Managers: Train Them Well—So They’ll Stay and Deliver More

SUMMARY: Many companies underinvest in training, fearing talent loss. But research shows the real risk is stagnation—not growth. Training combined with trust, purpose, and an all-Excel strategy—with help from ChatGPT or Copilot—empowers employees to thrive and stay. Upskilling succeeds when people are allowed to automate, innovate, and show what they’re truly capable of. Here’s an introduction to the new strategy.

They won’t leave because you trained them. They’ll leave because you didn’t train them!

Or because they were trained—and then nothing changed.

That’s the paradox that keeps many companies stuck. Leaders know they need more skilled employees. But they’re afraid that investing in talent will just make that talent more portable.

Here’s the truth: you can’t keep people small and expect them to stay.

If you want your best people to stick around, don’t hold them back.

Show them what’s next.

The Bigger Risk: Stagnation

What really drives turnover? It’s not training. It’s stagnation.

According to MIT Sloan, 51% of professionals are actively looking for new jobs. That’s the highest percentage in a decade.

Why?

Because they’re not growing. They’re not learning. They’re not doing work that matters.

That’s the quiet crisis behind so many resignations. It’s not about the pay. It’s about the purpose.

When Power Isn’t Matched with Permission

Let’s say an employee builds a Golden Portfolio, with extensive help from ChatGPT.

They use public business and economic data to create professional dashboards, trend analyses, and reports that update with a single command. They learn to eliminate repetitive Excel work and replace it with strategic, insight-driven reporting. And they improve their understanding of the data with help from AI.

That portfolio doesn’t just show skill. It shows real value and untapped possibilities.

But then?

Their manager tells them to do what he understands: keep copying, pasting, and formatting the same reports as always.

That’s when frustration sets in.

Because now they have the power to change things—but not the permission. They could do better work. But they’re not allowed to.

And that’s when you really lose them.

Upskilling Is a Retention Strategy—If You Use It Right

Here’s what the research says:

HBR reports that professional development increases retention by as much as 34%—but only when employees get to use what they’ve learned.

McKinsey emphasizes that the return on training investment depends on how well people can apply those skills in day-to-day work.

And MIT Sloan shows that people don’t leave because they’re bored—they leave because they’re blocked.

So don’t just train people. Train them, then trust them.

Train Your Managers, Too

This might be the most important—and most neglected—step of all.

Don’t just train your Excel users. Train their managers, as well.

Why?

Because even the most skilled analyst can’t change how work is done unless their manager understands and supports the shift.

And here’s the key insight: when managers understand the EDP Strategy, they stop seeing Excel as a scutwork engine—and start seeing it as an idea engine.

They realize that the EDP Strategy doesn’t just allow Excel Data Plumbers to generate routine reports more productively. It gives them the power to create cutting-edge Excel work, much more quickly, and with greater understanding—all with the help of AI.

That includes dashboards, forecasts, variance explanations, risk analysis, time-series visuals, and other high-impact output.

When managers understand what’s possible, they stop assigning grunt work and start demanding insight. They create space for innovation, not just efficiency.

And when that happens, both sides win.

Excel Data Plumbing: Strategy Meets Retention

The Excel Data Plumbing (EDP) Strategy solves both the productivity and retention problem.

It shows Excel users how to create modular, structured workbooks—called flowbooks—that automate the data flow from source to report.

The benefits are immediate: Reports update with one command. Errors are caught upstream. Analysts stop reformatting and start analyzing.

With flowbooks, employees save hours every week. They shift from doing to thinking. From reacting to leading.

It’s not just more efficient. It’s more fulfilling.

Let People Build Work That Lasts

One of the biggest problems with traditional Excel reporting is that everything feels disposable.

Update a file. Send it. Wait a month. Do it again.

Even Excel users are disposable. Burned out? No problem. We can hire others.

But the Excel Data Plumbing Strategy encourages employees to build lasting systems. Workbooks that are structured. Reliable. Reusable.

It’s a different mindset entirely. And it creates pride. And job retention.

Combine that with a Golden Portfolio, and you’ve created more than just a better workflow.

You’ve given employees a visible record of their contribution. Something they can point to and say, “I built this. It works. And it matters.”

Make Growth Part of the Culture

This isn’t just about Excel. It’s about how people grow.

The companies with the lowest turnover rates don’t just offer good training. They build cultures of visibility, opportunity, and stretch.

MIT Sloan calls them the “three green flags” of meaningful work:

• Community – “I matter here.”
• Contribution – “My work makes a difference.”
• Challenge – “I’m getting better.”

Training helps with all three—but only if the company gives people room to apply what they’ve learned.

And rewards them when they do.

The Financial Case for Letting People Grow

Still thinking like a CFO? Let’s run the numbers.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly compensation for Excel-heavy roles is $58 to $68 per hour. If even half that time goes to repetitive reporting tasks, you’re losing $5,000 to $6,000 per month in low-value labor per employee.

Excel Data Plumbing typically eliminates 95% of that repetitive work.

Even if a highly trained employee does leave in two years, you’ve already earned back your investment many times over.

But if they stay? That’s when it really pays off.

Here’s What Makes Them Stay…

People don’t stay for perks. They stay for progress.

• When work feels smarter, faster, and more impactful, people feel more energized.
  
  
• When they’re allowed to automate tedious tasks and deliver real insights, they feel trusted.
  
  
• And when they get to build something lasting, something portfolio-worthy, something resume-enhancing—they feel seen.

With help from ChatGPT and Copilot, this is what the Excel Data Plumbing Strategy offers: a system where training is respected, skill is applied, and permission matches power.

Don’t Just Train—Transform

If you want to keep the talent you train, here’s the key: Don’t just give them the power. Give them the permission.

Let them build flowbooks. Let them eliminate waste. Let them show you their best work—which usually is also their fastest turnaround.

Encourage them to build a Golden Portfolio that reflects what they’re truly capable of. And then ask: How can we bring this into our real work? How can we use it to generate game-changing value?

Your Excel Data Plumbers won’t just stay. They’ll thrive.

Start with one person. One team. One portfolio.

That’s how meaningful change begins.

Train your managers to unleash Excel talent. Join the EDP Institute today.