Training, Communications Patterns, and Spillovers inside Organizations

Abstract

This paper examines how training affects productivity across hierarchical layers within organizations. After a randomized training program for frontline employees at a government agency, trained workers’ output increased while their requests for managerial assistance fell. This freed managers to focus on strategic tasks—particularly managers with the strongest connections to trained employees. A structural model of organizational hierarchy shows that spillovers to managers account for approximately 45% of the program’s total benefits, indicating that evaluations focused solely on individual trainees may substantially understate the full value of training investments.