# Why Your Company's Training Budget is Being Wasted [Read more here](https://excellencepro.bigcartel.com/blog) • [Further reading](https://ducareerclub.net/blog) • [Our recommendations](https://ethiofarmers.com/blog) Three weeks ago, I sat in yet another "leadership development workshop" watching a 22-year-old facilitator with a business degree and zero management experience explain to a room full of seasoned professionals how to "leverage synergistic paradigms for optimal human resource utilisation." The irony was so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. That workshop cost my previous company $47,000. For one day. And the only thing anyone learned was that the coffee was terrible and the parking was worse. Here's the brutal truth that no training consultant wants to admit: 87% of corporate training budgets are being flushed down the drain faster than water through a broken tap. Companies are spending millions on feel-good sessions that create zero lasting change, and frankly, I'm sick of pretending otherwise. ## The Real Problem Isn't What You Think Most executives believe poor training outcomes stem from choosing the wrong provider or insufficient follow-up. Wrong. The real issue is that companies treat training like a Band-Aid solution for systemic organisational problems that require surgical intervention. You can't train your way out of toxic management. Period. I learned this the hard way after spending two years as a training coordinator for a mid-sized manufacturing company in Adelaide. We delivered 47 different training programmes that year – everything from [workplace communication](https://last2u.com/) to advanced presentation skills. The result? Employee satisfaction scores dropped 12%, and turnover increased by 23%. The problem wasn't the quality of our training. Our facilitators were excellent, the content was evidence-based, and participants consistently rated sessions highly. The problem was that we were teaching people communication skills in the morning, then sending them back to managers who interrupted, dismissed, and micromanaged them all afternoon. It's like teaching someone to swim, then throwing them into a pool filled with sharks and wondering why they're not doing the butterfly stroke. ## The Training Theatre Complex Australian businesses have developed what I call "Training Theatre" – elaborate performances designed to demonstrate commitment to employee development whilst achieving precisely nothing. Companies schedule mandatory sessions on teamwork, then promote the most competitive, backstabbing individuals. They invest in [emotional intelligence programmes](https://www.alkhazana.net/2025/07/16/why-firms-ought-to-invest-in-professional-development-courses-for-employees/), then reward leaders who rule through fear and intimidation. The cognitive dissonance is staggering. I've seen companies spend $200,000 on diversity and inclusion training whilst maintaining executive teams that look like a 1950s country club. They preach the importance of work-life balance in workshops, then send emails at 11 PM expecting immediate responses. This isn't training. It's corporate virtue signalling with PowerPoint slides. ## What Actually Works (And Why Nobody Does It) Real skill development requires three elements that most organisations actively resist: time, practice, and psychological safety. Time means allowing people to actually implement what they've learned without immediately piling on seventeen new priorities. Practice means creating safe environments where failure is expected and learning is celebrated. Psychological safety means admitting that perhaps – just perhaps – the current management approach might need adjustment. Good luck finding many Australian workplaces willing to commit to all three. The companies that genuinely invest in [comprehensive professional development](https://sewazoom.com/what-to-anticipate-from-a-communication-skills-training-course/) understand that training isn't an event – it's a process. They provide ongoing coaching, create mentorship programmes, and most importantly, align their organisational culture with the behaviours they're trying to develop. Atlassian does this brilliantly. Their approach to skills development is embedded in daily operations, not relegated to quarterly workshops that everyone forgets about by Thursday. They've created systems where continuous learning is rewarded, not just talked about in mission statements. ## The Consultation Scam Let me share something that might ruffle some feathers: most training consultants have zero incentive to solve your actual problems. Their business model depends on organisations having ongoing training needs. If they actually fixed your communication issues, leadership gaps, or team dysfunction, they'd lose a client. This creates a perverse incentive structure where consultants deliver just enough value to get invited back, but never enough to make themselves obsolete. They'll run "advanced" versions of the same workshops, rebrand previous content with trendy buzzwords, or identify new "areas for development" that mysteriously require their specific expertise. I'm not suggesting all consultants operate this way. But I am suggesting that you should be deeply suspicious of any training provider who can't articulate specific, measurable outcomes within defined timeframes. ## The Real Return on Investment Companies that actually measure training effectiveness – beyond those ridiculous "happiness sheets" participants fill out before lunch – discover some uncomfortable truths. Most professional development initiatives show zero correlation with improved performance, increased productivity, or reduced turnover. The [communication skills training](https://farmfruitbasket.com/2025/07/16/why-professional-development-courses-are-essential-for-career-growth/) that cost you $15,000? Your email communication is still terrible. The leadership programme that promised to transform your managers? They're still promoting based on technical skills rather than people management capabilities. But here's what's really interesting: the 13% of companies that do see genuine improvement from training investments share common characteristics. They conduct thorough needs assessments before buying anything. They involve managers in reinforcing new behaviours. They measure specific behavioural changes, not just participant satisfaction. Most importantly, they fix systemic issues before expecting training to work miracles. ## The Uncomfortable Solution If you're serious about improving your training ROI – and I mean genuinely serious, not just wanting to feel better about your development budget – you need to start with brutal honesty about your organisational culture. Does your company actually reward the behaviours you're training people to develop? Do your promotion criteria align with your training content? Are your managers equipped and motivated to support skill development, or are they too busy fighting fires to coach anyone? For some insights on what effective development looks like, check out [organisations that prioritise meaningful growth](https://www.imcosta.com.br/why-professional-development-courses-are-essential-for-career-growth/). The difference between companies that waste training budgets and those that generate genuine returns isn't the quality of their external providers – it's the quality of their internal commitment to change. You can't outsource culture change to a workshop facilitator. ## The Path Forward Start small. Pick one specific skill that directly impacts business outcomes. Create clear success metrics. Involve managers in the development process. Provide ongoing support. Measure behavioural change, not satisfaction scores. And for the love of all that's holy, stop scheduling training sessions on Friday afternoons when everyone's mentally checked out and thinking about weekend plans. Your training budget deserves better than being a corporate ritual that everyone endures but nobody benefits from. Your employees deserve development opportunities that actually develop them. And your business deserves leaders who can distinguish between education and entertainment. The choice is yours. Just don't pretend that good intentions and expensive facilitators are sufficient anymore. They're not.