Rethinking the true cost of training: Why understanding your organisation matters before investing in learning

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Employers in the UK invested an estimated £53 billion in workforce training during 2024, reflecting the importance many organisations place on developing their people. Yet the financial commitment tells only part of the story.

“That figure captures the visible investment,” says Helen Routledge, CEO of Totem Learning, pictured above. “The wider cost also includes time diverted from productive work, resources directed towards learning that may not address the real issue, opportunities that remain unrealised, and capability that never reaches its full potential. Those factors deserve just as much attention as the headline spend.”

The scale of investment naturally raises another question: How effectively is that funding being directed? Routledge notes that, across many organisations, training begins before there is a complete understanding of the challenge that needs solving. Existing programmes are often introduced because they are familiar or widely available, yet as Routledge emphasises, every organisation operates with its own culture, processes, priorities and commercial objectives. “Without first identifying where capability genuinely requires development, learning initiatives may struggle to deliver the outcomes leaders hope to achieve,” she adds.

Why a deeper understanding of your organisation is key

Routledge believes the starting point should always be a deeper understanding of the organisation itself. “Training becomes much more meaningful when you first understand how people make decisions, where pressure affects performance, and which parts of the business require additional capability. Once those insights become visible, every investment can be directed with greater purpose,” she states.

This philosophy reflects Totem Learning’s work combining behavioural science, immersive learning and realistic simulations to help organisations explore how employees respond in situations that mirror everyday responsibilities.

That insight appears increasingly valuable because capability gaps rarely appear through knowledge alone, according to Routledge. Employees may understand procedures yet still encounter difficulty when faced with unfamiliar circumstances, competing priorities or time pressure. She notes that generic programmes frequently focus on broad subject matter without considering the situations individual teams encounter every day. Staff can, therefore, complete training while still feeling uncertain when those moments eventually arise.

Relevant learning programmes and retaining employees

The consequences may extend well beyond the learning programme itself. In Routledge’s experience, employees who receive preparation that does not reflect their working environment may experience reduced confidence when managing complex situations. “Colleagues, clients and project teams naturally form impressions based on performance in those moments, even though the underlying issue may stem from training that never reflected operational reality,” Routledge says.

Over time, these experiences can influence collaboration, customer relationships and project delivery, while also potentially affecting how supported employees believe they are within the organisation.

This wider perspective also connects with employee retention. According to a report, almost three in 10 UK employees move to another employer each year, while only a relatively small proportion of organisations calculate the financial impact of labour turnover or evaluate retention initiatives. The report also highlights that recruitment, onboarding and developing replacement employees contribute significantly to those costs. Within that context, organisations that help employees build confidence and capability through relevant learning may strengthen long-term engagement, creating opportunities for meaningful financial savings alongside a more experienced workforce.

“This reinforces why understanding organisational needs should always come before selecting a training solution. Instead of distributing investment evenly across broad content libraries, leaders may gain greater value by identifying where specific departments experience recurring challenges and directing learning towards those exact situations,” Routledge says.

She notes that if a particular stage of a process consistently affects operational performance, that becomes the scenario employees rehearse, allowing development to reflect genuine business priorities instead of generic assumptions.

How Totem Learning could help your business

Totem Learning aims to support this way of thinking by creating immersive experiences where employees practise decisions in realistic environments, enabling organisations to observe behavioural patterns that traditional learning methods often overlook. These insights can help leaders recognise strengths alongside development opportunities, creating a clearer foundation for future investment while aligning learning more closely with day-to-day operational requirements.

“I believe understanding your organisation is one of the most valuable forms of business intelligence,” Routledge says. “Investment, in my view, has greater potential to contribute to stronger capability across the business when learning reflects genuine organisational priorities.”

Viewed through that wider lens, Routledge argues that the £53 billion invested in training represents only one element of a much broader picture: “Yes, financial expenditure is important, but the conversation also includes opportunity, capability, confidence and the value organisations create when learning aligns with their genuine needs.”

As those wider considerations come into focus, the overall investment may extend beyond the original figure, highlighting the importance of understanding the organisation before deciding where every learning pound can make the greatest difference.

For more information, visit Totem Learning