ADP Training Services: Is Your Team Using Everything You Pay For?

The skills inside a business are changing faster than many teams can refresh them. The World Economic Forum’s 2025 research found that employers expect 39% of workers’ existing skills to change or become outdated by 2030. The same report found that 50% of workers had completed training, reskilling, or upskilling measures, up from 41% in its 2023 edition. LinkedIn’s 2025 Workplace Learning Report adds another signal: 49% of surveyed learning and talent professionals said executives were concerned that employees didn’t have the skills needed to carry out business strategy.

Those figures cover the wider workforce, so they don’t prove that ADP customers are failing to use their systems. They do point to a condition that makes underuse more likely. Business software changes, people change roles, and the knowledge built during implementation can fade. An HCM platform may keep gaining functions while the people operating it continue working from processes learned months or years earlier.

The training gap can grow even when the system is working correctly

One useful signal comes from the scale of workforce retraining employers already expect. The Future of Jobs Report 2025 surveyed more than 1,000 employers representing over 14 million workers. Its respondents estimated that 59 out of every 100 workers would need training by 2030, while 85% of employers planned to make workforce upskilling a priority. Those figures concern skills broadly, but they help explain why software knowledge can't be treated as permanent.

Ignite HCM describes a similar operational problem on its optimization page. The company points to changing business goals, employee turnover, new functionality, and processes that haven't been reviewed recently as reasons HCM usage can drift from what an organization currently needs. A periodic ADP System Optimization review gives teams a way to compare current workflows with the functions already available to them.

The pattern matters because underuse doesn't always look like a failed system. Payroll may run on time and employees may still access their records. The missed value can sit in reporting methods, approval flows, configuration choices, unused functions, or manual work that employees continue performing outside the platform.

Implementation training has a shelf life

ADP’s own implementation guidance treats product training as part of an HRIS rollout and says organizations should prepare administrators and employees who will use the system. It also notes that post-implementation support may include training courses and online resources. That makes training part ADP’s HRIS implementation guidance of adoption rather than a task that ends automatically when the implementation project closes.

The problem is that implementation knowledge can lose relevance. Administrators leave, new employees inherit established processes, and teams create workarounds when they don't know another method exists. Regular ADP System Maintenance can therefore include a knowledge check alongside configuration review. The useful question isn't simply whether users remember where a setting sits. It is whether they understand the current process well enough to choose the right function and recognize when an old workaround is no longer needed.

This distinction also explains why refresher training should follow actual job responsibilities. A payroll administrator needs different working knowledge from an HR reporting user. Training that treats every employee as the same type of user can leave important gaps even when course completion looks high.

Lack of time may be a bigger problem than lack of interest

LinkedIn’s 2025 research offers another signal. Among the barriers to career development reported by respondents, 50% said managers lacked proper support, 45% said employees lacked support, and 33% said talent teams lacked support. The report also found that 71% of organizations offered leadership training, LinkedIn’s 2025 Workplace Learning Report showing that training can be common while practical barriers still limit how people develop new skills

That pattern is relevant to HCM administration because users usually learn the system while continuing to handle payroll deadlines, employee questions, reporting requests, and other scheduled work. ADP Training Services are more useful when training is tied to tasks people actually perform. A session based on a live workflow can expose where users are taking unnecessary steps or avoiding functions they haven't learned to use.

The evidence doesn't show that time pressure causes every case of software underuse. Configuration limits, access permissions, integration requirements, company policy, or licensing choices may also explain why a function isn't being used. Training should therefore begin with diagnosis rather than an assumption that the user simply needs another course.

A utilization review can separate training problems from system problems

A useful review starts by comparing what employees currently do with what the configured system can support. Ignite HCM’s process includes reviewing current capabilities, workflows, roles, reporting needs, and risks before defining priorities. Its page also describes deployments that may involve reconfiguration, practitioner training, integrations, audits, or data cleanup depending on what the review finds.

That sequence matters because the same visible problem can have several causes. An employee exporting information to a spreadsheet may lack reporting knowledge, or the required report may need different configuration. Repeated manual approvals could indicate a training gap, though they could also reflect a policy choice. ADP Optimization Services make more sense when the review distinguishes these causes before changes are made.

The result should be a short list of functions worth teaching, processes worth changing, and areas that should remain as they are. Training has a clearer purpose when it follows evidence from real work instead of trying to cover every menu and setting.

Continuous learning is becoming part of normal technology use

Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index provides a later signal in the same pattern. Its research found that 47% of leaders listed upskilling existing employees among their top workforce strategies for the following 12 to 18 months. The report also found that 51% of managers expected AI training or upskilling to become an important responsibility for their teams within 5 years, while 35% were considering hiring AI trainers Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index during the next 12 to 18 months.

The technology in that study extends well beyond HCM, so the figures shouldn't be treated as ADP adoption statistics. The relevant pattern is that organizations increasingly expect learning to continue after technology reaches employees. HCM teams face the same basic pressure when new capabilities appear, business rules change, or experienced administrators leave.

That makes usage a better training signal than attendance alone. Teams can examine whether manual steps are falling, whether reporting functions are being used correctly, and whether support questions change after instruction. Those measures can show whether knowledge is reaching day-to-day work.

Frequently asked questions

What are ADP Training Services?

ADP training can include instruction that helps administrators and other users understand the functions they need for their roles. The exact training required depends on the ADP products an organization uses and how those products are configured. Training may be useful during implementation, after major process changes, or when new team members take responsibility for the system. Refresher instruction can also address knowledge that has faded since the original rollout.

How can a company tell whether employees are underusing ADP?

Start by looking for repeated manual work, avoidable support requests, and processes that haven't been reviewed for a long period. These signs don't automatically prove that training is missing because configuration or company policy may be responsible. A utilization review can compare existing workflows with available system capabilities. The goal is to identify a specific gap before deciding how to correct it.

How often should ADP users receive refresher training?

There isn't one schedule that fits every organization. Training should be reconsidered after staff turnover, major process changes, significant system changes, or evidence that users are struggling with recurring tasks. Ignite HCM recommends revisiting processes at least annually on its optimization page. More frequent instruction may make sense for teams experiencing rapid role or process changes.

Can training increase the value a company gets from its HCM system?

Training can increase value when lack of knowledge is preventing employees from using relevant functions correctly. It won't fix every problem because some issues require configuration changes, integration work, access changes, or revised internal policies. The strongest approach identifies the cause first. Training can then focus on the workflows where additional knowledge will affect actual work.

Is system training only necessary after implementation?

No. Implementation training establishes an initial working baseline, but that knowledge can become outdated as roles and processes change. New employees may also inherit procedures without receiving the same instruction as the original implementation team. Periodic reviews can identify where current practice has moved away from the way the system is configured.

Watch what happens after the next change

The next useful signal isn't another feature announcement. Watch what happens after a system change, staff departure, or process update. If manual work and repeated support questions increase while available functions remain unused, the gap deserves investigation.

The sensible action now is to review how people actually use the system before buying more software or scheduling broad training. That review can show whether the problem sits in knowledge, configuration, or the process itself. Training becomes easier to justify when it responds to a documented usage gap rather than an assumption that every user needs more instruction.

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Larryjack is a dedicated Finance and Payroll Specialist at Ignite Hcm, bringing strong expertise in payroll operations, financial coordination, and HR support services.