Thought Leadership - Clark Schaefer Hackett October 2025

Bridging Learning Cultures: What U.S. and European Companies Can Teach Each Other About On-Demand Training
Organizations across the U.S. and Europe face a shared challenge when it comes to employee training: balancing the need for essential knowledge with meaningful engagement. Traditional “push” training approaches, where employees are mandated to attend sessions, often lead to compliance-driven participation rather than genuine commitment.
As transatlantic businesses navigate hybrid work, digital transformation, and evolving employee expectations, the urgency for effective knowledge transfer and retention has never been greater. When experienced employees depart, they take with them years of accumulated expertise, best practices, and institutional memory. Without robust systems to capture and transfer this knowledge, organizations risk operational disruption and decreased efficiency.
Push vs. On-Demand Training
Why Push Training Falls Short
Push training often suffers from several key pitfalls familiar to companies on both sides of the Atlantic:

• Low engagement: Adult learners, already stretched with daily responsibilities, often view mandated training as a chore.
• Compliance over commitment: Employees attend sessions because they are required to, not because they see value in them.
• Disconnected outcomes: Without a clear link to their roles or goals, employees struggle to find relevance in the training content.

As a result, push training can fail to achieve desired behavioral and organizational changes, leaving employees disengaged and organizations frustrated with the return on investment.
The On-Demand Training Advantage
On-demand, or “pull,” training flips the traditional narrative by aligning learning with both business objectives and employee needs. Many European organizations have long emphasized continuous learning cultures, while American companies often focus on agility and measurable outcomes. The most effective models blend both approaches: empowerment and efficiency.
Key advantages of on-demand learning include:

• ROI-driven design: Training directly addresses business challenges, ensuring measurable returns.
• Empowerment and engagement: Employees are motivated by autonomy, mastery, and purpose, leading to deeper learning and application.
• Process optimization: Pull training connects learning to real-world problems, fostering innovation and ownership.

For example, rather than conducting generic leadership workshops, organizations might identify a specific challenge, such as improving customer satisfaction or operational efficiency, and design targeted training to address it. This approach ensures employees not only learn but also see the immediate impact of their efforts.
Steps to Implement On-Demand Training
While the tools and terminology may differ, both U.S. and European organizations can apply a shared framework for success:

1. Identify business goals: Determine the key challenges or opportunities driving your organization.
2. Assess skill gaps: Conduct a targeted needs analysis to identify where development is needed most.
3. Design purpose-driven programs: Create training initiatives that directly address those challenges and align with measurable goals.
4. Measure outcomes: Track improvements in both individual performance and organizational metrics to ensure training effectiveness.

The Result: Engagement and Retention
On-demand training doesn’t just equip employees with new skills; it energizes them. By addressing real-world challenges and fostering a sense of purpose, organizations can build a workforce that is engaged, empowered, and invested in shared success. This approach not only drives better training outcomes but also supports long-term employee retention and satisfaction.
Across the transatlantic business landscape, companies are realizing that training is no longer a one-size-fits-all compliance exercise. It is a strategic differentiator. When organizations bridge learning cultures by combining the European emphasis on continuous development with the American focus on agility and ROI, they create teams that are adaptable, motivated, and ready for the future of work.

Joe Brown
Managing Director
Clark Schaefer Consulting
jdbrown@clarkschaefer.com