Siobhan Heath

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How Remote Professional Development is Changing the Workforce

 

Why Most Professional Development Training Is Just Expensive Theatre

 

Professional development training. Two words that make most employees' eyes glaze over faster than a Monday morning safety briefing.

 

Been running workplace training programs across Brisbane and Melbourne for the past 18 years, and here's what nobody wants to admit: roughly three quarters of workplace training delivers zero lasting change. The content isnt the problem : it's what happens when people return to their actual jobs that matters.

 

Had a client recently : big logistics company down in Adelaide : spent $47,000 on a leadership development program. All the bells and whistles : interactive sessions, take home resources, online portals. Three months later? Same toxic managers doing the same toxic things. Same staff turnover. Same old problems.

 

This is where most people expect me to provide solutions.

 

Businesses that see real change from training do something entirely different. They've stopped chasing expensive external programs and flashy seminars. They're taking a entirely different approach that costs less and works better.

 

Take Woolworths, for instance. Their frontline management training isn't about PowerPoint presentations and role-playing activities. It's experienced staff mentoring newcomers while serving actual customers. Messy, immediate, practical stuff.

 

Most training fails because it treats professional development like university when it should be treating it like on job training. You dont become a chef by studying recipes. You learn by doing the actual work under the guidance of someone experienced.

 

Here's my unpopular opinion that'll probably upset half the training industry: formal qualifications are overhyped for most workplace skills. Worked with a team leader in Perth - left school at 15 but could develop people faster than anyone with formal qualifications. Because practical wisdom beats academic knowledge every single time.

 

The problem with most professional development programs is they're designed by people who've never actually done the job they're training for. Training designers who believe workplace skills follow the same rules as classroom subjects.

 

Wrong.

 

Leadership - real leadership, not the stuff you read about in Harvard Business Review - is difficult, contextual, and deeply personal. It's about human psychology, workplace dynamics, and situational decision-making. No amount of theory prepares you for real workplace leadership.

 

The penny dropped when l was facilitating conflict resolution training for a transport company in Cairns. Spent two days teaching active listening techniques, conflict resolution strategies, all the textbook stuff. Everyone seemed genuinely interested, actively involved, and positive about applying the learning.

 

After eight weeks, same old problems. Identical conflicts during handovers, unchanged dynamics between departments, ongoing issues with information flow.

 

This forced me to entirely rethink my approach to workplace training.

 

The solution emerged from spending time in their actual work setting. What l discovered were structural problems: insufficient break areas for team discussions, conflicting priorities from different managers, and time pressure that made proper communication impossible.

 

All the communication skills in the world couldn't overcome systemic workplace issues.

 

This led me to develop what l call "contextual skill building". Instead of pulling people out of their work environment to learn artificial skills, you embed the learning directly into their actual work.

 

For instance : skip the role playing workshops and have experienced staff coach newcomers during actual customer interactions. Swap classroom project management training for hands on involvement in actual project delivery.

 

The outcomes are completely transformed. Staff develop skills more quickly, remember approaches longer, and use changes naturally.

 

Here's why this approach isn't more common - it demands that capable staff invest time in developing others rather than focusing solely on their own productivity. The benefits appear in future performance metrics, not current training completion data.

 

Finance directors resist this method because it's difficult to measure and tough to explain to executives who prefer measurable training metrics.

 

While we're on measurement, let's address the complete joke that is training assessment. End of course feedback forms asking participants to score their experience are meaningless. Of course people give it an 8. They've just spent a day away from their normal work, had some laughs, learned a few interesting things. Those scores reveal nothing about real workplace application or lasting change.

 

Meaningful evaluation involves tracking long-term behavioural shifts, performance improvements, and new problem-solving methods.

 

Most companies don't do this kind of follow-up because it's more work and because they're afraid of what they might find out about their training investments.

 

What really frustrates me are one size fits all development programs that claim wide applicability. The type advertised as "Universal Management Skills" or "Essential Leadership for Any Organisation."

 

Bollocks.

 

Managing a kitchen team requires different skills than leading a group of accountants. Site foremen need different leadership tools than agency team leaders.

 

Environment is vital. Sector knowledge is essential. Company culture is fundamental.

 

Outstanding development programs are always industry-specific, situation-relevant, and directly usable. It addresses real problems that real people are actually facing in their actual jobs.

 

Worked with a production plant near Wollongong facing ongoing quality problems. Instead of sending supervisors to a general quality management course, they brought in a retired quality manager from Toyota's Australian operations to work alongside their people for three months.

 

Not for classroom sessions or classroom training, but to work the actual production floor and solve real problems as they occurred.

 

Quality improvements were rapid and lasting. Staff developed skills through practice, supported by an expert who understood their exact workplace problems.

 

This approach doesn't suit large-scale rollout, so most companies ignore it despite its effectiveness.

 

Here's what training departments don't want to hear: the majority of employees aren't desperate for professional growth. They're happy to perform their role, receive their salary, and concentrate on personal time. Training initiatives often appear to be company priorities disguised as employee benefits.

 

Successful training accepts this basic human preference. They position learning as improving current skills rather than adding new responsibilities.

 

Consider Australia Post - their training highlights practical service delivery, not abstract management principles. It's about product expertise that enables real customer service. It's relevant, instantly applicable, and improves day-to-day work performance.

 

This is development that actually makes a difference.

 

Training providers persist in designing courses as though every worker is motivated by advancement and structured growth.

 

Most aren't. Most just want to not feel stupid at work and maybe pick up a few tricks that make their day easier.

 

That raises my final concern about when training happens. Development programs are usually scheduled when employees are stretched thin with existing commitments.

 

Then organisations question why participation lacks energy and engagement.

 

The companies that get this right integrate development into quieter periods, or they actually reduce other workload expectations when people are going through demanding development.

 

What an innovative approach, right?

 

Professional development that actually develops people professionally isnt about courses and certificates and completion rates. It's about building workplace cultures where skill development happens organically through mentorship, challenge, and practical application.

 

All the rest is corporate performance art.

 

 

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