The Hidden Assumptions Derailing Your Training Program...and Your Employee Retention

Training is a major spoke of the employee retention flywheel, yet paradoxically, it can contribute to the very problems it aims to solve. Our survey data with Talker Research identifies exactly where the wheels fall off entirely: 31% of employees report struggling with information overload, and one in five have contemplated leaving their positions due to feeling overwhelmed by their job.??

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How well does your training empower employees rather than push them towards the door? Here’s a quick test. Start with four points. Lose a point every time you answer in agreement.??

1. “We design training based on our years of expertise.” Deduct a point.??
2. “We design training that we find interesting and engaging.” Deduct a point.?
3. “We sign off on training completion when employees can work solo.” Deduct a point.??
4. “We provide additional training opportunities when employees ask.” Deduct a point.??

But wait, these all sound like perfectly fine statements. However, successful leaders and trainers would take a slightly different approach. So, we’re sharing how leaders in learning and development empower their employees to better retain their top talent.??

Think Like a Brand New Learner

“We design training based on our years of expertise.” Deduct a point.?

Your years of experience give you the perfect position to teach and explain a procedure or idea. Maybe it’s making guacamole or cleaning a workstation. After all, who knows better what employees need to know—and what should be obvious???

However, your workforce brings different experiences, backgrounds, and ways of processing information. When you assume everyone starts with the same basic knowledge (or learns the same), you overlook how vastly different peoples’ experiences can be, from never having tasted guacamole to never having used a mop.?

Carol Britt, Training and Development Manager at Georgetown Events Hospitality Group, states:??

“You as someone who has done it for years and years and years, it can become second nature [...] and you'd forget that there are people that just don't know these certain things. [...] So being able to sit down with somebody who you can say something and think that it’s very clear cut, everyone's going to get that statement... they're gonna be like, what in the world are you talking about? For me, with all the context and all the knowledge, it makes sense. For them, it doesn't.”??

Meet your employees where they are. Training that takes their experiences and their learning styles into account will help them avoid overwhelm.

"You’re going to have people who can sit down, read that guacamole is green, and understand it immediately. Then you’ll have others who need to go into the kitchen, see an avocado, see every ingredient, and make the guacamole before they truly understand."

“We design training by forgetting what we know. Fresh eyes see gaps that expertise overlooks.” Add a point.?

Want to watch Carol's clip? Watch the Wise Tales episode below, starting at 7:53.

Develop Training with the End-User in Mind?

“We design training that we find interesting and engaging.” Deduct a point.?

The intention is right. You want training to be interesting to your teams—even interactive. But how much of your training has input from your clients? No, not those clients. Your employees aren't just your audience—they're your clients. And like any good service provider, you should design for their needs and how they like to engage with materials.?

Even CHART Education Strategist Curt Archembault learned this lesson while helping his granddaughter with virtual schooling. When text-heavy screens overwhelmed her, he switched to video, confident he'd found the answer.

Her response? "Poppy, that's two minutes. I'm never going to watch a two minute video." It was a stark reminder that effective training isn't about what has engaged us in the past—it's about what engages them now.?

Does your training reflect what engages your employees? Curt states:

"If I'm designing something, they're the client... Never lose sight of the end user, that individual on the front line. When you're developing things, that's the lens that you have to have it going through predominantly because if you miss the mark, you're going to reduce their willingness to use the tools."?

“We design training by listening first, launching second.” Add a point.??

Want to watch the clip? Watch the Wise Tales episode below, starting at 12:20.

Develop a Culture of Knowledge Sharing?

“We sign off on training completion when employees can work solo.” Deduct a point.?

While self-sufficiency is important, stopping there misses the most powerful part of workplace learning: the ability to share and teach that knowledge. In fact, 60% of frontline workers report turning to their coworkers first for information in the workplace. Coworkers are so often our main support in times of stress and the reason employees choose to stay.

The question is: how do we build on this natural peer-to-peer learning??

The answer starts top-down with leadership. As Dunadel Daryoush, Regional Operations and Training Director at Georgetown Events Hospitality Group, explains, true learning begins when leaders get their hands dirty:??

"That's a great way to get buy-in... I'm not going to ask as a manager you to do anything that I would not do first myself. And I'll show you how to do it myself, whether it be scrubbing the toilet, whether it be running food, whether it be making guacamole, whatever it is."?

This hands-on leadership naturally evolves into a cycle of learning that spreads throughout the organization:??

"Learn one, teach one, do one. You get people to see you do it. And then they're like, okay, great, I got it. And then they learn how to do it, and then eventually...they're teaching other people to do it. It's that cycle."?

“We lead by doing, teach by showing, and grow by sharing. Every master becomes a mentor.” Add a point.??

Want to watch Dunadel's clip? Watch the episode, starting at 34:30.

Weave Continuous Learning into the Flow of Work?

“We provide additional training opportunities when employees ask.” Deduct another point.?

Waiting for employees to request training might seem responsive and employee driven. But it puts the burden of development on your workforce and misses countless everyday learning moments. True growth happens in the flow of work, not just in scheduled sessions.?

The data proves this matters: 69% of frontline employees see their role as long-term when given growth opportunities. These opportunities need to be woven into daily work, not treated as special events or extra responsibilities. Provide opportunities to cross-train or learn leadership and soft skills. Make it part of their regular learning path.??

"We embed learning opportunities into everyday work. Growth isn't an event, it's part of the job." Add a point.?

Build Empowering Learning Experiences and They Will Stay?

It's not about designing perfect programs from the top down, but building them from the ground up. When we shift from designing through expert eyes to seeing through fresh ones, from celebrating independence to fostering teachers, and from waiting for learning moments to creating them daily, we create training that meets employees where they are. The result? Employees that aren’t overwhelmed, but motivated to come through the door each day.??

Get more expert insights from L&D leaders by subscribing to the Wise Tales podcast or watching the podcast on our YouTube channel.

You can also download the full results of our survey with Talker Research: