Organizations must invest in training and professional development initiatives to improve performance, help employees learn new skills, and stay current. Such initiatives are necessary to support the growth of individuals and the organization as a whole. 

But to be successful in the workplace, you and your team need baseline skills upon which to build deeper capabilities.  

Strong communication skills are at the foundation of every successful business because they support the organization’s resiliency and adaptability. Effective communication tools make it easier to have important conversations and adapt to unexpected shifts, varied stress levels, and the impact of world events. 

Good communication is at the core of an organization with a healthy culture ready to handle and address whatever challenges arise and so improving communication becomes an essential building block for ongoing professional development. 

Most training programs fail to deliver long-lasting results.

The failure of professional development initiatives is rarely due to the quality of the program. The material is often essential, so why do so many trainings fail to have a long-term impact? Here are three reasons: 

1. Leadership is disengaged. As a leader, you must be on board with the training your organization offers, whether by actively participating or talking to your team about the value of the training. Expecting your team to be invested in the program if you are not engaged or excited about the material is unrealistic and unfair. Whereas, when you are involved, the message you send to your team is that the training is meaningful and will benefit everyone in the organization. It also reinforces the message that the organization is committed to ongoing professional development. That one shift can and does improve participants’ interest and involvement. 
2. Training is piecemeal. Most training programs focus on a particular skill and assume that foundational skills are already in place. It’s up to the organization to ensure the team has the skills they need to take advantage of the professional development programs they offer. That requires the organization to look at professional development from a more comprehensive perspective. When piecemeal concepts are taught in isolation and not as part of a comprehensive program, the learner cannot absorb all the information. Foundational skills must be in place before other learning can be implemented effectively.
3. Implementation is lacking. Training only adds value to your organization if it is implemented. In an article for the Harvard Business Review, Steve Glaveski, CEO of Collective Campus, wrote, “People learn best when they have to learn. Applying what’s learned to real-world situations strengthens one’s focus and determination to learn.” Good training programs create real change. But these changes in behavior, mindset, or thinking don’t come easily. They need to be supported through planned implementation and ongoing discussion. Otherwise, the impact of the training will be minimal. Training programs should transform your organization for the long term, not simply serve as a way to impart knowledge that will probably not be absorbed or fully utilized. 

Communication unlocks the power of professional development initiatives.

Communication skills enhance other training and professional development programs, reduce unnecessary expenses, and support your organization’s future growth. These long-lasting tools help you and your team engage in hard conversations, making every interaction productive. Having these skills makes your company more efficient while reducing stress, conflicts, and disengagement, increasing your bottom line and ensuring your future. 

Individuals and organizations must have effective communication skills to function at their best. According to a 2022 study by Harris Poll for Grammarly called “The State of Business Communication,” approximately three in four business leaders (72%) say their team struggled with communicating effectively. Moreover, leaders estimate teams lose the equivalent of nearly an entire workday (7.47 hours) each week to poor communication — or approximately $12,506 per employee every year. 

How can teams implement other training without having some competency in communicating when communication skills enable people to use the material they learn?

Foundational communication skills lay the groundwork for other trainings. 

Communication training is not a replacement for other training and professional development programs. But unless the entire company is equipped with foundational communication skills that make every person a confident and capable communicator, most training programs fall flat. 

Think about this: The best training programs — the ones that create real change — are interactive and actionable. They require participants to learn the material, take action, and reinforce that action through discussion. If participants don’t know how to say what they need to say or communicate with one another to achieve their stated goal, how can these programs have the desired effect?

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training illustrates this challenge clearly. These educational programs are often required for organizations to expand their knowledge, create policies, and address representation for different races, gender, ages, cultures, and abilities. They seek to promote healthy workplaces that are free of stereotyping and mistreatment. While they present helpful information critical for creating positive and high-functioning company cultures, few of these programs help attendees have the hard conversations they stir up — especially after the training program concludes. 

Suppose an employee wants to initiate a conversation to discuss workplace discrimination but lacks communication skills or knows the leadership team lacks those skills. In that case, the outcome of such a conversation will likely be unsuccessful (if the employee initiates it). Those challenging interactions require excellent communication skills on both sides of the interaction, and few people, including those in management positions, feel capable or comfortable engaging and initiating potentially difficult conversations. 

 While DEI and other programs impart essential information, these programs will only be implemented if the leadership team and the staff know how to communicate effectively. If they have not learned how to express themselves and thoughtfully navigate difficult conversations, how can they handle meetings when team members start arguing? Do they have good self-awareness and coping tools? Do they understand how to build trust, give and receive feedback, or manage a conversation when tension rises? These are critical communication skills. Once the entire company is equipped with these kinds of skills, everyone will get the most out of all trainings. And when that happens, the investment in professional development is money well spent.

Effective communication unlocks all the benefits of your professional development initiatives. It also improves your organization’s efficiency, productivity, mental health, and culture. I teach these skills through my online program, The Communication Protocol. This proprietary, interactive program delivers easy-to-follow, proven, and effective communication strategies, and it achieves measurable results. Participants gain practical and permanent skills that immediately impact your organization’s culture and enhance your professional development program. It should be the prerequisite to all other workplace training.

The business world is constantly changing and evolving. To meet the demands of our fast-moving world, leaders and their teams need to be equipped with a toolbox of practical and proven communication skills. People will carry your business into the future. Give them the tools they need to succeed.

©Copyright 2022 Debra Roberts, LCSW All rights reserved. No portion of this material may be reproduced without permission from the publisher.

 A version of this article was initially published on Inc.com as: Are Your Workplace Training Programs Making a Difference?