Most training waste is not bad content. It is good content aimed at the wrong problem. Delivered at the wrong time. Measured by whether people turned up.
Is it really a skill gap?
If someone could do it correctly tomorrow when it mattered, the gap is will, process or tooling. A course will not touch any of those.
This is the single largest waste, and it usually arrives as a manager request that is really a conduct conversation nobody wanted to have.
Are you spending the budget or closing a gap?
A use-it-or-lose-it budget guarantees a March rush. Courses get chosen for what is free, not need. In a 1,200-person firm that can be a six-figure spend placed in 3 weeks.
Move to a rolling allocation if you can. If you cannot, at least book against a named gap rather than a catalogue.
Does anything change after the session?
People return to the same process and the same tools. The new habit has nowhere to live, so it fades within a fortnight.
Pair every session with one real task inside 2 weeks, and retire the old workaround. If the old way still works, the old way wins.
Are you measuring the wrong thing?
| Measured | Should be measured |
|---|---|
| Sessions delivered | Tasks now done differently |
| Attendance count | Manager can cite an example at 6 weeks |
| Satisfaction score | Error or rework rate on the target task |
| Budget used | Gaps closed against the list you started with |
Satisfaction scores measure the trainer. They say nothing about whether the work changed.
Why is legal training different?
It is the one category where the record itself carries legal weight, per the Press Information Bureau. The 2013 Act applies at 10 or more employees and follows the 1997 Vishaka guidelines. The Press Information Bureau says the POSH Act "provides a comprehensive legal framework to prevent, prohibit and redress incidents of sexual harassment, clearly defining the offence and outlining the responsibilities of employers to ensure compliance."
Deliver it properly and keep a dated record per person. A session nobody absorbed, with no register, is the worst of both outcomes.
What should you do with the money instead?
- Fewer courses, chosen against a named gap
- Peer teaching from someone who already does it well
- Time protected for practice, which costs nothing but is never given
- Manager coaching, since manager quality moves more than any course
Gallup reports Indian manager engagement fell from 39% in 2024 to 30% in 2025. Spending on managers reaches every one of their reports.
How do you know it is working?
Gallup says "The majority of the country's workforce (59%) consists of 'not engaged' employees", so expect slow movement rather than a step change.
Gallup says "Twenty percent of employees globally are engaged, according to the State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report", with India at 23% in 2025. Track gaps closed, rework on the targeted task, and legal coverage per person. Records belong on the employee file. The framework sits with the Ministry of Labour and Employment, and keeping training against the person is what 247HRM learning supports.