Is Training the Right Answer?

Step 1 — Identify the problem Why aren’t people doing what they need to do? What does the problem seem to be caused by?

Skills / Knowledge

Environment

Motivation

Not Sure

Skills / Knowledge — Step 2 If they absolutely had to — under real pressure — could they do it anyway?

Skills / Knowledge — Step 3 Is this completely new to them, or have they been trained on this before?

Skills / Knowledge — Step 4 Has the role, process, or relevant regulation changed since they were last trained?

Environment — Step 2 Is the problem caused by culture, or by a more practical barrier — tools, processes, unclear expectations?

Environment — Culture Could training realistically help change the culture here?

Motivation — Step 2 Is the low motivation caused by the environment, a lack of knowledge, or something else?

Motivation — Step 3 Would realistic practice or simulation — showing them the real consequences — motivate them?

✅ Training is the right answer

This is a genuine knowledge gap — people haven’t learned this yet. A new training solution is the appropriate response. Include as much context as possible about the audience and the expected outcome when you submit a request.

✅ A refresher or update is needed

They’ve been trained before but things have moved on. A targeted update, refresher module, or revised job aid is likely the right solution. Include what’s changed and why when you put in a request.

✅ Scenario-based training could help

Putting people in realistic situations and showing them the consequences of their choices can be a powerful motivator. Think carefully about what “good” and “bad” outcomes look like before submitting a request — that’s what the design team will need.

⚠️ This probably isn’t a training problem

If they could do it under pressure, the knowledge is already there. The barrier is likely something else — unclear processes, missing tools, low motivation, or the environment. Worth investigating before investing in a training solution.

⚠️ More training may not help

If nothing has changed but performance is still falling short, repeating the training is unlikely to fix it. Consider whether a job aid, coaching, or a clearer process expectation would be more effective.

🔧 Fix the environment first

If the barrier is a broken process, a missing tool, or an unclear expectation, training people to work around it isn’t an efficient fix and won’t last. The right solution is to fix the problem at source — this may involve IT, Operations, or other teams.

💡 Training can support — but won’t solve it alone

Training can raise awareness as part of a wider culture change effort, but it can’t do the job on its own. It works best alongside visible leadership, changed processes, and clear expectations. Think about how learning might play a supporting role in a broader initiative.

🏗️ This needs a different approach

Training alone is unlikely to change a culture — and investing in it without addressing the root cause can feel cynical to the people on the receiving end. This needs a conversation with People, Operations, or senior leadership about a wider solution.

🔧 Fix the underlying cause first

If low motivation is a symptom of a broken environment or a gap in knowledge, fixing those things will do more than a training course. Address the root cause and motivation often follows.

💬 Training isn’t the answer here

When motivation issues run deeper than knowledge or environment, training won’t shift them. This needs a people management conversation — with the relevant line manager or HR Business Partner.

💬 Have the conversation first

That’s completely fine — it’s far better to have a conversation early than to build something that doesn’t solve the problem. Spend a bit more time diagnosing the issue before submitting a request. The questions in this tool are a good starting point.

Credit to the wonderful Cathy Moore. This is an interactive tool based on her flowchart.

What is this?

Training is a powerful tool — but only when the problem is actually a skills or knowledge gap. A lot of training gets commissioned to solve problems that training can’t fix: broken processes, unclear expectations, missing tools, culture issues, or plain “nobody told them this mattered.” The result is a well-built course that doesn’t shift anything.

This diagnostic walks through the main reasons performance gaps happen and helps you figure out whether a training solution is the right call — or whether something else needs to happen first. It’s based on the same thinking behind performance consulting and root cause analysis, distilled into something you can work through in a couple of minutes.

It’s not a formal assessment — think of it as a structured conversation with yourself before you ask anyone to start building.

How to use it

Think of a specific performance problem you’re trying to solve — a particular team, behaviour, or outcome.
Work through the questions honestly. The tool only works if you answer based on what you actually know, not what you’re hoping is true.
If you hit an outcome that says training isn’t the right answer, don’t ignore it — that’s the most useful result you can get at this stage.
Use the result to inform your next conversation, whether that’s with an L&D team, a manager, HR, or Operations.

When training doesn’t help

There are a handful of situations where training almost never works on its own. If people already know what to do but aren’t doing it, the barrier is usually environmental — a process that makes the right behaviour harder than the wrong one, or a culture where the right behaviour goes unrewarded. Training doesn’t fix either of those.

Similarly, if the motivation problem runs deep — people genuinely don’t care, or don’t see why it matters — a course won’t change that. Motivation follows meaning, and meaning usually comes from how the job is designed, how managers behave, and what the organisation visibly values. Those are leadership and management levers, not L&D ones.

The exception is scenario-based training that shows real consequences — which can be a surprisingly effective motivator when the stakes are genuinely high and the consequences of getting it wrong aren’t immediately obvious in everyday work.

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