How to improve levels of training engagement.
Introduction
When we say the words ‘training engagement’, it’s easy to think solely about the individual receiving the training, but in 2025, consideration also needs to be given to the engagement levels of the delegate’s manager or employer.
Delegate engagement
Provided the individual is motivated and interested in learning, getting engagement from the delegate can be straightforward – ensuring that high-quality, relevant and timely training content is delivered by a compelling, credible, and inspiring trainer. And if the training is delivered over multiple days, ensure delegates are well catered for, with good facilities, breaks, and a comfortable environment to support their focus.
Employer engagement
If we turn our attention to the operational manager or employer, several factors still affect their level of interest in sending team members on training courses:
• Cost – especially in a climate where many businesses are balancing skills investment with tight financial controls.
• Time – employers may be reluctant to release employees from their responsibilities due to the time commitment and the obvious impact on productivity.
• Lack of perceived value – if an employer doesn’t see a clear, practical benefit that impacts KPIs or commercial goals, they will be less willing to allocate resources.
• Difficulty in measuring ROI – measuring training’s commercial impact remains a challenge, particularly when businesses are looking for immediate gains and faster returns.
In reality, operational managers within larger organisations are often stuck in the middle, subject to arbitrary training mandates imposed by the company. These might include penalties where training is charged regardless of attendance, levies where departments subscribe whether or not they use it, or mandated training quotas built into franchise or compliance standards.
Return on Investment?
Let’s address the perennial challenge of proving ROI. Academic models still exist to prove the value of training. The Phillips ROI Model remains widely referenced, though in practice, measuring the real-world effect of training is rarely this tidy.
In effect, there are 5 levels of measurement:
• Delegate satisfaction – measured via end-of-session surveys or digital feedback tools.
• Knowledge gain – via assessments, quizzes or practical demonstrations.
• Application of the knowledge or learning – measured once the delegate returns to their role, typically through a project, observation, or task completion.
• Impact on workplace behaviours – captured through manager feedback, peer reviews, or 360 feedback systems.
• Financial impact on the business – through metrics such as sales growth, service delivery improvements, or operational efficiency gains
But let’s be honest — few organisations manage to isolate all the variables needed to accurately prove ROI retroactively. The real trick lies in building these measures into the training design phase, not bolting them on later.
Have you been Steve?
Let’s meet Steve — a manager behind on his KPIs. Steve gets the importance of training but knows his job depends on this month’s numbers. He may personally benefit from a bonus scheme when KPIs are hit. So when Steve’s faced with sending an employee on training, he may reluctantly accept penalties for non-attendance because the productivity hit seems worse. In this instance, Steve’s engagement in training is non-existent.
So what can we do?
We must talk to managers in operational terms — in their language. Show how training directly influences their team’s performance and commercial outcomes. While it won’t solve everything overnight, it will start to increase engagement once managers see that a course directly links to performance outcomes they care about.
Back to Steve.
If Steve knows he’s underperforming, and he can also see that part of the issue is his team’s knowledge gap, and that a specific training programme addresses this, he’s more likely to release them. The training then becomes a performance lever, not a burden. Yes, there’ll be a lag before the benefits land — but once Steve knows his team is up to speed, he can focus on application locally, which is well within his control.
A business that links training to operational outcomes reduces the need for imposed penalties and builds a culture where managers actively seek development opportunities because they see the commercial advantage.
Academic value (with a reality check)
Academics will still argue for ROI models and theoretical frameworks — and these absolutely have their place, particularly when developing new learning interventions. But we also need to be asking, right at the design stage:
• What is the purpose of this training?
• Why are we delivering it now?
• How will we measure its success?
• What business outcome does it improve?
And crucially, who is the true end user? It’s not just the delegate or their employer. It’s the external customer who benefits when frontline teams perform better. A customer who gets better service, faster delivery, a higher-quality product — and then comes back again.
For years, we’ve described this as a ‘customer-in, not training-out’ philosophy.
Conclusion
Ultimately, you train your people to improve business performance — whether through profit, customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, or employee retention. Engagement and morale benefits are important, but they’re often by-products of doing the commercial stuff right.
The missing link in most businesses’ training strategy? Integrating commercial outcomes into the very DNA of training development. That’s how you solve the problem of manager engagement.
Dave Bownes
Director,
Haynes Oliver Limited
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