An executive was recently lamenting the time and money his company had spent during the past year for employee training.   He asserted that the solution could be in web-based training rather than bringing someone into the business.  I listened for several minutes and then he sighed and said to me:  “I know your company does a lot of training as well as consulting, so I suppose you think we ought to keep on doing what we’re doing.”   I replied:  “Frankly, no.  You will be wasting time and money no matter what format you choose for training.”  He blinked then stared at me with surprise.  I went on to explain that until and unless he becomes actively involved in the professional development of employees, it will always be a waste of time.

This is not to say that an executive should be involved in each employee’s individual development plan. Those details are better managed by supervisors and human resource staff (if you’re fortunate enough to have those positions on your staff).  However, in order for there to be a return on investment for training, it is essential that top leadership support, encourage and advocate employees’ professional growth.   That includes soliciting and attending to feedback from employees after they’ve participated in training. 

 Webinars are not the solution for getting value out of training programs any more than all training being conducted on site is the sole answer.  Regardless of the format, the primary ingredient for successful employee development is executive commitment.