Is training needed?

The short answer is: Not always.

The longer answer depends on if the training is required for regulatory compliance, or if training can legitimately address a human performance gap.
Training is less able to address matters that are beyond an individual’s ability to control a situation, and which may be addressed through other means, such as reengineering a device or system.

For example, I once had a client ask me to train sales staff not to enter the number zero in a field, or else it would crash the database. When the database crashed, it would be down for an hour, until it could be reset, which represented a considerable cost to the department in lost time and sales leads. I suggested that the field use form validation to reject the zero, instead of training users not to enter a value that would crash the system. The client then added form validation and avoided the problem altogether, without the need for training.

Training tends to be best suited to address performance gaps related to factors, such as:
 • Culture (affective domain)
 • Motivation (affective domain)
 • Knowledge (cognitive domain)
 • Skills (cognitive or psychomotor domains)