To meet the demands of an unpredictable market, business leaders must ensure their employees have the skills and knowledge to keep up and succeed. Training programs are a common way companies invest in the ongoing development of employees, but these efforts don’t always lead to significant changes or lasting results.
Below, 20 Forbes Business Council members share ways leaders can ensure their training programs translate into measurable, long-term performance improvements for employees.
1. Avoid Approaching Training As A Single Event
Behavior development in companies is often approached as a single event: one training session. However, how people really learn is through repetition, resources, reflection and accountability. If you do a single training and hope that it will change behavior, you are mistaken. Find ways to have shorter sessions, intentional discussions and targeted coaching while connecting to goals. – Sarah Noll Wilson, Sarah Noll Wilson, Inc.
2. Seek Clarity On Overall Goals
Clarity is key. What is the goal of the training? Are you and your employees aligned on the topics and goals of the course? What skills will employees be able to enhance? How exactly will they be able to demonstrate these new skills, be they copywriting, graphic design, CRM software operation? Once you’ve clarified the basics, you’ll be able to set up the matching KPIs. – Zsuzsa Kecsmar, Antavo AI Loyalty Cloud
3. Connect Training To The ‘Why’
One of the best ways organizations can ensure their training programs are successful and measurable is to tie each and every training topic to the organization’s “why.” Why does the organization do what it does and do it the way it does? Consider why it’s the best way to do it, as well as how it provides an advantage and differentiation for the organization while also benefiting customers. – Matthew Davis, GDI Insurance Agency, Inc.
4. Foster Continuous Learning And Feedback Loops
To ensure training leads to long-term performance improvements, organizations should foster continuous learning and feedback loops. By integrating ongoing development, real-time feedback, clear performance metrics, peer collaboration and leadership support, companies create an environment where skills are constantly refined and applied. This ensures sustained growth with a lasting impact on performance. – Sahit Muja, Albanian Minerals
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5. Link Performance Goals To Business Impact
Train with purpose. Define clear performance goals that are linked to business impact. Design targeted training, measure its effectiveness with assessments and track ongoing performance. This ensures training delivers tangible, lasting results. – Nitin Gupta, QRCodeChimp
6. Ensure Training Relevancy
For lasting impact, training must be relevant in the moment, not just a scheduled event. The best organizations offer on-demand support, ensuring employees apply learning when they need it most. Real-time relevance drives real results. – Paul Boross MBE, Big Sky
7. Prioritize Key Behavioral Principles
The more training programs teach, the less will be remembered. Figure out key behavioral principles, less than five, and make them the basis of your training. Providing repeated, measured on-the-job opportunities is then critical. Make sure your leaders are directly responsible for reinforcing key lessons with their teams. One-and-done training is just that—done! Continuity is key. – Stephen M Paskoff, ELI [Employment Learning Innovations, Inc.]
8. Implement A Continuous Calibration Cycle
Organizations obsess over training completion but overlook absorption—the real measure of impact. The fix is implementing a continuous calibration cycle. This includes micro-coaching for real-time gaps, AI-driven reinforcement at the point of need and training that evolves as employees do. Like athletes fine-tune muscle memory through constant feedback, learning must adapt dynamically—not just be a one-time event. – Samuel Darwin, Sparkle
9. Ensure Training Is An Ongoing Dialogue
Make training an ongoing dialogue, not a one-time lecture. Encourage employees to share their experiences, ask questions and provide feedback throughout the process. This collaborative approach not only deepens understanding but also fosters a sense of ownership and accountability, leading to greater engagement and long-term performance improvements. – Elie Y. Katz, National Retail Solutions (NRS)
10. Conduct Regular Check-Ins
Training should be followed by regular check-ins where progress is assessed and goals are refined. This ongoing dialogue helps employees apply new skills in real time and stay accountable. By tying training to specific performance metrics, organizations can ensure skills are translating into measurable, lasting improvements. – Vladyslav Drapii, Legarithm OU
11. Create Mentor-Trainee Partnerships
Create mentor-trainee partnerships within teams. For example, if you have a manager who just finished some external training, they can transfer knowledge to their colleagues by showing those new skills in their everyday work. Of course, everything should be measurable, so I advise establishing some kind of pre- and post-training performance baselines first. – Nikola Minkov, Serpact
12. Combine Mentorship With Workshops
Training must be anchored in real-world applications. Pair workshops with mentorship to bridge theory and action, ensuring skills are practiced daily. Track progress through role-specific metrics to identify gaps and iterate programs. I’ve learned that sustainable growth comes not from compliance but from nurturing curiosity. Build systems where growth is a habit, not an event. – Pavel Stepanov, Virtudesk
13. Align Programs With Behavioral Profiles And Cognitive Styles
Organizations can ensure training translates into long-term performance by aligning programs with employees’ behavioral profiles and cognitive styles. Using psychometric tools like DiSC or the Big Five, training can be tailored for different learning types. Reinforcement through real-world application, spaced repetition and behavioral tracking ensures measurable improvements in engagement and retention. – Miriam Groom, Mindful Career
14. Focus On Role-Playing And Real-World Application
To ensure training leads to long-term performance improvements, organizations should focus on role-playing and real-world application. This helps employees understand expectations, rewards and challenges while directly linking their actions to results. Ongoing feedback and performance tracking ensure that training is applied effectively, fostering measurable success and continuous improvement. – Janet Linly, Marge Carson Global
15. Integrate Training Takeaways Into Daily Operations
Training alone isn’t enough—real growth happens when learning is reinforced daily. Organizations must integrate training takeaways into everyday work through coaching, real-world application and feedback loops. Creating intentional opportunities to apply new skills ensures knowledge turns into lasting performance improvements, not just a one-time event. – Amber Brown, Grant Cardone Licensee
16. Have Employees Evaluate The Training
Ask the members of your organization for their evaluation of the training programs. Survey them, conduct one-on-one interviews or convene small groups for discussion and feedback. Employees can see immediately whether or not the company’s leaders are genuine or simply ticking the boxes. Genuine curiosity will yield great results. – Henry Delozier, GGA Partners
17. Prioritize On-The-Job Learning And Real-World Projects
It’s all about balance, blending real-world application with continuous feedback. Rather than overwhelming employees with excessive theoretical training, prioritize on-the-job learning and real-world projects that equip them to handle challenges effectively. Also, set clear performance metrics to track progress and ensure training translates into tangible growth. – Kumar Vijayendra, Footsteps LLC
18. Leverage Tools
It is essential to use tools that help reinforce skills after training sessions and educational programs. Digitalization offers vast opportunities in this regard, allowing experts or instructors to support training participants with practice, content and feedback for an additional two to three weeks. This should ideally include analyzing real-life applications of the acquired knowledge in work processes. – Petr Tolochkov, Way2AR
19. Ensure Training Goes Beyond Practical Skills
Training must be more than a checkbox. Effective programs not only teach practical skills but also inspire a common language, feedback culture and core values like respect and results. When training is engaging and collaborative—designed by employees, for employees—it becomes meaningful. Peer-led training incorporating real-world challenges can empower employees, ensuring long-term success for all. – Greg Hewitt, DHL Express U.S.
20. Create A Development Journey
The key to converting training to performance is to realize that it’s not about how good the training is; it’s how well the organization uses it. This means aligning desired outcomes with business goals and creating a development journey rather than an event. Only a small part of a performance shift is due to the content itself. Sustained results come from manager involvement and deployment through cohorts and teams. – Larry Mohl, Rali
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