The report, Decoding motivation: global insight into motivational drivers of corporate training, is based on a poll of 1,000 senior executives across 10 countries.
It suggests more than half (53%) often face challenges when trying to motivate staff to start or complete training courses.
The problems are particularly pronounced in Europe and other mature markets. In the UK, 91% of executives said they have problems motivating staff to undertake training, while in Germany it's as high as 97%.
When employees do agree to complete training, the most common reasons given are emotional. More than half (57%) cite curiosity, enthusiasm and excitement as the main drivers for investing in their own development.
More than one-third (41%) of companies believe it is at least partly employees' responsibility to motivate themselves to train, while 12% see it as the employees' responsibility alone.
EF Corporate Solutions president Peter Burman urged companies to make themselves familiar with the "huge" difference in approach needed to motivate staff in different countries.
"Companies, especially multinationals, need to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to motivating people," he said.
"For example, competition-based techniques work well in Russia but in Sweden are one of the least effective tools. In Brazil, on the other hand, rewards are the most effective technique."
