When work goes wrong, training is often the first solution on the table.
People miss a step? Create training. Customers get inconsistent answers? Create training. A new system causes confusion? Definitely create training, preferably by Friday.
Training can be the right answer. But it is not the answer to every problem involving people. Sometimes employees do not need more information. They need a process that makes sense.
A training problem is a skills or knowledge problem. People may not understand what to do, why it matters, or how to do it correctly.
A process problem is different. People may know exactly what to do and still struggle because the work itself is unclear, overly complicated, poorly sequenced, or impossible to complete with the tools and information available.
No amount of training fixes:
If a process requires heroic effort to follow, the problem is probably not that employees need a better PowerPoint.
When organizations prescribe training before understanding the cause, they risk creating a polished solution to the wrong problem.
Employees sit through a course, complete the assessment, and return to the same unclear process, missing information, conflicting systems, or impossible workload. Then the same issue happens again, and the organization concludes that people “did not retain the training.”
Maybe they did. Maybe the process still did not work. This approach also teaches employees an unhelpful lesson: when leadership sees friction, it may ask them to adapt to it rather than remove it.
Before creating training, start with the work.
These questions do not delay a solution. They prevent wasted effort.
Sometimes the answer is both process improvement and training.
A redesigned workflow may require new skills. A new system may need clear guidance. A simplified procedure may still benefit from practice and manager coaching.
But training should support a workable process—not compensate for a broken one.
The World Economic Forum reports that 63% of employers identify skills gaps as a major barrier to business transformation. That makes upskilling important. It also makes careful diagnosis more important: organizations cannot afford to spend their training resources fixing problems that live in process design, technology, ownership, or policy.
The goal is not to eliminate training. It is to make sure training earns its place.
When employees have a clear process, usable tools, trusted information, and the right support at the right moment, training can build capability and confidence. When those foundations are missing, training becomes a very expensive way to explain why work is still difficult.
MATC helps organizations diagnose performance problems before prescribing solutions. We connect instructional design with process documentation, performance support, knowledge management, and change management so employees receive the learning they need and the workable systems they deserve.
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“The Future of Jobs Report 2025.” World Economic Forum. 1/7/25. Accessed 9/10/26. https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025