use cost benefit thinking. For instance, a good blended leadership development programme for new managers that lowers turnover by just a few percentage points often pays back in cost savings with lowered hiring and time to proficiency taking hold quickly.

Be practical: outsource where content is not a differentiator or there's not enough of it at scale; and build where knowledge is the core of your services offering.

Governance and content life cycles

Keep governance simple: a steering group for prioritisation, an operational panel for content updates. Establish content lifecycles, core modules should be reviewed annually; tactical content, biannually; and micro content, quarterly. This maintains content fresh and is cost effective.

Accessibility and Diverse Audiences

Don't forget about designs that are friendly to all. Provide captions, multiple formats, scannable content for screen readers etc. Diverse learners bring diverse needs. If you don't have training, you shut down talent and put yourself at risk of violating equity obligations.

On choosing technology

Pick platforms that solve your problems and not your ego. Don't chase the fanciest LMS. Find: ease of use for students, analytics and reporting capabilities, integration with HR and payroll systems, and standard interoperability (xAPI/SCORM where it applies).

And, yes, mobile first is important, a lot of regional Australian teams' engagement with learning will be on their phones.

Leadership and sponsorship

Visible sponsor is a must. Senior leaders must demonstrate behaviours to learn. When the executive team does a leadership lab and talks about it, staff members listen. We have experienced this at Organisations across Brisbane and Adelaide, when leaders commit time, engagement ensues.

One pragmatic enhancement I suggest: establish an "internal practice lab"

Institute a low stakes practice lab where folks can experiment with new tools, role play scenarios and be coached without putting client relationships at risk. It can be something as simple as a booking room with a facilitator and script, to something more elaborate that re creates an environment.

These labs enable learning to take place faster, with less risk on the job. You are great for sales teams, support agents and compliance sensitive roles.

Some Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Not looking at training as a continuous process, but instead like an event
• Believing people's behaviour will change due to the content alone, practice is crucial!
• Everybody expects trainers or eLearning developers know all about their subject matter!
• It is merely a tool and can never replace instructional design; though it can support you greatly in your training projects for sure
• Forgetting that we do what we measure, and if performance measures aren't in place before the training starts (and understood by everyone up front), then don't be surprised when nothing changes afterward

A caveat before we begin: People matter most

Systems, platforms and content matter, but people make it happen. The difference between training that's a checkbox and training that changes outcomes are skilled L&D pros who get business, managers who coach and leaders who role model behaviour.

Two solid stats to ground this

A well regarded industry stat (LinkedIn Learning, 2018) discovered that, of employees, 94% said they would stay at a Company longer if it invested in their career. It's a bit dated now, but still serves as a directional lens.

The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs reporting has continuously reinforced that large scale reskilling is the business of as usual for most organisations, another sign that capability work is strategic, not optional.

Final note, ruthlessly simple about priorities

You don't need every training fad. You want a couple of well designed, measurable programmes that meet top strategic needs and a governance cadence to keep them fresh. Begin small, read the metrics, scale what works.

Also remember, training without application is not learning, it's theatre. Make it real. Make it measurable. Integrate it into everyone's job.

We have reiterated these principles in our work time and again through public workshops and custom corporate programmes, the organisations that commit get the results. Not all of them agree on scattergun approaches. They usually return a year from now asking how to clean up the mess. Fix it earlier.

Learning is messy. So are workplaces. That's fine. The trick is creating the kind of training that leaves room for mess and turns it into competence, not more meetings.