When Skills Don’t Match the Job: How SMEs Can Stop Losing Performance to Bad Training.
Here’s a situation every business has seen:
Someone completes training…yet still can’t do the job the way you expected.
It’s not because they didn’t try.
It’s because the training didn’t build the right capability.
The CIPD report highlights that the skills required for modern work are shifting fast, towards problem-solving, communication, creative thinking, planning and adaptability.
Yet, we are predominantly focusing in on:
tasks
tools
processes
compliance
but we’re missing a crucial aspect: capability.
Our jobs, our responsibilities , our day-to-day activities continue to shift, pivot and evolve as the work-world changes at an ever-increasing rate.
So our people end up:
overwhelmed
confused
performing tasks without understanding
unable to adapt
constantly asking for clarity
repeating avoidable mistakes
This isn’t a learner problem. It’s a design problem.
We are not building skills in problem-solving, communication, creative thinking, planning and adaptability.
The three biggest causes of capability gaps
1. Information overload:
New starters drown in content without understanding why it matters.
2. Training that teaches tasks, not thinking
People know what to do, but not why, so they can’t adapt.
3. No feedback or iteration
Without reflection, learning evaporates.
Why this happens in businesses
You’re busy.
You’re juggling.
You don’t have time to create polished training.
So your onboarding becomes:
rushed
copied and pasted
unclear
inconsistent
And your team loses performance because of it.
How you can fix this quickly
✔ Teach thinking, not just tasks
Use scenarios, questions, examples.
✔ Reduce content
Only teach what’s essential to performance.
✔ Build capability over 90 days, not 90 minutes
Small, structured development beats “big-bang” training.
✔ Use onboarding as capability-building
This is where habits form.
✔ Review, refine, and simplify
Good training is simple training.
If training isn’t improving performance, the first step isn’t fixing content, it’s identifying where capability is being lost.
👉 Take the Learning Impact Scorecard
Get a quick, practical view of what’s working, what isn’t, and where performance is leaking.
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