Why Your Company's Training Calendar is Random: A Wake-Up Call from the Frontlines

Related Articles: Professional Development Courses | Communication Skills Training | Workplace Training Programs | Employee Development

The other day, a mate from procurement rang me up laughing his head off. His company had just scheduled "Advanced Excel" training for the third time this year, whilst their customer service team was still using a phone system from 2003 and desperately needed conflict resolution skills. "It's like they throw darts at a board," he said. And you know what? He's absolutely right.

After 18 years in workplace training and development, I've seen more training calendars that look like they were assembled by a blind drunk intern than I care to remember. Companies spend millions on professional development, then wonder why their staff turnover is through the roof and productivity hasn't budged since Kevin Rudd was PM.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: most training calendars aren't strategic documents. They're wish lists compiled by whoever shouts loudest in the quarterly planning meeting.

The Random Training Calendar Epidemic

Walk into any mid-sized company in Melbourne or Sydney, and I guarantee you'll find a training calendar that reads like a greatest hits album of corporate buzzwords. "Synergy Workshop" followed by "Mindfulness in the Workplace" followed by "Advanced PowerPoint" – all scheduled with the strategic precision of a toddler arranging blocks.

The problem isn't that these topics are inherently useless. Hell, I've run mindfulness sessions that genuinely helped teams cope with stress. But when there's no connection between what gets scheduled and what your business actually needs? That's when you've got a problem.

Last month, I consulted with a logistics company that had booked time management training for their entire warehouse team. Sounds reasonable, right? Wrong. Their real issue wasn't time management – it was a completely broken inventory system that meant workers spent half their day hunting for missing stock. No amount of time management tips was going to fix that operational nightmare.

But here's what really gets me fired up: companies keep making the same mistakes because they're not actually measuring the outcomes of their training. They tick the box, update the HR records, and assume job done.

The Three Deadly Sins of Training Calendar Planning

Sin Number One: Training by Committee

I've sat in too many planning meetings where the training calendar gets assembled like a potluck dinner. Sarah from accounts wants Excel training, Dave from sales reckons the team needs presentation skills, and someone always suggests team building because they saw it on LinkedIn.

Before you know it, you've got a calendar that touches on everything and masters nothing. It's the training equivalent of ordering every dish on the menu – impressive looking but ultimately unsatisfying.

Sin Number Two: The Annual Repeat Syndrome

"We always do safety training in March." "Communication skills happens in June." Sound familiar? Some companies treat their training calendar like a religious calendar, following traditions without questioning whether they still serve a purpose.

I worked with a Perth mining company that had been running the exact same leadership program for eight years straight. Eight years! The content hadn't been updated since before smartphones were common, but they kept booking it because "it's what we do."

Sin Number Three: Flavour of the Month Syndrome

This one really grinds my gears. A CEO reads an article about "quiet quitting" or attends a conference about AI, and suddenly the entire training budget gets redirected toward whatever caught their attention last week.

I've seen companies completely abandon long-term skill development plans because someone heard a podcast about emotional intelligence. Don't get me wrong – emotional intelligence training is valuable. But not when it replaces essential technical skills training your team actually needs.

What Actually Works: Strategic Training Planning

After nearly two decades in this game, I've learned that the best training calendars aren't calendars at all. They're roadmaps.

Companies that get this right start with brutal honesty about their current state. They audit existing skills, identify genuine gaps, and map training to business objectives. Revolutionary stuff, right?

Take Atlassian, for example. Their approach to professional development isn't about checking boxes – it's about building capabilities that directly support their growth strategy. They invest heavily in technical skills for their engineering teams whilst simultaneously developing soft skills across the organisation. But here's the key: everything connects to measurable business outcomes.

The 90-Day Rule

Here's something I recommend to every client: no training should be scheduled more than 90 days in advance unless it's mandated compliance stuff. Why? Because your business needs change faster than your training calendar.

The most effective companies I work with plan training in quarterly chunks, adjusting based on performance data, customer feedback, and emerging challenges. It's more work upfront, but the results speak for themselves.

Make Training Contextual

Random training doesn't stick. Period. The best training programs I've seen are built around real workplace challenges, using actual company data and scenarios.

Instead of generic "leadership training," successful companies run programs like "Leading Remote Teams Through Project X" or "Managing Performance During Our Q4 Push." The content might cover similar ground, but the context makes all the difference.

The Australian Context: What We're Getting Wrong

We Australians have this weird relationship with professional development. We'll spend thousands on a weekend conference in Bali but baulk at investing in ongoing skills development for our teams.

I've noticed a particularly Australian problem: we often treat training as a reward rather than an investment. "Sarah's been working hard – let's send her on that communication course." That's backwards thinking.

Training should be strategic, not recreational. Sure, people should enjoy learning, but the primary purpose isn't to make employees feel valued – it's to build capabilities that drive business results.

Data-Driven Training Decisions

Here's where most companies completely lose the plot: they don't measure anything except attendance. "We trained 200 people last quarter!" So what? Did productivity improve? Did customer satisfaction scores increase? Did staff turnover decrease?

Companies that excel at training measure everything:

• Skill assessments before and after programs
• Performance metrics tied to training topics
• Employee engagement scores
• Customer feedback related to trained skills
• Internal promotion rates among trained staff

Without this data, you're just throwing money at feel-good activities and hoping for the best.

The Technology Factor

We're living in 2025, yet I still encounter companies planning training like it's 1995. Online learning, microlearning, just-in-time training – these aren't futuristic concepts anymore, they're basic tools.

The smartest organisations I work with use technology to deliver targeted, timely training that connects directly to daily work challenges. They're not abandoning face-to-face training entirely, but they're using it strategically for collaboration and complex skill development.

Mobile learning apps, virtual reality training simulations, AI-powered personalised learning paths – this stuff works when implemented thoughtfully. But it requires moving beyond the "workshop in a conference room" mentality that still dominates many training calendars.

Building a Strategic Training Culture

Random training calendars are a symptom of deeper cultural problems. Companies that treat professional development as an afterthought will always struggle with retention, engagement, and performance.

The organisations that get this right create learning cultures where skill development is constant, relevant, and directly tied to career progression. They don't wait for annual planning cycles to address skill gaps – they respond in real-time.

Start With the End in Mind

Every training program should answer three questions:

1. What specific business problem are we solving?
2. How will we measure success?
3. How does this connect to our broader strategy?

If you can't answer these questions clearly, don't book the training.

Investment, Not Expense

The best companies I work with view training as investment, not expense. They budget based on strategic needs, not arbitrary percentages. They're willing to spend more on high-impact programs and less on nice-to-have workshops.

This mindset shift changes everything. Instead of trying to train everyone in everything, you focus resources on building critical capabilities that actually move the needle.

Looking Forward: The Future of Workplace Learning

The training industry is evolving rapidly, and companies with random training calendars will be left behind. Personalised learning, competency-based development, and continuous feedback loops are becoming standard expectations.

But here's what won't change: the need for strategic thinking. Technology can deliver training more efficiently, but it can't replace the human judgment required to identify what training your organisation actually needs.

The companies that thrive in the next decade will be those that treat professional development as a competitive advantage, not a compliance requirement. They'll build training programs that adapt quickly to changing business needs whilst maintaining focus on core capabilities.

Your training calendar shouldn't be random. It should be ruthlessly strategic, measurably effective, and constantly evolving. Anything less is just expensive entertainment.

Time to bin the dart board and start planning like professionals.