Every organization relies on workplace training to help employees learn new skills, stay compliant, and develop professionally. Whether you’re introducing new starters, training managers, or rolling out mandatory courses, workplace training helps people perform their jobs more confidently and effectively.
Workplace training is also a core part of your wider learning and development (L&D) strategy, helping organizations close skills gaps and support both upskilling and reskilling. In essence, it contributes directly to employee training and development across the whole company.
Quick Summary – Benefits of Workplace Training for HR & L&D
- Improves productivity and performance across teams.
- Reduces staff turnover by supporting onboarding and development.
- Builds a stronger employer brand and helps close skills gaps.
- Supports wellbeing, inclusion, and a safer workplace.
- Can be delivered using ready-made, editable training course materials to save weeks of design time.
(You can also find more HR and L&D professional guides with our corporate trainer resources hub).
What Is Workplace Training?
Workplace training is structured learning provided by an employer to help employees build the skills and confidence they need to do their jobs well. It can include required topics such as compliance and safety, as well as optional development such as communication, leadership, or wellbeing.
It can cover a wide range of topics, from basic job-specific skills to more general workplace safety or management training.
Most workplace training is either mandatory or voluntary.
What’s the difference between mandatory and voluntary workplace training?
Mandatory training covers required topics such as safety, harassment, discrimination, and legal compliance.
Voluntary training is usually offered to help employees grow their skills or progress in their careers, such as communication, leadership, or wellbeing.
Workplace training is an investment in your employees that benefits both your organization and the people who work for you.
What Are the Benefits of Workplace Training?
Workplace training increases productivity, improves morale and retention, and strengthens your employer brand, while giving employees better skills, career progression, and earning potential.
How does workplace training impact productivity and performance?
Training helps employees build the necessary skills and confidence they need to perform their jobs effectively, and this, in turn, leads to higher productivity and fewer mistakes by employees.
It also aids morale, which itself contributes to improved performance across teams.
Can workplace training really reduce staff turnover?
Yes. Employees who feel supported with training and development are more likely to stay with the company, which helps reduce recruitment costs and strengthens long-term retention.
Workplace training also supports your wider talent management strategy by helping identify high-potential employees and strengthening succession planning. Over time, regular development opportunities reinforce a continuous learning culture throughout the company.
Some of the benefits of workplace training for the employer include:
- Improved morale – Employees who feel that their employer is investing in their development are more likely to have higher morale and be more engaged in their work (for the employer)
- Increased productivity – Training can lead to improved performance and increased productivity (for the employer).
- Improved retention – Employees who receive training are more likely to stay with the company longer. This can save the employer money in recruitment and training costs (for the employer).
- Enhanced reputation – Employers who offer workplace training can enhance their reputation as an employer of choice (for the employer).
- Improved skills – Employees who receive training can develop new skills that can make them more productive and valuable to the company (for the employee).
- Enhanced career prospects – Employees who receive training can improve their career prospects, both within their current company and in the job market overall (for the employee).
- Increased job satisfaction – Employees who feel that their employer is investing in their development are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs (for the employee).
- Improved earnings potential – Employees who receive training can improve their earnings potential, both through increased productivity and through enhanced career prospects (for the employee).
If you were in any doubt about whether the time and financial costs of workplace training are worth it, you can probably see now that it’s a worthwhile investment for your business.
To get the best return on that investment, it also helps to avoid the most common pitfalls, so I’ve put together a guide to common workplace training mistakes and how to prevent them.
How Can HR Create Effective Workplace Training Materials?
Before creating training materials, it’s worth designing the overall training program to ensure the learning objectives, audience and delivery methods are clear.
HR and L&D teams can create workplace training materials by defining clear learning outcomes, designing PowerPoint slides and workbooks, and using ready-made, editable training kits to save weeks of development time.
The challenge is that creating high-quality workplace training materials can take significant time, especially for small HR and L&D teams.
When should HR build training in-house versus use ready-made course materials?
Building materials in-house works well when you need something highly tailored, but it can take weeks to design a complete workshop. Ready-made, editable training kits are ideal when HR teams want to save time while still customizing content to fit their workplace needs.
A typical workplace training package might include:
- The PowerPoint presentation slides (with trainer notes)
- Trainer workbook
- Participant workbook
- Certificates of completion
We recently did a post on how to design PowerPoint slides for training, so you might want to take a look at that.
Typically, you can easily spend anything between one and four weeks designing a full set of training materials for a one-day training workshop.
For this reason, many trainers and HR departments choose to buy pre-made materials and to save weeks of development time designing from scratch.
If you’re exploring this option, our guide to buying customizable training materials explains what to look for in editable training packs.
If this interests you, you can see an example of the types of materials that you can buy here!
What Are the Different Ways to Deliver Workplace Training?
The main formats are on-the-job training, online learning, classroom workshops, and blended learning, and most organizations benefit from combining at least two of these delivery methods.
It is important to choose a delivery method that is best suited to the needs of the employees and the company.
The program should be designed to meet the specific goals of the company.
It should also be flexible enough to accommodate the changing needs of the workplace.
What Is On-the-Job Training?
On-the-job training helps employees learn by doing their tasks directly within their normal work setting.
- What it is: It is training that allows employees to learn in a real work environment, with real equipment and tools.
- When HR should use it: Ideal for roles where real-world practice is more important than theory, such as where an employee has to operate a machine or do something quite technical.
- Example: A classic example is to provide computer skills training to ensure that all staff have a certain level of expertise, especially when specific software is being used.
What Is Online Learning?
Online learning lets employees complete training digitally and with greater flexibility, either at their own pace or in a live virtual session.
- What it is: Training delivered through an LMS, pre-recorded lessons, or live online classes using video lessons via an online platform.
- When HR should use it: Ideal for remote or hybrid teams, flexible schedules, or topics that do not require in-person practice. Great for employees who are located geographically far away from the main office.
- Example: Staff completing a short online cybersecurity refresher module from home.
Online training can take place synchronously (in real-time with an online trainer, i.e., with instructor-led training) and asynchronously (whereby the student self-studies online).
What Is Classroom-Based Training?
Classroom learning allows employees to participate in an instructor-led session, either face-to-face or via a live virtual room.
- What it is: A structured session led by a trainer where participants can discuss, ask questions, and practice skills together.
- When HR should use it: Useful for soft skills, team-based activities, or situations where discussion and interaction are essential.
- Example: A facilitator running a communication skills workshop with small-group activities.
What is Blended Learning?
Blended learning refers to using a mix of different training-delivery types to provide learning.
- What it is: A mix of approaches, such as classroom sessions paired with online modules or follow-up practice at work.
- When HR should use it: Particularly helpful for longer programs—like leadership development—where employees need time to absorb, apply, and revisit learning.
- Example: Learners attending a half-day classroom workshop and then completing short online follow-ups over the next few weeks.
| Delivery Method | Best For | Pros | Potential Challenges |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-the-job training | Jobs where learning by doing and getting involved in a real working environment make learning easier. | Employees pick things up naturally through embodied practice, by physically using the tools, equipment, or systems, that they need to do their role. In other words, learning feels natural. | If the trainer facilitator is not experienced enough or a good trainer then the effectiveness of this type of training can be lost. |
| Online learning | Remote and virtual teams that are spread across different locations geographically or employees who need to fit learning around busy schedules. | People can complete training when it suits them, or at least without the issue of traveling to the training location. Great for team members in other countries to make training inclusive for all. | If the employees are doing the training themselves, it’s important, as their manager, to check their progress to ensure they complete all training needed. |
| Classroom-based courses | Workplace topics that can benefit the most from in-person discussion, collaboration, or the chance to practice skills with a trainer present. | Participants can more easily build rapport in-person, ask questions straight away, share experiences, and take part in activities that bring the topic to life. | Training might be more limited to live and reside close to the main office. It will also incur travel time and costs for those who normally work from distance. |
| Blended learning | Longer or more complex programs where mixing formats helps reinforce understanding over time. | Combining self-directed study with guided sessions often results in deeper, more lasting learning. | Planning the different elements so they flow well can take more time and coordination. |
For a practical checklist on planning sessions, see our guide on how to organise a training workshop for employees.
What Are the Top Workplace Training Trends?
The most in-demand topics include equality, diversity, and inclusion, workplace wellness and mental health, first-time manager training, and employee engagement.
I wrote a post on the 9 learning and development trends, and I update it every year, so you might find this post useful if you are looking for the latest training topics that are popular.
The following are particularly topical right now:
- Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Training
- Workplace wellness-related training, including stress management and workplace mental health awareness
- A move towards understanding the importance of first-time manager training
- Employee Engagement is and always will be vital because better and more engaged employees tend to mean happier staff and greater productivity, and less staff turnover. The benefits of training employees in areas such as employee engagement are clearly visible.
Alongside these trends, compliance training, health and safety training, leadership development programs, and core soft skills such as communication and feedback continue to be essential across most industries.
How Does Workplace Training Support Onboarding?
Structured onboarding and induction training help new hires feel welcome, understand expectations, and stay beyond the critical first 90 days, significantly reducing early turnover.
Effective onboarding should also include early compliance training, such as health and safety, anti-harassment, and data protection, so new employees start their role feeling confident and informed.
It is worth remembering that onboarding and orientation workplace training are often overlooked.
Many companies neglect spending money and time on providing the right training for new employees.
Onboarding (called Induction training in the UK) can be absolutely vital for keeping employees beyond the first ninety days.
New employees who are not integrated properly into the company in the first ninety days are the highest percentage group who leave a company statistically.
In other words, if you want to greatly reduce the number of staff who leave the company, then providing a good onboarding training program is vital.
Orientation training should be a part of the onboarding process, whereby new employees are introduced to their colleagues, the other departments, and where to find everything they need.
Learn more about workplace training in our main hub.
Key Takeaways About Workplace Training
Ongoing training improves performance, reduces accidents, and lowers turnover, while helping you build a culture where employees feel valued and invested in.
Furthermore, it can also help companies improve their bottom line by increasing productivity and reducing turnover.
Training helps to ensure that employees are able to perform their jobs effectively and efficiently, improving overall workplace productivity.
In addition, training can help reduce accidents and injuries, lower workers’ compensation costs, and improve morale.
Organizations that provide training for their employees also tend to experience lower turnover rates
Employees who feel like they are being invested in are more likely to stick around, saving the company the time and money that would be required to recruit and train new employees.
Overall, workplace training forms a key part of employee training and development and plays a central role in any effective L&D strategy.
FAQs
How often should we run workplace training in our company?
Most companies benefit the most by using a mix of mandatory annual training (such as health and safety, compliance) and ongoing skills development during the year. HR and L&D teams can also schedule shorter refreshers or micro-sessions between larger workshops to keep learning alive.
Is it better to create workplace training from scratch or use ready-made course materials?
Designing from scratch offers full customization but can take weeks of HR or trainer time. Ready-made, editable course materials give you a professionally structured workshop you can adapt quickly to your sector, saving time while still allowing brand and policy customization.
What topics should we prioritise in a workplace training plan?
I suggest starting with compliance and safety, and then adding high-impact training in areas such as communication skills, first-time manager training, wellbeing and mental health, and equality, diversity, and inclusion. Do also undertake an employee survey and use performance reviews to find any skills gaps that need filling with the relevant training.
Can small businesses benefit from workplace training even with a limited budget?
Yes. Even if you are a small business, you can provide short, focused workshops and use ready-made training kits to deliver high-quality learning. Even providing employees with a few targeted sessions a year can be highly beneficial, including for employee morale, performance, and career development.
