Learning and development is one of the most important levers for organizational growth. Companies know this. Employees know this. Yet, when I speak to people across industries, I hear a surprisingly similar story. Leaders often feel that employees are not applying what training promised to deliver. Employees, on the other hand, sometimes see training as a chore, a formality, or even a pleasant break from their day-to-day work.
Why is there such a gap between the intent of learning and the impact it actually creates?
This gap is not just anecdotal. Studies over the years confirm it. McKinsey found that only one in four employees felt their training improved performance in a visible way. Harvard Business Review has published research showing that three out of four managers were dissatisfied with their company’s learning and development initiatives.
In my experience of working with organizations across industries, these numbers reflect a reality that plays out on the ground. But the encouraging truth is that learning can work. It can transform. The key lies in recognizing where we are going wrong and then taking deliberate steps to change course.
Here are the common mistakes I see in corporate learning and development, and what we can do about them.
Mistake One: Measuring the Wrong Metrics
Table of Contents
Many organizations still rely on simplistic metrics. A yearly learning calendar is prepared, and employees are asked to complete a certain number of modules. Success is then measured by completion rates, training hours, or certificates issued. On social media, certificates are displayed proudly, and the organization can point to a certain number of “training days delivered.”
But none of this answers the real question: did the training make a difference? Did it change behavior, improve performance, or shift mindsets?
What we can do differently
At the beginning of each cycle, learning teams need to sit with managers and define goals in behavioral terms. Instead of asking “What courses should your team attend?” a better question is “What skills or behaviors do you want to see more of this year?” Once these are clear, managers can provide regular feedback on progress, supported by real-world examples. Even tracking this at the team level makes the measurement more meaningful.
Also Read: Translate Your Vision Into Reality
Mistake Two: Offering the Wrong Modules
Too often, training calendars are filled with modules that look impressive but are not always relevant. Programs like business correspondence or negotiation skills might be rolled out to everyone, regardless of whether they will use them. Employees dutifully complete the programs, but many never get the opportunity to apply the skills in their role. Measuring effectiveness then becomes impossible.
What we can do differently
Learning plans should be tailored. Employees need programs that prepare them for the roles they are stepping into or help them bridge specific gaps. For instance, an emerging leader benefits from coaching and delegation skills far more than a generic writing module. Similarly, someone struggling with conflict resolution would gain more from a targeted workshop than a broad session that may never apply to their context.
If in-house expertise does not exist, organizations should not hesitate to bring in specialists. This often creates more credibility and freshness in the learning journey.
Explore: Team Bonding
Mistake Three: Designing the Wrong Length
The model of full-day or multi-day workshops was already under strain before the pandemic. Post-pandemic, it has become clear that attention spans and schedules do not allow for that format anymore. People want flexibility. They need to balance learning with the demands of work and life.
What we can do differently
Microlearning is becoming an essential part of modern L&D. Small, focused modules that can be accessed on a smartphone are far easier to engage with. When learners can complete a module during a commute or in a ten-minute break, learning becomes less disruptive and more continuous.
Companies such as Walmart and Uber have successfully used microlearning to train their workforces with tangible results. When short modules are combined with reinforcement and reflection over time, retention improves and application increases.
Also Read: Build Your Own Winning Team: Lessons from Cricket
Mistake Four: Looking in the Wrong Places
There is still a belief that learning happens only during formal programs. But if you think about how we solve problems, the truth is different. We search online, ask colleagues, or experiment with new approaches. Most learning happens informally in the flow of work.
What we can do differently
Leaders and managers must become active coaches. A sales leader who takes a junior colleague along for a client meeting creates learning that no classroom can replicate. A project leader who debriefs a team after a tough project provides insights that last longer than a slide deck.
Culture plays a big role here. When leaders model learning behavior, others follow. If leaders are disengaged, employees will assume that learning is not valued.
Explore: The Leadership Challenge Workshop
Mistake Five: Treating Learning as a Separate Event
In many organizations, training is treated as something “outside” the job. Employees often attend sessions with the mindset that they are on a break from work. Managers approve training without expecting follow-up or application.
What we can do differently
Learning should be embedded into the daily rhythm of work. Reflection, application, and feedback can happen in regular meetings. For example, after a leadership program, participants could be asked to share specific stories of how they applied a tool or insight with their teams. These reflections can be discussed collectively, reinforcing application.
When learning becomes part of daily conversations, it stops feeling like an interruption and becomes part of the culture.
Also Read: Why Failure Paves the Way for Success
Mistake Six: Ignoring the Human Element
Finally, many programs focus only on technical or functional skills. While these are important, people also seek meaning, connection, and well-being. Training that ignores the human side of learning risks disengagement.
What we can do differently
Learning journeys need to integrate mindset, purpose, and collaboration. Peer learning circles, storytelling, and reflective exercises give participants the chance to connect with each other and with their own aspirations.
This is why experiential methods continue to be powerful. When participants are placed in real scenarios where they must work together, adapt, and reflect, the lessons stay. They remember not only what they learned, but how they felt.
Also Read: Conquer Your Own Mountain
New Challenges to Consider
Beyond these six pitfalls, there are newer challenges reshaping learning and development.
- Artificial Intelligence and Personalization: With AI-enabled platforms, learning can be more personalized than ever. But organizations need to ensure they are not just automating generic content. The human element of coaching and culture is still irreplaceable.
- Hybrid and Remote Work: Distributed teams need learning experiences that build connection as much as skills. Virtual facilitation and blended learning models are here to stay, but they need to be engaging and interactive, not one-way webinars.
- Well-being and Growth: Employees today expect learning to support not just their skills but their well-being. Programs that ignore stress, resilience, and emotional intelligence will miss the mark.
Also Read: Why Leaders Need to Lead by Example
A Broader Reflection
In all my years of working with organizations, I have seen the difference between programs that check a box and programs that transform people. The difference is rarely about flashy slides or the newest platform. It is about clarity of purpose, relevance to the learner, consistency of reinforcement, and cultural alignment.
Learning is too valuable to be left to chance. Billions are spent globally on training every year. The question is not how much is being spent, but whether those investments lead to better performance, healthier cultures, and more resilient teams.
When learning is done right, it does more than transfer skills. It strengthens trust, builds adaptability, and creates confidence for challenges we have not even imagined yet.
The Takeaway
Corporate learning and development is at a turning point. We can continue treating it as a calendar of programs, or we can reimagine it as a continuous process that is embedded in the culture of work.
The pitfalls are clear: measuring the wrong things, offering irrelevant modules, designing too-long programs, assuming learning happens only in classrooms, and ignoring the human element. The solutions are also clear: focus on outcomes, personalize journeys, shorten formats, coach actively, and integrate growth into daily life.
In the end, learning is not about how many sessions were completed. It is about whether people think, act, and collaborate differently because of what they experienced. That is the true return on investment.
